Two prominent Democratic lawmakers from Houston, Sen. Rodney Ellis and Rep. Garnet Coleman, have sounded off on Perry's vetoes of their bills.

One veto was on Ellis' SB 488, also known as the "safe passing bill," requiring at least three feet of clearance when motor vehicle operators are passing "vulnerable road users" like bicyclists or pedestrians. Ellis said his bill "would have provided protections for bicyclists, pedestrians, tow operators, disabled persons, and other vulnerable road users. I worked with some of the most conservative members of the legislature on compromises and in the end the bill had broad bipartisan support."

Elli's other bill, SB 21698, was a "smart growth" bill to create a working group to collaborate with the Texas Department of Transportation and other agencies to "mitigate sprawl" and establish a long-term transportation plan for the state -- probably one which includes public transit expansion. The work group would also look at issues like housing, health, education and the environment. "Governor Perry's transportation plans have been inadequate, as congestion has increased and his Trans Texas Corridor went down as one of the most unpopular transportation plans in the history of transportation planning," Ellis said. "Smart growth is a viable solution to many of our problems and the Governor missed an opportunity to grow the state's economy in an environmentally friendly way when he vetoed the bill."

Coleman lamented Perry's veto of HB 3485, which dealt with county governance, and one of whose provisions aimed at bringing more physicians into rural areas of Texas.

"H.B. 3485 gave rural public hospitals and physicians who want to practice in rural Texas flexibility," Coleman said. "Having the option to employ physicians would have helped rural hospitals improve and preserve access to physicians. Without physicians, these hospitals will not continue to exist."

In his veto proclamation, Perry objected to an amendment added late in the process that he said "creates uncertainty as to the applicability of the liability cap available in a single action when multiple doctors or multiple claims are involved," which he said would undermine the tort reforms of 2003.

"The worst part is, the only losers with this veto are the people of the state of Texas and the various counties, with no gain or loss to the tort reform movement," Coleman said.