Jun
19
Written by:
William Lutz
6/19/2009 8:45 PM
It's difficult -- after seeing the list for a couple of hours -- to differentiate which vetoes are the "most" significant. After all, every bill is important to someone.
That said, here are a few notes and initial impressions I have about the governor's vetoes. We'll supplement this throughout the week as new information becomes available.
First, the governor issued several signing statements and veto messages, which are posted on his website and can be viewed
here.
Now here are our other thoughts:
* Perry allowing HB 770 to become law without his signature is one of his most interesting calls. In his signing statement, Perry lambastes the provisions of the bill relating to open beaches. But the bill contains an important tax abatement for non-profit organizations that engage in regional economic development.
* The veto of the pre-K bill (HB 130), which had broad support in the Legislature, was perhaps the gutsiest call of the cycle. A lot of the education groups will slam him over this one, though the bill has some ominous implications for the state's fiscal future. The bill was backed by the pro-status-quo-in-education group Raise Your Hand -- which a lot of conservatives call Raise Your Taxes. This is a group founded by former Education Commissioner Mike Moses and Gov. Bill Ratliff.
*Wonder what Perry has against all those nice folks in Walker County. For the second year in a row, he's vetoed a student loan repayment bill that would benefit correctional officers who enroll at Sam Houston State University. Now that bill couldn't have anything to do with that nice state representative whose district includes Walker County, now could it? You know, the one (Lois Kolkhorst) who has taken a principled stand against toll roads. Nah, Rick Perry doesn't have a petty bone in his body, now does he?
*Perry vetoed HB 2142 by Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio) and Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas), which would have prohibited the Texas Department of Transportation from doing pro-toll-road advertising.
* Though many social conservatives are disappointed with Perry's decision to sign the computerized textbook bill, social conservatives statewide (along with civil libertarians) are thrilled with his decision to veto SB 1440. That bill relates to child protective services and drew fire from conservatives and libertarians who argued it made it too easy for Child Protective Services to interview a child outside the presence of a parent and made it too easy to violate parental rights.