Gov. Rick Perry appointed GOP primary winner Debra Lehrmann, a Tarrant County judge, to fill the remaining five months of Judge Harriet O'Neill's unexpired term. Lehrmann, if she wins the general election as the Republican nominee (against Democratic nominee Jim Sharp and Libertarian William Bryan Strange III), will begin a full term in January 2011.

The following is the press release from the Lehrmann campaign:

Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus sent out a letter today, officially beginning the process by which the next biennial budget (2012-13) will be set.

The trio had already asked departments to cut 5 percent from their current year's budgets, but the next cycle will require a 10 percent cut in each department, Perry said in a press release.

Budget requests are due between Aug. 2-30, along with a supplemental schedule detailing how the baselines of each budget could be reduced by a total of 10 percent (in 5 percent increments).

In this week's issue we cover the Sunset staff recommendations that the Public Utility Commission exercise greater regulatory oversight of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

The Sunset Advisory Commission this week also looked at the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Texas Department of Insurance, among others. We highlight those examinations below.

The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) hosted five public hearings with testimonies often reaching into the late evening hours. The curriculum adoption process itself has gone on for just under two years, starting with the TEA’s appointment of writing committees, with many teachers involved in the process.

But that wasn’t enough time, or so said opponents of the SBOE’s conservative majority last Friday when the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards were finally adopted.

The Republican Party of Texas announced three notable guests scheduled to appear during the state GOP convention June 11-12.

U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Campaign, will speak alongside colleague U.S. Rep. Michel Bachmann of Minnesota at the RPT's fund-raising gala at the convention on June 11.

On Saturday, Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi is scheduled to deliver a keynote address to the delegation.

So far, three of a series of transportation-related committee meetings at the Texas Capitol have been rather quiet. And just when we were ready to say it was like watching paint dry, apparently paint became a subject of much concern over at TxDOT.

The AP reports:

Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Chris Lippincott says the agency has suspended redrawing the stripes on existing roads due to the shortage of a resin-like material called methyl methacrylate. Manufacturers have notified Texas about production and demand delays. [...]

Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire (D-Houston) and Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) are now looking at a new method to morally rehabilitate prinson inmates in Texas, modeled after a program used in Louisiana. It's not really new, though, except in a "New Testament" sort of way.

According to a statement today from Whitmire, he and Patrick recently returned to Texas from a three-day visit to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as the Angola State Prison Farm, which has historically been the bloodiest prison in the country but has now seen a sharp turnaround.

What changed? A seminary was placed within in the fences of Angola, which trains men serving life sentences to become ordained ministers. They minister to non-violent offenders who will eventually be released back into civilian life. ...

Read More »

LSR received several press releases both congratulating and condeming the State Board of Education (SBOE) following the close of business and approval of statewide curiculum standards Friday. Below are some of the notable comments. We'll add to this list as we receive them.

Bill White, Democratic nominee for Governor: "The State Board of Education, led by a Perry appointee, created a political circus and undermined the independence of public education from politics. When people see Texas as a place with political agendas in schools, it hurts our ability to attract entrepreneurs and new businesses. Instead of politicians spending their time editing textbooks, we need leaders who will push electronic textbooks forward to save money and create a better variety of courses for Texas students. [...]

It appears Speaker Joe Straus has appointed conservative Rep. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) to the Sunset Advisory Commission to fill an unexpired term left by Rep. Carl Isett (R-Lubbock).

Below is the press release from the Speaker's office: