Lone Star Report Recent Blog Posts

At 5 p.m. today, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst released Senate committee assignments for the 82nd Texas Legislature. The roster of chairmen was basically established during the summer shake-up of committee chairmen.

"Texas is fortunate to have 31 hardworking and talented State Senators, and the makeup of our Senate committees reflects their considerable leadership skills and depth of experience," Dewhurst said. "From balancing the budget to redistricting, we have a lot to accomplish this session in a relatively short period of time, but I'm confident that our Senators and our Senate Committees are up to the challenge."

Click here to read the full list of committee assignments.

No, we didn't make that name up. At yesterday's Texas Association of Business annual meeting, Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) said of Rep. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood), "This is the trial lawyer slayer. Right here." That line brought the loudest applause of the entire afternoon.

Last year, Taylor engaged in a months-long legal and public relations battle with a series of Galveston attorneys over whether the state-created Texas WIndstorm Insurance Association should disclose the amount of attorneys fees in a settlement of an insurance lawsuit with owners whose homes were leveled by Hurricane Ike. Steve Mostyn, one of the attorneys in the case and current president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, filed the legal motions which temporarily kept that information from the public. (The materials were eventually released.) Mostyn is a major donor to Democratic causes and candidates. Bonnen blasted the plaintiff's attorney's saying they "were trying to destroy him [Taylor] for simply wanting true information."

The officers of the State Board of Education have assigned members to committees for 2011-2012. The committees will elect their chairmen and vice-chairmen at later dates. The officers announced the following committee assignments:

The State Board of Education has elected Bob Craig (R-Lubbock) as its vice-chairman by a 9-6 vote and Mary Helen Berlanga (D-Corpus Christi) as secretary by an 8-7 vote. The three board officers (the board chair -- currently Gail Lowe (R-Lampasas) is an appointee of the governor) jointly make the committee assignments.

Members of the board's socially conservative faction nominated Ken Mercer (R-San Antonio) for vice-chairman and Terri Leo (R-Spring) for secretary. The consequence of the vote is the board's socially conservative faction will not control the committee assignments. Unlike legislative committees, however, committees of the State Board of Education cannot unilaterally kill rules or agenda items. Final action from the board is determined by the final full board vote, though the committee's decision and rationale does often influence the final board decision.

The State Board of Education voted 9-6 to retain standards for textbooks in its operating rule. In 1995, the Texas Legislature severly restricted the ability of the board to reject books based on their content. In reaction to that law, the State Board of Education adopted an operating rule creating a procedure for the board to adopt a non-binding resolution expressing an opinion about a textbook. Included in that rule were its prior textbook standards that became non-binding as a result of the 1995 law. Board member Michael Soto (D-San Antonio) tried to remove the section of the board's operating rules that included both the textbook standards and a procedure to pass resolutions on textbooks.

The board rejected Soto's motion 9-6, with the board's four Democrats (Soto, Mary Helen Berlanga (Corpus Christi), Lawrence Allen (Houston), Mavis Knight (Dallas)) and two Republicans (Bob Craig of Lubbock and Thomas Ratliff of Mt. Pleasant) voting to strike the textbook standards, while the remaining board Republicans supported leaving them in place.

Here are some of the textbook content standards Soto wanted to remove from the State Board of Education's rules:

Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for the United States Senate today. "The reason for the campaign is very simple," Cruz said. "President Barack Obama is the most radical president ever to occupy the White House. We are facing the Epic battle of our generation. Does this nation remain a free market nation?"

Cruz joins a crowded field that will likely include Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams and former Secretary of State Roger Williams and may include Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and many more. Current U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced recently that she would not seek re-election in 2012, creating an open seat environment.

Former US President George HW Bush has endorsed former Secretary of State Roger Williams for the US Senate. "Anyone who has met Roger knows he can be trusted to bring a fresh, positive, can-do, real-world perspective that too often is missing in Washington, DC," Bush said. "I have no doubt Roger Williams will be a great senator for our state, our country and our future.”

LSR Managing Editor William Lutz appeared on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics this Sunday to deliver a one-minute commentary called "The RANT." Lutz addressed the continuing controversy over House Speaker Joe Straus. He noted that Joe Straus says he's a fiscal conservative, and Lutz invites him to prove it by appointing a slate of chairmen that stand up to the tax increase lobby consistently. The commentary starts with about eleven minutes to go on the clip posted below. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday morning at 9 on WFAA Channel 8 in North Texas.

LSR Managing Editor William Lutz will appear on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics this Sunday. Lutz will give his opinion on whether House Speaker Joe Straus is a fiscal conservative. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday at 9 on WFAA, Channel 8 in North Texas.