By William Lutz on
9/28/2011 10:42 AM
I’ve heard this refrain before ... I maintain the real purpose of this committee is to scuttle conservative reforms to higher education proposed by Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. This committee is about preserving the sacred cows in higher education – such as nonstop tuition increases and the ability of faculty members at flagship universities to get away with teaching a mere two courses a semester. And the committee was stacked for that purpose.
That’s why I’ve nicknamed this committee the Select Committee to Preserve Cost Explosion and Left-Wing Bias in Higher Education. When all is said and done, that’s what this committee is designed to do, and every Texas conservative ought to be concerned.
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By William Lutz on
9/27/2011 11:11 AM
Your tax dollars at work. More than 100 school districts have announced intention to sue the state, challenging the equity of the school finance system. The aim of such lawsuits -- as usual -- is to prompt the Legislature to put more money into the school system by raising the prospect of a school shutdown.
The main basis for the lawsuit is likely the "target revenue" system added to school finance in 2006.
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By William Lutz on
9/22/2011 5:04 PM
Lots of political news happening in the past few days. Here’s a run-down:
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By William Lutz on
9/20/2011 9:15 AM
Tomorrow, the Select Committee to Promote Cost Explosion and Liberalism in Higher Education will have its first meeting. Basically, the committee will hear from a bunch of leaders of trade associations in higher education who will talk about the need to involve faculty in decision-making, probably clouded in a bunch of lofty rhetoric complete with veiled attacks on Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. In other words, the committee will defend the status quo and discourage regents from rocking the boat.
Already, the defenders of the cost explosion in higher education are pointing to a letter from Robert Berdahl, at the time president of the Association of American Universities, to then-A&M Chancellor Mike McKinney as a “smoking gun” that conservative higher education reform would damage state universities ...
I was a student at the University of Texas when Berdahl was president there. He was an activist liberal then who regularly attacked Texas values, and he hasn’t changed much since. His 1997 departure to an institution that better reflects his values – the University of California – Berkeley – was welcomed by Texas conservatives.
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By William Lutz on
9/20/2011 9:05 AM
Sen. Steve Ogden (R-College Station) told radio station WTAW that he will not run for re-election to the Texas Senate, and this time, he means it. The Eagle (Bryan-College Station) wrote a full story on this topic.
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By William Lutz on
9/20/2011 8:22 AM
Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) announced that she will not seek re-election to the Texas Senate in 2012. Her announcement ends a distinguished, decades-long career in elective office. As a Senator, Shapiro passed the bill requiring parental notification prior to abortion and numerous education bills. As a former teacher, she had credibility on education issues but – unlike most in education – she also kept careful watch over the purse strings. She also was active in transportation policy, and chaired the Senate State Affairs Committee (which had jurisdiction over transportation when she was in charge of it) and the Senate Education Committee. Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney) and Scott O'Grady have announced for the Senate seat.
"My parents came to the United States in search of the American dream, and I lived it,” said Shapiro.
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By William Lutz on
9/16/2011 3:12 PM
Lots of campaign and political news this week in Texas Politics. Here’s what we’ve received:
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By William Lutz on
9/15/2011 10:51 AM
It's now official. The computerized textbook bill -- Senate Bill 6 -- is an attack on conservative Christians, the elected State Board of Education, and Republican values.
I've warned for some time that this bill does not comply with the Republican Party of Texas Platform, but now the misnamed Texas Freedom Network -- an organization that seeks to reduce the influence of conservative Christians in the public policy process -- has issued a report lauding Senate Bill 6. Specifically, TFN has issued a "how-to" guide, encouraging school districts to use the bill to avoid books and materials approved by the elected State Board of Education. That means the board has less authority to enforce the new patriotic social studies standards that ensure students learn about the Founding Fathers, and it has less authority to keep fuzzy math out of the classroom.
This controversy is yet another example of how the politics of education has nothing to do with kids and everything to do with which adults get to spend money and in what amounts. SB 6 and its predecessor bill House Bill 4294 (2009) are about increasing sales for computer companies and software manufacturers like Microsoft.
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By William Lutz on
9/10/2011 2:51 PM
A few days ago, former Dallas mayor and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Leppert called me to discuss his jobs plan that he released recently. Leppert's plan provides a detailed description of where he stands on the key fiscal issues facing the nation -- including entitlements and tax policy. The plan is posted on the Internet here.
I interviewed Leppert, discussing both his plan and his record as Mayor of Dallas. I am in the process of calling the campaigns of the other serious candidates (those who have held significant elective or appointed office) to offer equal time.
A few highlights:
* Leppert proposes restructuring the corporate income tax to lower the rate and reduce loopholes.
* Entitlement reform is a key issue, including moving back the social security retirement age and creating personal accounts.
* In addition to the proposals mentioned above, Leppert said he wants to reform the culture of Washington, including a 10-year revolving door ban for former members of Congress and capping congressional benefits at the private-sector average. His proposals include biennial budgeting, a Texas-style sunset process at the federal level, and national right-to-work.
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By William Lutz on
9/7/2011 1:26 PM
State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) declined to enter the open U.S. Senate race. Instead, he is seeking re-election to the Texas Senate with an eye toward possible statewide office in 2014. Patrick does not intend to endorse a candidate in the upcoming GOP primary. We'll publish statements from the other candidates when we get them. In the mean time, Patrick issued the following statement:
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By William Lutz on
9/6/2011 4:34 PM
The New York Times hosted a debate and discussion on Gov. Rick Perry's proposal to create a college degree that costs $10,000 or less. The debate features 12 perspectives, including the Texas Public Policy Foundation's David Guenthner. Click here to read the New York Times debate.
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By William Lutz on
9/6/2011 3:29 PM
Gov. Rick Perry announced his key campaign hires. They are all familiar faces to folks who have followed Texas politics for any length of time. Rob Johnson, who successfully managed Perry's 2010 re-election race, returns as campaign manager. Deirdre Delisi will serve as policy and strategy director (Delisi is currently Texas Commissioner of Transportation.) Former state GOP executive director Wayne Hamilton will serve as political director. Ray Sullivan -- who most recently served as his gubernatorial chief-of-staff -- will serve as communications director. Eric Bearse will be deputy communications director. Mark Miner will serve as national press secretary. Former state press secretary Robert Black will serve as travel press secretary. And Katherine Cesinger will serve as state press secretary (working with state-desk reporters). Cesinger served as Perry's press secretary during the recent legislative session.
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By William Lutz on
9/6/2011 1:55 PM
President Barack Obama put the Environmental Protection Agency's new smog rule on hold until 2013. The action was sought by business, who objected vehimently to the new clean air standards as damaging to the economy. That said, Texas isn't out of the woods yet -- not even close. The EPA's cross-state pollution rule threatens reliability on the state's electric grid. Last week, the state's grid operator -- the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) published a report quantifying the threat the rule poses to Texas electric reliability.
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By William Lutz on
9/6/2011 10:11 AM
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst unveiled a new camapign website today: http://www.dewhurstfortexas.com. The most noteworthy feature of Dewhurst's new site is specific citations to his record on key conservative issues. Sometimes I've thought that Dewhurst has not always gotten full credit for a lot of his accomplishments.
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By William Lutz on
9/2/2011 4:27 PM
Rep. Jim Keffer (R-Eastland), a key member of Speaker Joe Straus's leadership team, has started a petition campaign, urging the Congress to send a balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification. The website can be found at http://www.balanceourfederalbudgetnow.com. During the regular session, Keffer authored HCR 18, calling for Congress to submit a balanced budget amendment to the federal constitution to states for ratification. (That is NOT the same as a constitutional convention, which is more controversial.)
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By William Lutz on
9/2/2011 3:59 PM
Here’s the latest we’ve heard on political candidates and other key developments on the political scene:
* CD 25 becomes more active...
*Jackson, Taylor look to move up ...
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By William Lutz on
9/2/2011 11:01 AM
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks enjoined large portions of the state’s law requiring that physicians make available a sonogram to a mother prior to performing an abortion on her. Sparks’s opinion can be read here.
Sparks argued that several sections of the law were unconstitutionally vague and prohibited their enforcement. First, Sparks entered an order allowing one physician in a multi-doctor practice to perform the abortion and another to provide the sonogram. Second, he found that the exceptions – allowing women to decline to view the sonogram – do not provide sufficient protection to the physician if an abortion is later performed, and enjoined the enforcement of those sections. He also struck down a provision requiring physicians to provide materials on paternity and child support to a woman who chooses to have the child.
He also states that many of the requirements in the sonogram bill are compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The state argues that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 opinion in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey – where the court upheld Pennsylvania’s informed consent statute – forecloses this argument. Sparks disagreed, noting that the Texas law requires a lot more than the challenged law in the Pennsylvania case.
The attorney general filed an immediate appeal. Most of the state’s top elected officials issued statements blasting the ruling.
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By William Lutz on
8/30/2011 10:53 AM
Initially, neither Texas nor Arizona were covered jurisdictions, subject to Section 5 pre-clearance under the federal Voting Rights Act. Section 5 requires a small group of states -- mostly in the South -- to obtain pre-clearance from a federal court or from the U.S. Department of Justice before implementing any change to voting practices or procedures, including a redistricting map. Texas and Arizona were declared covered by Section 5 in 1975, in response to changes in federal law designed to cover linguistic minorities, such as native Spanish-speakers, to the act.
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne filed suit against the federal government Aug. 25, stating that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. The facts as applied to Arizona are almost identical to the Texas situation.
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By William Lutz on
8/29/2011 11:54 AM
Those who have followed Texas politics for some time know that the idea of collecting state revenue at strip joints is quite controversial and has a history.
In 2004, it blew up as part of a proposal to fund public schools. But when connected to services for survivors of sexual assault, it became more palatable politically. The fee became the subject of a court challenge and was struck down by the Third Court of Appeals.
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By William Lutz on
8/26/2011 1:07 PM
Credit where credit is due. University of Texas administrators created a very frustrating day for higher education reformers yesterday. University of Texas chancellor Francisco Cigarroa unveiled his plan for “reform” of the UT System and obtained approval from the regents.
Basically, what he’s proposing is baby-steps in the right direction. Several of the changes in his plan are positive, but they are a far cry from what is needed to fix the problems with higher education ... getting all students to graduate in four years doesn’t cost the UT administration much – if any – money, since the graduating student will be replaced by an incoming freshman.
That’s why there’s such a focus on graduation rates
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By William Lutz on
8/23/2011 5:16 PM
This morning, Americans for Prosperity Texas held a news conference commemorating the first day of school. Several college students came and discussed their concern about student debt and rising college costs. “College debt is taking over our generation not just in Texas, but across the nation,” said Chris Covo, director of AFP Foundation’s youth outreach America’s Next Impact and recent graduate of Texas State University.
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By William Lutz on
8/22/2011 10:18 AM
This Sunday, LSR Managing Editor William Lutz appeared on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics. He had a message for Karl Rove and other former staffers of George W. Bush who want to take shots at Gov. Rick Perry: Shut Up! The program also features an interview with Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve. Lutz's commentary starts about 7:40 into the program. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday at 9 on WFAA, Channel 8 in North Texas.
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By William Lutz on
8/20/2011 1:07 PM
LSR Managing Editor William Lutz goes on a RANT about Karl Rove's attacks on Rick Perry on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics Sunday, noting that Perry is more conservative than either Rove or George W. Bush. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday at 9 am on Channel 8 in North Texas.
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By William Lutz on
8/15/2011 4:52 PM
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has named John Sharp as the sole finalist as chancellor of the Texas A&M Univeristy System. After a 21 day waiting period mandated by law, the regents can name him as chancellor.Sharp served as comptroller of public accounts 1991-1998 and as a member of the Texas Senate, the Texas House of Representatives, and the Texas Railroad Commission. Most recently, Sharp led Gov. Rick Perry's tax reform task force, which developed the revisions to the state franchise tax that the Legislature largely adopted in 2006. He is an Aggie, Class of 1972. The official release from the A&M System can be viewed here.
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By William Lutz on
8/15/2011 4:34 PM
We were looking forward to tomorrow's meeting of the House higher education committee and the resulting national media publicity surrounding Texas A&M's possible move to the Southeastern Conference. But alas, due to the SEC's decision not to extend a formal invitation to A&M, Chairman Dan Branch (R-Dallas) has cancelled the meeting. (That said, interest still appears high at A&M to an SEC move, as the Austin American-Statesman's sports columnist Kirk Bohls noted in today's paper.)
Branch issued the following statement today:
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By William Lutz on
8/15/2011 10:55 AM
Gov. Rick Perry will join U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) as co-chairs of Americans United for Life's 40th Anniversary Gala. The event is scheduled for Nov. 2 in Washington, DC.
Of all the conservative issues out there, Perry's record on pro-life issues is about as rock-solid as it gets. Americans United for Life ranked Texas as the fifth most pro-life state in the nation in a March 2011 report, and that was before the accomplishments of the 2011 Texas Legislative session. The 2011 session of the Texas Legislature produced several key pro-life victories, including the following:
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By William Lutz on
8/12/2011 1:20 PM
The House higher education committee is holding a hearing (the full posting is copied below) on intercollegiate athletics, and judging by the invited testimony list, it appears the topic for discussion is Texas A&M's rumored move to the Southeastern Conference.
Here's my question: the committee took a hands off approach with the University of Texas's Liberal Arts Dean Randy Diehl attacked Texas and American values by removing the words "American" and "Western" from the former Program in Western Civilization and American Institutions, replacing the mangement, and renaming it "The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Ideas." Will the committee take a similar hands off approach with intercollegiate athletics?
Anyway, here's the committee posting:
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By William Lutz on
8/12/2011 1:11 PM
The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has struck down the individual mandate in the federal Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) as unconstitutional. Click here to read the opinion. The lawsuit pitted several states -- including Texas -- against the federal government, arguing that an individual mandate to buy health insurance violates the U.S. Constitution.
Attorney General Greg Abbott issued the following statement: “Obamacare is closer to an end. The federal court of appeals agrees that the federal health care law’s individual mandate violates the U.S. Constitution – and cannot be enforced against the American people...
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By William Lutz on
8/11/2011 12:35 PM
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R) wrote to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today expressing concern about recent enforcement strategies in Houston. In particular, congressional committees are examining an ATF program where agents allow suspicious persons to buy guns and then follow them. Some of the guns in question wound up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Click here to read Cornyn's letter. Channel 2 in Houston has covered the experience of one local gun dealer -- Carter's Country -- with ATF's enforcement strategy. Click here to view the story.
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By William Lutz on
8/11/2011 10:48 AM
Sometimes, people focused on improving public policy forget how much has already been done ... In March 2011, Americans United for Life released a report, Defending Life 2011, that ranks each state based on its laws on the pro-life issue. Texas ranked Fifth. And that report was produced before the 2011 Legislative Session, which was great for pro-lifers ...Expect Gov. Rick Perry to talk about this report, and the pro-life record of Republicans in the Texas Legislature, on the presidential campaign trail.
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By William Lutz on
8/9/2011 9:26 AM
LSR Managing Editor William Lutz appeared on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics July 31 and blasted the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed new cross-state air pollution rules that the state's electric grid operator says will impair reliability. Lutz's RANT starts at about 7:30 into the program. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday morning at 9 am on WFAA in North Texas.
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By William Lutz on
8/2/2011 11:17 AM
So much for Williams versus Williams. Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams announced July 29 that he's switching from Arlington-Weatherford-based District 33 to District 25 -- an open seat that stretches from West Austin to Burleson. Williams's profile in both Austin and North Texas should come in useful in that district. Michael Williams's decision means former Secretary of State Roger Williams now has a clear shot at the open CD 33, instead of the Williams versus Williams matchup that has been taking shape the past few weeks.
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By William Lutz on
7/27/2011 10:09 AM
Rep. Beverly Woolley (R-Houston) announced she is not seeking re-election next year. During her time in office, Woolley became one of the most influential members of the House Republican Caucus, serving as chair of the House Calendars Committee and later as Speaker Pro Tem. On a policy level, she is best known for her advocacy and involvement in efforts to protect private property rights and reform eminent domain.
House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) issued the following statement:
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By William Lutz on
7/15/2011 4:19 PM
Now that the legislators have gone home. The LSR staff will be on vacation. Therefore comments to the blog will get approved on a much slower timetable than usual. We will return Mon. July 25. We are also working hard on our final subscription issue of LSR, which we hope to send to our subscribers soon. Have a great summer.
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By William Lutz on
7/15/2011 12:18 PM
Earlier this week, I received a submission from a higher education expert who often publishes his work under the pseudonym Publius Audax. He disagrees with UT Liberal Arts Dean Randy Diehl’s recent report attacking the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Texas philanthropist Jeff Sandefer’s "7 Breakthrough Solutions." He also proposes a reform of his own – evaluating Texas universities using a double-blind exam similar to what is found at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. We post the piece below:
"Randy Diehl, dean of liberal arts at UT-Austin, and his "executive leadership team" have produced "A Response to the Seven ‘Breakthrough’ Solutions" (http://bit.ly/pSuWuI) proposed by Jeff Sandefer, the founder of the Acton Business School and a key leader of the higher education reform movement in Texas. Diehl’s response deserves close attention, if for no other reason than as a model of the use of confusion, misdirection and irrelevancy as propagandistic techniques.
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By William Lutz on
7/15/2011 12:17 PM
Lots of campaign announcements have reached our desk in the last few days. Here are some of the highlights:
* Elizabeth Ames Jones announced that W.A. "Tex" Moncrief, Ed Whitacre, and George P. Mitchell will be co-chairs of her campaign.
* Seth McKinney is no longer running for the Texas House of Representatives. (LSR previously did a blog post on his announcement).
* Ted Cruz received endorsements from three former chairmen of the Republican Party of Texas: Tina Benkiser, Cathie Adams, and George Strake. Cruz has also been endorsed by George P. Bush.
* Conservative Republicans of Texas endorsed Barry Smitherman for the Texas Railroad Commission.
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By William Lutz on
7/15/2011 12:04 PM
Secretary of State Hope Andrade announced the ballot order for the November constitutional amendment election. We post the proposed constitutional amendments and their proposition numbers below:
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By William Lutz on
7/12/2011 5:47 PM
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Surfside Beach) announced he will not seek re-election today. Paul's announcement was made to The Facts today. LSR has received several statements and announcements from distinguisted Texans and potential candidates. We reprint below:
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By William Lutz on
7/12/2011 2:54 PM
Comptroller Susan Combs announced last week that she has hired a Chief Privacy Officer and a Chief Information Security Officer to augment her staff. These new hires are another step in a series of actions Combs is taking to fix highly-publicized leaks of personnel information from state computer systems. These hires come shortly after some in the press raked Combs over the coals for hiring a policy advisor who had political experience.
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By William Lutz on
7/8/2011 4:09 PM
The Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education – a group that supports higher education reform ideas offered by the state’s university presidents and chancellors and has expressed concerns with some higher education reform ideas offered from outside academia – fired a rhetorical howitzer at Gov. Rick Perry yesterday. Political observers in Texas are left wondering why the organization chose to attack Perry by name and how this will play out.
The coalition’s main communications consultants used to work for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former president George W. Bush, two elected officials whose political interests have not always aligned perfectly with those of Perry. A member of the coalition’s operating committee, former ambassador and Higher Education Coordinating Board Chair Pamela Willeford, said she has supported Perry, and the organization is bipartisan and is about higher education, not partisan politics. She also said that decisions about what statements to issue are made by the organization’s operating committee, not its consultants.
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By William Lutz on
7/8/2011 1:18 PM
(Editor's Note: Updated at 3:40 pm to add a statement from Smitherman)
Gov. Rick Perry named Public Utility Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman to the Railroad Commission of Texas. Smitherman has been a member of the Public Utility Commission since 2004 and its chairman since 2007. Smitherman combines support for and an appreciation of markets with knowledge of the energy industry and political acumen.
“Barry’s strong leadership at the Texas Public Utility Commission helped make Texas energy and telecommunications markets stronger and more affordable, and served the best interests of Texas consumers and families,” said Perry. “As he did at the PUC, Railroad Commissioner Smitherman will continue to push back against the Obama Administration’s misguided energy policies, which threaten Texas jobs and our nation’s energy security. His knowledge of Texas’ energy market and our energy needs is unparalleled, and I’m confident he will continue to serve our state well in his new capacity at the Railroad Commission.”
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By William Lutz on
7/7/2011 1:54 PM
A fixture in the Capitol Press Corps is joining the Texas Association of Business, effective Aug. 1. For the past 18 years, Robert Wood has covered the Capitol for radio, both for KLBJ-AM and for the Texas State Network. He is known and respected throughout the Capitol for the insightful questions he asks at news conferences.
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By William Lutz on
7/7/2011 11:43 AM
LSR Managing Editor William Lutz made an appearance on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics Sunday blasting both parties for the death of the Sanctuary Cities bill. Lutz notes that the bill codifies protections for law enforcement officers that already appear in federal law. Lutz's RANT starts at about 7:53 into the video clip below. The program also features an interview with House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch (R-Dallas). Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday at 9 am on Channel 8 in North Texas.
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By William Lutz on
7/6/2011 5:15 PM
Gov. Rick Perry’s communications director Mark Miner blasted University of Texas administrators for issuing a report attacking proposals to reform higher education. The university used personnel on the College of Liberal Arts payroll to produce a report critical of ideas put forward by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and other higher education reformers ...
Miner is responding to a report from University of Texas Liberal Arts Dean Randy Diehl criticizing Texas philanthropist Jeff Sandefer’s “Seven Breakthrough Solutions for Higher Education.” UT has also set up a website, http://www.7solutionsresponse.org to reply to these ideas for higher education.
It’s quite noteworthy that UT is putting Diehl on the front lines of the higher education reform debate. Diehl is the UT administrator that removed philosophy professor Robert Koons from director of the program in Western Civilization and American Institutions. The program was reformed under new leadership as the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Ideas. Notice the absence of the words “American” and “Western” in the center’s name. Click here to read more about “The Mugging of Western Civilization” at UT-Austin.
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By William Lutz on
7/6/2011 3:47 PM
Yesterday, I posted an item drawing attention to the fact that recent tuition increases will blow a hole in the state budget. I will admit that the tone of the piece conveyed some frustration that state leadership in 2003 knew that tuition deregulation would adversely impact the soundness of the guaranteed Texas Tomorrow Fund – thus blowing a hole in the state budget – and passed it anyway. I’m frustrated that the legislative leadership’s top priority that year was providing more money for four-year university administrators to spend, rather than goals that benefit taxpayers generally.
That said, the tone of the piece gave heartburn to at least one commenter to the blog with a background in higher education. He makes several fair points. I reprint his comments in full below, then I will respond:
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By William Lutz on
7/5/2011 4:44 PM
Sometimes what sets the press off amazes me.
I was watching television last week and one of the talking heads was asked about Comptroller Susan Combs’s hire ( announced Mon. June 27) of David White as a senior policy advisor. Apparently, this addition to the comptroller’s staff has come under fire in some circles, but why this is controversial is a mystery to me.
In the interest of full disclosure, I frequently speak to the Young Conservatives of Texas (of which White is a former chairman) on higher education and other legislative policy matters and am an alumnus of the organization. I know White and think highly of him.
That said, some in the press are turning the ordinary course of business into something controversial.
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By William Lutz on
7/5/2011 1:30 PM
The Legislature was warned this would happen. In 2003, then-Speaker Tom Craddick rammed through HB 3015 (sometimes called tuition “deregulation”) by tying it to the state budget. It resulted in massive increases in higher education spending.
During the 2003 floor debate on HB 3015, Rep. Burt Solomons (R-Carrollton) prompted a debate on the tomorrow fund by introducing an amendment preventing the Comptroller from closing it to new enrollment. During that debate, House members had a full discussion about what these tuition and spending increases would do to the state’s constitutionally-guaranteed tuition savings program – the Texas Tomorrow Fund ...
Toward the end of the 2011 legislative session, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a story noting that the Tomorrow Fund could go broke by 2014. That fund is constitutionally dedicated, meaning if the investments don’t cover the tuition for the fund’s beneficiaries, the state treasury is constitutionally obligated to cover the shortfall.
Unless the stock market improves, legislators could have to pay hundreds of millions to cover the shortfall. And that amount only grows over time.
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By William Lutz on
7/4/2011 9:00 PM
OK. OK. We should have posted Texans for Fiscal Responsibility's legislative scorecard June 29 when it was released. We just got caught up in the end-of-session news rush. But in some ways, the Fourth of July is a much more appropriate date to post conservative legislative ratings anyway.
Texans for Fiscal Reponsibility and its president Michael Quinn Sullivan seemed to get more publicity this session than ever before. Democrats regularly mentioned TFR ratings from the floor, arguing they influenced the votes of Republicans. The organization produces a scorecard on fiscal issues before the Texas Legislature, rating the key votes.
Click here to read TFR's House ratings.
Click here to read TFR's Senate ratings.
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By William Lutz on
7/4/2011 8:48 PM
It appears the open state house seat vacated by Rep. Fred Brown's (R-College Station) retirement from the House has several people interested in it. The Bryan College-Station Eagle reports that former Brazos County Tax Assessor-Collector Buddy Winn and businesswoman Rebecca Boenigk have expressed interest. Click here to read The Eagle's story.
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By William Lutz on
7/1/2011 5:12 PM
LSR Managing Editor William Lutz will appear on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics Sunday. Lutz will be discussing the recent death of the bill banning Sanctuary Cities. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday morning at 9 am on Channel 8 in North Texas.
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