By William Lutz on
11/23/2009 4:10 PM
We don't normally write about the myriad endorsements that go back and forth between the two candidates in the race for governor. But the State Republican Executive Committee consists of the elected representatives of Texas Republicans. The SREC is elected every two years at the State Republican Convention. It consists of the state chairman, state vice-chairmen, and two delegates [one man and one woman] elected by convention delegates from each of Texas's 31 Senate districts.
We reprint the list of SREC members that have endorsed Perry below:
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By William Lutz on
11/13/2009 5:08 PM
Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) addressed the Texas Taxpayers and Research Institute’s Annual Meeting Nov. 13. Carona called on legislators to have what he characterized as the “courage” to take “hard votes” and find a new funding solution to transportation. Carona said that he supports both a statewide gas tax increase – indexed to inflation -- and a local option solution.
He also called on the House to take a public, up or down vote on the local option plan. He said he had 88 House members’ signatures on a piece of paper supporting local option.
The local option tax plan was attached to the Texas Department of Transportation’s Sunset Bill in the Senate. The House then took a vote on the motion to instruct conferees not to include the local option in the final bill. Carona told reporters afterward that was not an up-or-down vote on the plan.
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By William Lutz on
11/13/2009 4:27 PM
Here’s a quick summary of comments from the statewide officials at this afternoon’s installment of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association’s Annual Meeting:
Comptroller Susan Combs discussed the current state of the Texas economy. She noted that Texas has one of the best credit rating and lowest foreclosure rate of any state. She told reporters afterward that she wants to see what happens with Christmas shopping before making too many definitive statements about whether there is a need to revise her estimates of the state’s fiscal condition heading into the 2011 regular legislative session.
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By William Lutz on
11/11/2009 12:06 PM
In yesterday's edition of The Daily Texan, the paper's editorial board takes both the UT administration and the UT Student Government to task for the secretive way it is approaching the next round of tuition increases. This must-read editorial notes that the Texan sent a reporter to a meeting of the UT-Austin Tuition Policy Advisory Committee, only to be denied admittance.
Here's my question: what happened to all these promises about how tuition deregulation will add openness and transparency to the university budgeting process?
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By William Lutz on
11/10/2009 11:13 AM
Gov. Rick Perry granted an 18-minute interview to WFAA's Inside Texas Politics. The Dallas Morning News's Gromer Jeffers Jr. and WFAA's Brad Watson asked Perry questions on a variety of political topics. You can watch the interview by clicking here. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday morning at 9 am on Channel 8 in North Texas.
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By William Lutz on
11/9/2009 3:42 PM
For a long-time observer of state politics, watching Gov. Rick Perry stand up last week and accept the Texas Medical Association's PAC (TEXPAC) endorsement was ironic to say the least. Perry has sometimes enjoyed cool relations with the Medical Association, that turned down-right frosty in 2001 after Perry vetoed "the prompt pay bill" -- a bill that would have toughened standards and penalties for insurance companies that pay doctors late, not at all, or inaccurately. But Perry has earned this endorsement, because in the ensuing eight years has signed dozens of bills favorable to the Medical profession.
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By William Lutz on
11/6/2009 12:17 PM
Like all Texans, we at LSR are shocked by the shootings at Fort Hood yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this awful tragedy. As a policy journal, there's not much we have to add to what happened. Newspapers and television have provided comprehensive coverage of the situation. That said, when something like this happens, we felt it appropriate to pause on this blog and pay our respects. We've found the Austin American-Statesman provided some of the best real-time coverage yesterday. The paper set up a twitter feed @fthoodshootings to provide real-time updates on the controversy. We commend those pages to people seeking more detailed information on the topic.
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By William Lutz on
11/4/2009 2:14 PM
If there's one theme from yesterday's elections that Texas canaidates may wish to consider emulating, it's an emphasis on a positive message and real ideas. Both Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell and New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie have real, specific ideas on what they want to accomplish as governor of their respective states.
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By William Lutz on
11/4/2009 1:24 PM
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By William Lutz on
11/3/2009 9:50 PM
With 77 percent of precincts reporting, it appears all of the 11 constitutional amendments submitted to voters passed. This follows the pattern of past cycles, where Texas voters rarely reject proposed amendments to the Texas constitution. Part of the reason for a high success rate is the two-thirds-of-membership threshhold required to submit an amendment to the voters. The only ballot items that appear to be receiving less than 60 percent of the vote are propositions 1 and 4 (military facilities and research universities).
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