The Senate Select Redistricting Committee met for the first time this morning, a low-key gathering for what will no doubt be a long and contentious process.

State Demographer Dr. Lloyd Potter, of the University of Texas at San Antonio, gave the committee members, many of whom serve as chairs in other committees, a 50,000-foot view of the changes in Texas since the last census was taken in 2000.

Since then, Texas has grown 18.8 percent, compared to the national average of 9.1. Texas is also the second largest state in both population and area, Potter said. ...

Texas' Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday ruled in favor of the Attorney General Greg Abbott that a judge in Texas cannot grant a divorce to same sex couples married outside the state, since a granting of divorce implies the existence of a legal, valid marriage.

Dallas state district Judge Tena Callahan ruled in Oct. 2009 that Texas' same-sex marriage ban violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. It was believed at the time that the ruling could effectively legalize gay marriage in Texas, despite the fact that 76 percent of voters here voted in support of a 2005 constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between one man and one woman. The Aug. 31, 2010 ruling reverses and remands Callahan's ruling.

The opinion by Justice Kerry Fitzgerald begins:

Rep. David Swinford (R-Dumas), who has been in the Texas House for 20 years and most recently chaired State Affairs under Speaker Tom Craddick, sent a letter to Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Joe Straus today announcing his resignation from the House effective at close of business Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. Wrote Swinford:

After much consideration I have decided to resign as State Representative of District 87, at the close of business Tuesday, August 31, 2010. I have been honored to serve in the House of Representatives for 20 years and am not seeking re-election to the office.

After much discussion and consultation with District 87's political leaders, community leaders and good friends, I have decided the greatest parting gift to my constituents would be to retire early. With your help, a special election could be called for the same date as the general election to defer any additional cost to the state during the election process. I feel this would greatly benefit my district and my new state representative.

Swinford told LSR he is retiring early in order to give the next representative, whom he firmly believes will be Walter "Four" Price, "an opportunity to … be a sitting member for a while before the rest of the freshman class."

In a dare-I-say welcome shift from finger-pointing, name-calling and accusations, the governor's race has taken a turn into the dark woods of actual policy.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White said late last week that the state should, in essence, overturn its existing regulatory structure on homeowners' and automobile insurance and go to a pure prior-approval system. (Stories at Dallas Morning News and WFAA.) ...

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At a meeting of the Texas Youth Commission governing board this morning, Executive Director Cherie Townsend and board Chairman Scott Fisher both disputed claims made in the letter, from four advocacy groups to the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging systemic problems of abuse and lack of safety for offenders incarcerated at TYC facilities (as reported in today's LSR).

Townsend said TYC has made "significant positive changes" since 2007. "The frequency with which any of these allegations or actions that are inconsistent with agency policy are happening, is now occasional or isolated, not routine operations, and for anyone to suggest otherwise is not based on fact," she said.

Fisher, in a written statement released today, said the TYC Board "takes very seriously every allegation of abuse, mistreatment or neglect of youth in TYC," and "are committed to investigated the cases and taking the appropriate action swiftly."

Lack of communication? ...

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Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) and Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana) along with other members of the Texas Legislature and Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief today announced that the state will more than double the air quality monitoring network in the Barnett Shale region.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) currently has seven automated gas chromatograph (AutoGC) monitors in operation in the Barnett Shale region, which operate around the clock, measuring levels of more than 45 volatile organic compounds, including benzene.

The emissions data collected from the monitors is used to evaluate current air quality conditions in the region and posted online. ...

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Today the House Committee on Fiscal Stability is meeting to discuss Texas' ability to meet its current and future budget obligations.

At this point, everyone knows it's going to hurt.

On Saturday Corrie MacLaggan at the Austin American-Statesman gave a snapshot of the problem Texas faces, reporting that proposed cuts for family services programs designed to prevent child abuse, neglect, and delinquency, could affect 14,000 Texans.

We can expect dozens more stories like this as Texas' economic picture comes more into focus as the session approaches -- each probably including the Democratic drumbeat that, yes cuts will be necessary, "but also," dot dot dot. ...

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Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams and Commissioner Victor Carrillo joined Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones in passing her resolution to call on the Barack Obama Administration and the 111th Congress to "cease and desist" what they consider to be usurpations of the state's right to "regulate and manage oil and natural gas exploration and production within their sovereign borders."

“I appreciate Chairman Carrillo and Commissioner Williams for their willingness to join me in this fight on behalf of the oldest and most respected energy regulatory agency in the United States and on behalf of the statutory authority of the Texas Legislature from which we derive our jurisdiction,” said Jones.

The resolution will be sent to Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House minority leader John Boehner, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, and the governor of each state.

The resolution contains 11 "WHEREAS" clauses, including a reiteration of Texas HCR 50 from last session, brought by Rep. Brandon Creighton, which slams federal encroachment as offensive to states' rights under the Tenth Amendment.

Here's the "RESOLVED" section in full:

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Texas Comptroller Susan Combs today said state sales tax revenue in July was $1.69 billion, up 2.2 percent compared to one year ago.

“Total monthly sales tax revenue has now exceeded year-ago levels for the last four months,” Combs said. “Sales tax collections in major sectors such as retail trade, the oil and natural gas industry and construction are up from a year ago. We are monitoring these sectors to see if collections are returning to consistent growth.”

Combs will send:
*$556.3 million in August sales tax allocations to local governments, up 2.3 percent compared to August 2009;
*sales tax payments of $375.5 million to Texas cities, up 2.2 percent compared to last August;
*sales tax payments of $33.7 million to Texas counties, 0.2 percent below last August;
*$23.5 million in sales tax revenue to 169 special purpose taxing districts, up 11.1 percent compared to August 2009; and
*$123.5 million to 10 local transit systems, up 1.6 percent compared to a year ago.

So far this calendar year, compared to this time last year:
*sales tax allocations to local governments are down 2.5 percent;
*city sales tax revenues trail by 2.2 percent; and
*county sales tax allocations are down 5.6 percent.

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After hand-delivering a letter addressed to President Barack Obama calling for more troops on the Texas border, Gov. Rick Perry said that the situation on Texas' border will continue to grow "markedly more deadly" during an address to the Texas Public Policy Foundation today.

"Bottom line: an unsecure U.S.-Mexico border is a serious national security threat, menacing the safety and security of our citizens, and the federal government is obligated to secure that border," Perry said. "Unfortunately Washington has been an abject failure to date, in that they're leaving our border vulnerable to exploitation, and our citizens exposed to very grave danger."

Perry met with Obama in person for what the governor estimated to be a maximum of two minutes today as the president arrived in Texas to give a speech at the University of Texas at Austin.

"I sincerely hope he will take the time to read [the letter]," Perry told the audience, saying it was written in "all good faith."