CAPITOL LETTERS

Flowery speeches and humorous comparisons to Don Corleone - The Godfather - were the first order of business in the Senate today as the chamber elected Sen. John Carona of Dallas as its president pro tempore. Although the post is mostly ceremonial, the number two officer of the Senate is second in line of succession for governor, behind only the lieutenant governor.

Several senators offered seconding speeches for Mr. Carona's nomination as president pro tempore, alternatively offering praise for his standout work as chairman of the Senate tranportation committee this year and joking about his well-known temper and fearlessness in confronting political enemies. Sen. Kim Brimer of Fort Worth described his fellow Republican as a "legislative manhole cover" because of his toughness in getting his bills passed.

"Most of all he reminds me of a manhole cover because he is shaped like one," Mr. Brimer said of the slightly rotund Dallas senator, bringing laughter to the chamber. Mr. Brimer and other senators noted that Mr. Carona's Italian-American heritage raised inevitable comparisons to the main character in one his favorite movies - The Godfather. Noting that Mr. Carona will function as governor when Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst are out of the state, Mr. Brimer said there will be a difference in leadership and style.

"When 'Don' Carona assumes the office of governor, we won't have any trouble collecting the new business tax," Mr. Brimer said. "Collections will be at an all-time high." Added the Fort Worth senator: "John Carona is a real man. You better believe it - or else." And to wrap up his seconding speech: "Please godfather, forgive me for what I say."

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The vote was announced as 25-6 but was actually 25-5.

Nays were Mike Jackson, Kyle Janek, Jane Nelson, Dan Patrick and Florence Shapiro.

All Republicans.

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 12:42 AM | Permalink

Here's Craddick spokeswoman Alexis DeLee's statement, responding to the Pitts-Talton-Delwin Jones presser alleging big time pork in the two-year budget, and last minute budget shenanigans by the speaker to save his political skin:

"The budget is a strong one -- supported by members on both sides of the aisle. The process that has taken place to put it together is the same as every session in the past. It reflects the various needs of the state."

In addition, Team Craddick arranged for Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, the House's negotiator on the higher education budget, to respond to the dissidents' pork allegations -- one of which was that the speaker loves Dallas' UT Southwestern Medical Center, so much that he inserted two "special items" to give it $19 million.

Continue reading "Team Craddick defends budget in war of words" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 4:46 PM | Permalink

Saturday afternoon, negotiators agreed to restore the Children's Health Insurance Program more than halfway toward the enrollment it had in September 2003.

Since then, CHIP rolls shrank by 201,000 youngsters, mostly because of cuts that helped lawmakers dig out of a $10 billion budget hole. Under the deal, which now goes to the two chambers for approval, enrollment would climb by nearly 128,000.

The Senate accepted a final offer by the lead House negotiator, Houston Democrat Sylvester Turner. He insisted that if the state does any electronic income checks six months into kids' coverage, as senators demanded, it'll scan just the top 10 percent of CHIP households by income. The Senate wanted the top 43 percent checked.

The bill would allow families again to submit paperwork once a year, instead of every six months, and to deduct from income their child-care expenses. Asset limits would be loosened and a 90-day wait eliminated for most new applicants.

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 12:02 AM | Permalink

And while it's unquestionably more docile, the Senate, too, contains some fascinatng personalities. If you're interested in the Lege, you won't want to miss Terry Stutz's interesting profile of two freshmen making a mark in this session, Dan Patrick and Kirk Watson.

Posted by Ryan J. Rusak at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

House Speaker Pro Tem Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, is obtaining signatures of his chamber's negotiators on a version of the Children's Health Insurance Program bill that would subject only 9 percent of households to electronic income checking every six months -- not the 43 percent that the Senate favors.

"If they don't sign it," Mr. Turner said of the Senate's negotiators, "we just don't have a CHIP bill."

According to the Health and Human Services Commission, Mr. Turner's proposal would add nearly 128,000 youngsters to the rolls in the next two years; and the Senate's almost 102,000.

Continue reading "CHIP: Sylvester Turner's last offer" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 11:27 AM | Permalink

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said he is “pretty much a solid ‘no’” on the budget if, as expected, it reaches the Senate floor tomorrow.

Mr. Patrick said he would reconsider his opposition if assured that Mr. Perry would empanel a commission to carefully review state spending while the Legislature is not in session.

The radio talk show host and anti-tax crusader says he thinks at least 5 percent of the budget is wasteful spending.

Mr. Patrick was asked if he would filibuster the budget, which probably would force the governor to call lawmakers back to Austin this summer. He replied, “You never know.”

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 7:24 PM | Permalink

The budget conferees in the last half hour approved a two-year, $152.5 billion budget by a vote of 9-0.

House Speaker Pro Tem Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, walked out shortly before the vote was taken -- presumably to underscore his displeasure over money set aside to pay interest on bonds that might be used to build prisons. Or was it the rider on Texas Southern University, which Mr. Turner also questioned moments earlier? Or the failure to give prison guards any of the bigger pay raises handed to newbie state cops and game wardens?

Well, if you can't have unanimity, you at least can have speed. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said he'd ask for colleagues to suspend rules to bring the budget to the floor tomorrow. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, said he expects the budget on the House floor on Sunday.

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Senate just honored former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls -- not for his past football prowess (he was named to the pro bowl four times, and led the NFL in interceptions in 1981, 82 and 85) -- but for donating a kidney to one of his best friends, his former teammate Ron Springs.
Everson, known to those of you who watched football in the early '80s as Cubby, played ball with Springs on the Cowboys from '81-84. He gave Springs the kidney early this year following news that the diabetes-suffering Springs, who had been on dialysis, was healthy enough to take a kidney.
Springs, who is 50, lives in Dallas and played eight years in the NFL.
Walls has "greatly improved the prognosis for Ron Springs. He has helped him to walk again, to regain the use of his hands, and ended the use of his dialysis treatments," said Sen. Florence Shapiro, who represents the Plano district where Walls lives. "This is a tremendous story."
"Your act toward your friend Ron Springs should set an example for all of us," Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said.

Posted by Emily Ramshaw at 11:44 AM | Permalink

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has skillfully splintered the advocates of fully undoing the 2003 cuts to the Children's Health Insurance Program.

After collecting kudos Tuesday from the Texas Network of IAF Organizations (Dallas Area Interfaith, Valley Interfaith and so on), Mr. Dewhurst named Senate negotiators who are expected to strongly defend his pet idea of electronic eligibility verification.

Senate conferees include the only two senators who voted against the House's partial CHIP restoration bill: Republicans Steve Ogden, who voted "nay" in committee, and Jane Nelson, who opposed the bill on the floor. The team's leader is Waco Republican Kip Averitt, who favors a bigger CHIP but is unlikely to betray Mr. Dewhurst, even though the lieutenant governor dumped him as a budget negotiator this session to appease the right wing of the Senate's GOP caucus.

Most CHIP advocates, physician groups and hospital execs who prefer the House-passed version believe Mr. Dewhurst has made income verification almost a fetish -- and is going to give us another Accenture-like fiasco, albeit much smaller in scope than the call centers that do eligibility screening for the major social programs.

Continue reading "CHIP: The endgame" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 10:58 AM | Permalink

Senators today recognized their long-time sergeant-at-arms, Carleton Turner, who stepped down from the post after two decades just before the current legislative session began. As the man in charge of maintaining order in the chamber and enforcing Senate rules, Mr. Turner was popular with most senators over the years and several of them sang his praises on the Senate floor before presenting him with a plaque for his years of service.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst humorously suggested that Mr. Turner's record was not always stellar, after a Senate resolution read in the chamber noted his many duties, including "securing the attendance of senators." That prompted Mr. Dewhurst to quip, "I'm not sure he did a very good job on that one." His reference was to 2003 when Senate Democrats bolted the Capitol for New Mexico for several weeks to block action on a GOP-backed congressional redistricting plan.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, told Mr. Turner that he could have used him last week when Democrats and Republicans were at odds over a Republican voter ID bill. At one point, Mr. Dewhurst warned Mr. Whitmire that he might be removed from the Senate chamber after the Democrat loudly voiced his anger when his vote was not initially counted on the legislation.

"I needed you last week when there was a tall guy in here threatening me on the floor," Mr. Whitmire joked about his run-in with the lieutenant governor, who stands about 6'5". A smiling Mr. Turner didn't respond, but probably breathed a sigh of relief that he was not around for the partisan standoff.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 2:03 PM | Permalink

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst declared the much debated voter ID bill dead Wednesday night as the Senate neared its midnight deadline for passage of all bills in the current session. His declaration prompted Sen. Mario Gallegos of Houston to thank the lieutenant governor and all of his colleagues before departing the Senate floor.

Mr. Gallegos, who is recovering from a liver transplant, returned to the Capitol on Monday against his doctors' wishes to preserve a Democratic blockade of the GOP-backed legislation that would have required Texans to show up to two pieces of identification to vote. The 11 Democrats blocked action on the proposal under the Senate's long-standing rule that requires a two-thirds vote of the 31-member chamber to take up any bill.

"It's time to go home and do what the doctors tell me," Mr. Gallegos said, adding he had no regrets. "It's something that had to be done. If I hadn't been here, they would have passed it," he said. Besides thanking Mr. Dewhurst for ending the partisan standoff over the bill, Mr. Gallegos also thanked Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, a family physician, for monitoring his health this week and arranging to have a hospital bed placed in a room adjacent to the Senate chamber.

"I'll be back," the Democrat promised other senators before leaving. "If you want to fight this battle again, I'll fight it - but with a healthier Mario Gallegos."

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

The Senate just sent to the governor a bill by Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Southlake, that would ban cities from using cameras to charge motorists with speeding.

“If that’s not a grab for money, I don’t know what is,” said Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, the bill’s Senate sponsor. The vote was 27-4.

Mr. Carona said the cities of Rhome, northwest of Fort Worth, and Marble Falls, northwest of Austin, have used cameras to create “speed traps.” He said motorists don’t learn they’ve been nailed – on a criminal charge -- until a notice arrives in the mail from a Rhode Island tech company days or weeks later. That robs a driver of ability to argue with the cop who stops him, Mr. Carona said.

Republican Sen. Kel Seliger, a former Amarillo mayor, opposed the bill. He called it undue curtailment of local governments’ power.

Continue reading "Can that camera" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 1:32 PM | Permalink

Senate leaders say a final deal on the state's two-year budget has been delayed.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, told reporters a few minutes before noon that Gov. Rick Perry "is involved in the discussion" -- much of it about higher education.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said late Friday that House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, has intervened in the talks about university funding. "The speaker's taken a real interest ... particularly [in] the higher education budget and some special items," Mr. Dewhurst said.

Asked if the special college funding items were for Midland, the lieutenant governor responded, "For different [House] members' districts."

Wrapping up the budget now seems unlikely before House members decide whether they're deposing Mr. Craddick or not in the session's last seven days.

Continue reading "Budget talks slow, anxiety rises" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Sen. Mario Gallegos was back in the Senate on Monday despite his doctors' advice to remain in Houston while they monitor recent problems with his new liver. His presence on the Senate floor preserved a Democratic blockade of a GOP-backed bill that would require voters to prove their identity before being allowed to vote. If the bill is not approved by the Senate by Wednesday, it is likely dead for the session.

As a precaution, a hospital bed was set up for Mr. Gallegos in a room adjacent to the Senate floor and Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, a family doctor, monitored Mr. Gallegos' health through the day. The Houston Democrat was on the floor at the start of Wednesday's session, giving Republicans a clear signal that the voter ID bill was not moving today.

"It's very important to me," Mr. Gallegos told reporters, saying the issue was critical enough to cause him to risk some medical setbacks by traveling to Austin after undergoing medical tests in Houston on Friday. He also said he believes Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Senate Republicans would bring the voter ID bill to the floor "in a New York second" if he were not present. Mr. Gallegos plans to remain until at least noon on Wedesday, 12 hours before the deadline for all bills to be passed out of the Senate. "They should be able to filibuster it for 12 hours," he said, referring to other Democratic opponents of the measure. All 11 Democrats are against the bill, just enough to block action on the proposal under the Senate's so-called two-thirds rule.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Talk about your tight spots. Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, was torn between House loyalty and partisan allegiance yesterday. Very reluctantly, and even painfully, he sided with his chamber.

The scene: House Appropriations room, Capitol extension, 2:18 p.m.

The action: As the budget conference committee convenes to ratify decisions on health and welfare programs, all five Senate negotiators are present. But two from the House are missing -- Democrat Sylvester Turner and Republican Lois Kolkhorst.

Unexpectedly, Warren Chisum, the House's chief negotiator, brings up a politically supercharged matter left over from the otherwise-finished judiciary section of the budget: Whether to give Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle's Public Integrity Unit 6.5 percent more than the $6.8 million, two-year "baseline" budget it was given by the Legislative Budget Board back in January. Uh oh. It's crunch time.

Continue reading "Tales of the budget conference: Guillen's dilemma" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Advocates for the Children's Health Insurance Program were livid at Senate GOP leaders for rushing to move the session's big CHIP bill out of committee tonight, some 14 hours before a scheduled Capitol rally featuring uninsured children.

Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, main author of the bill, said between 250 and 300 uninsured children had been scheduled to attend the rally.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, told this reporter late this afternoon, "We'll hear that bill tomorrow."

But after a flurry of media advisories about the planned rally flew far and wide, lo and behold, the Senate suspended its rules to add the CHIP bill to this evening's Finance Committee meeting -- at which a scaled-down version of the bill passed.

Said Barbara Best of the Children's Defense Fund, one of the organizers of the rally: "It is outrageous that the Senate Finance Committee would deliberately exclude the input of families, health care providers and advocates from criticial decisions about the future of the CHIP program. The Texas Senate should have the courage to look into the eyes of the children who have lost coverage and to take responsibility for the drastic cuts that they have imposed on the CHIP program."

Mr. Ogden was unavailable for comment.

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the much debated voter ID bill - which halted Senate action for a whole day on Wednesday - may be headed for the legislative scrap heap. That's because he and Republican senators have been unable to crack the Democratic blockade that has so far kept the legislation off the Senate floor. Mr. Dewhurst also ruled out any effort to bend Senate rules to bring the bill up for debate, such as setting aside the requirement that two-thirds of the members have to agree to take up any bill.

"Regrettably, unless somebody is absent, I don't think there are the votes for us to bring up the bill between now and the drop-dead date next Wednesday at midnight," the lieutenant governor told reporters after the Senate adjourned for the day. His reference was to a Senate rule that requires the chamber to finishing voting on all bills for the current session by next Wednesday. After that, senators can only approve House changes to Senate bills and compromises on legislation that has already cleared both chambers.

As far the failure to pass any bills on Wednesday with only a week to go before the deadline, Mr. Dewhurst said, "We'll get caught up. This won't slow us down at all." That may mean working on Saturday - something the Senate has not done since the session began in January.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 5:39 PM | Permalink

There's a post from Terry lurking in our system, but he hasn't published it and I can't get him to answer his cell phone.

Those who know him, I guarantee this is not a shock.

Anyway. They're finally back in session. Just wanted you to know.

Posted by Karen Brooks at 4:17 PM | Permalink

Finally, they're back. Senators emerged from their closed door meetings Wednesday afternoon, three and a half hours late. But Sen. John Whitmire of Houston quickly moved to adjourn for the day. Not a single bill was acted on as all attention of the day was directed at the voter ID bill that has sharply divided the Senate.

At the same time, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst officially retracted his earlier statement that ripped the Democrats and Sen. John Whitmire of Houston - the senior Democrat - for blocking action on the voter ID bill on Tuesday. Mr. Dewhurst said the letter was "inadvertently released" by his office before he read it.

"It does not represent my position," he said. "The paragraph on Sen. Whitmire went over the top." The letter accused the Houston Democrat of "gaming" Senate rules and cursing on the Senate floor when he didn't get his way. Mr. Dewhurst said the senator was a friend and that he still plans to go hunting with him in the fall. Hopefully, Dick Cheney won't be invited.

So, while the Senate spun a lot of wheels today, the output on the Senate floor was zilch. They'll try again Thursday. But I'm sure tomorrow's paper will be full of stories on important bills passed by the House while the Senate tried to patch up hard feelings from Tuesday's standoff on the voting bill and Mr. Dewhurst's inoperative letter.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Let's see, what image comes to mind when we think of the Texas House?

How 'bout this one?

Click here for a simulation of House members at work ....

Now, think of the august Senate. Here's an image. Click here.

(That's the House of Lords, in case any of you commoners wanted to know ...)

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As a neutral observer (after all, I've mocked both the House and the Senate), I have to interject -- if the Senate is spending all day on one bill, it's a trick they must have learned from the House. Let's count them from this session: TXU, the budget, border security the smoking ban. Oh, and -- zoinks! -- the very voter ID bill that's now holding up the Senate. And rules fights? Does this ring a bell?

Posted by Ryan J. Rusak at 2:50 PM | Permalink

Welcome to the Texas Senate, Karen!

This is Bob Garrett, filling in for Terry Stutz as the Senate does its darnedest to detract attention from the Team Craddick meltdown at the Capitol's West End.

It seems somebody in Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's office did a no-no today. The Dewmeister just popped out of the Betty King Room, where Democrats have been huddled since noon. He looked like a man who had just made an apology. He told reporters that his staff some 2 hours ago shouldn't have issued a provocative letter under his name that called Democratic tactics "an outrage against all Americans."

Said Mr. Dewhurst: "I didn't say that at all. ... [A] statement went out that I had not approved and we’re going to correct that."

The background: At 12:32 p.m., the Dewhurst press shop issued a letter on yesterday's blockade by Senate Democrats of the voter ID bill.

"I think this is an outrage against all Americans," Mr. Dewhurst's letter says.

Responded Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas: "I’m just as American as he is."

The now-inoperative Dewhurst letter says the Democrats apparently don't believe in "one person, one vote." It rebukes Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, saying he "gamed the voting process" on Tuesday by first walking out, hoping to stall, then rushing back to the Senate floor and pitching a fit when his vote wasn't counted.

The letter adds some torque as it sinks the blade: Mr. Whitmire, it says, "cursed and tried to make himself a victim."

But, whoops, retract that, Mr. Dewhurst now advises us.

The Senate's fine and will shortly show us its internal dynamic is comity, he predicted. "I’m proud of the Senate. We all, all 32 of us are close friends. And you’ll see that today."

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 2:27 PM | Permalink

Senators continued to work - albeit in closed door caucuses - through the lunch hour on Wednesday. Democrats are trying to anticipate what strategy Republicans might employ to bring the hotly disputed voter ID bill to the Senate floor and they were considering their options in a party caucus outside the chamber. Republicans were holding their own caucus - on and off - as they also discussed alternatives to take up the legislation. The Senate was due back at 12:30, but there is still no sign of activity except at the press table.

Meanwhile, I walked over to the House and found the chamber nearly empty. They recessed shortly after noon for a two-hour lunch break. What a life - and with less than two weeks left in the session and hundreds of bills awaiting action. Over in the Senate, there is talk of a filibuster if the voter ID bill makes it to the floor. That is virtually guaranteed since the Democrats consider the proposal their number one target in the closing days of the 2007 session. The clock is ticking and all House and Senate bills must be voted on by next Wednesday - or they're dead, barring some creative law-making near the session's end.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 1:13 PM | Permalink

A Methodist minister opened Wednesday's Senate session - 45 minutes late - by singing the opening verses of Kumbaya, the universal chant of unity. It may be all down hill from there as senators were barely in session before recessing to meet privately in their respective Democratic and Republican caucuses. The topic - how Senate rules would affect the controversial voter ID bill that has sharply divided the two parties. They're supposed to come back at 12:30, but nobody believes that timeline.

Will today be the second Senate face-off in two days over the House-passed bill that would require Texans to show a government ID or two other pieces of identification before they would be allowed to vote?

My apologies Karen - but it looks like there may be some interesting action in the Senate today. As you know, it's usually the other way around with most of the color on each legislative day centered in the House. Maybe you were due for a boring day. On the other hand, you could get something started. How about the latest House members to consider running for speaker?

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Senate has yet to convene, but Democrats are huddling on the floor poring over their Senate rule books to see if Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and the Republicans have an opening to trot out the controversial voter ID that divided the chamber on Tuesday. There have been rumors that because Wednesday is normally a day to take up House bills under procedural rules, the Republians may try to exploit a potential loophole and say the long-standing two-thirds rule of the Senate does not apply to the voter ID measure, which is a House bill. The rule requires a two-thirds vote to debate any bill.

Although veterans say they cannot remember the Senate ever having set aside the two-thirds rule in a regular session - except for some redistricting bills - Democrats are on edge that Republicans may try an end-around to get the bill on the floor. Democrats on Tuesday used their 11 votes to block consideration off the bill and are hoping to prevent its passage before the session ends in less than two weeks. After Mr. Dewhurst and Republican senators nearly got the bill approved Tuesday when one Democrat was sick in bed - he was rushed to the Capitol to preserve the blockade - the Democrats are high alert today.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 11:17 AM | Permalink

How can the staid Texas Senate possibly compete with a House speaker's race? How about a Dewhurst-Whitmire shouting match and a dramatic last-second vote by a sick senator? Terry Stutz has the full report on the outburst here.

Posted by Ryan J. Rusak at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

House members may bark and bay like hounds spontaneously. But senators do their doggie comedy acts strictly according to a script.

To wit: No fewer than four -- count them -- senators delivered what came off as very un-spontaneous "laugh lines" as the Senate this afternoon amended and returned to the House a bill by Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas.

His bill would require the Governor's Division of Emergency Management to work with local governments on plans to evacuate household pets during a disaster.

Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said studies show many people are reluctant to leave their homes during hurricanes or other disasters because they "have no plan, no way to get their pets out." So much for the serious side of the bill.

"Very stinky," quipped Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, who was in the chair.

I'll spare you details of the "gag" amendment by Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, which calls for "priority efforts and assistance" for "appropriately documented Mexican Chihuahua breed canines."

What North Texans need to know is that according to Mr. Hinojosa, the Branch household lost a beloved dog of 14 years named Simba. Just as Mr. Hinojosa proposed to name the bill "Simba's Law," right on cue came Mr. Brimer's amendment to the amendment. It added to the section designating the act as Simba's Law a paragraph purportedly containing the names of 31 dogs that belong to senators.

For a list of those lucky four-legged creatures, click here:

Continue reading "Canine capers continue" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As many as 221 pink Cadillacs could intensify competition for parking spaces near the Capitol on Monday.

Beauty consultants, sales directors and national sales directors for Dallas-based Mary Kay Cosmetics are being urged to flock to Austin from all over Texas to witness history: The Legislature's first-ever declaration of a "Mary Kay Day."

And according to company spokeswoman Crystal Valletta, 221 of the more than 1,000-person strong sales force in Texas now have keys to the coveted pink Cadillac.

"We've wanted all 221 of those to come," she said. "We're hoping for a big showing."

Ms. Valletta said that because of security considerations, only 2 of the pink Caddies will be permitted to enter the Capitol grounds. They'll be used in a photo shoot with House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, at the north entrance.

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 10:51 AM | Permalink

Darth Vader made a surprise appearance on the Senate floor Thursday, temporaily halting debate on a series of bills that were moving through the upper chamber as senators near the final weeks of the 2007 session. Actually, it was Sen. Tommy Williams in a Darth Vader costume, responding to a critical newspaper editorial on Thursday that called the Woodlands Republican the "Prince of Darkness."

Mr. Williams unusual retort to the Houston Chronicle editorial drew laughter from other senators and spectators in the gallery, although many who had not read the editorial were scratching their heads over the alien visitor's presence in the normally staid Senate. Vader said nothing - James Earl Jones probably could not be located - as he took a seat in the Senate for several minutes and received greetings from several senators. He then departed for his waiting spacecraft outside.

The negative editorial was prompted by Mr. Williams' vote Wednesday for a bill that would keep the names of Texans licensed to carry a concealed handgun confidential. Although the measure passed overwhelmingly, the writer of the editorial said it was just one of a series of votes by the Republican that made him "secret government's biggest fan" in the Legislature. "If ever there were a champion of secret government and an enemy of public access to information, it is state Sen. Tommy Williams," the Chronicle said in its editorial.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 1:30 PM | Permalink

I’ve been the Austin editor for two and a half years and have never watched the Lege live and in person. So with apologies to Emily Ramshaw, who has perfected the Fresh Eyes treatment, here are my own initial observations on the Texas Senate.

Oh, and because he has to come back here, let me apply an initial disclaimer: These are my views, not Terry Stutz’s. He just had to escort me. Here we go:

Continue reading "Fresh Eyes: An Editor in the Senate" »

Posted by Ryan J. Rusak at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Long-time Supreme Mary Wilson was in the Capitol Tuesday to push for a bill that would stop copycat musical groups from billing themselves as the originals. Ms. Wilson testified before the Senate Business and Commerce Committee on the legislation and then visited the full Senate where several members sung her praises before voicing their support for the proposed protections for famous singers and musicians.

Ms. Wilson opened her testimony to the Senate committee by singing two of the Supreme's best know tunes. "Because this bill has to do with music, I probably should sing a couple of my greatest hits first," she said, breaking into the opening lyrics of "Come See About Me" and "Stop in the Name of Love." After bringing a high note to the committee's normally staid business, the singing great said of her brief performance, "How dare I sing so early in the morning."

In her remarks, she noted that a half dozen copycat groups now travel around the world billing themselves as the Supremes. "We worked very hard to make our name and legacy...just to have somebody come along and steal it," she told senators. The bill has already passed the House and is now being carried through the Senate by Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, who is a part-time musician and full-time family doctor. The bill would authorize the attorney general or local prosectors to seek fines of $5,000 to $15,000 against musicians that advertise themselves as a well-known group unless they have at least one original member or hold the legal rights to the group's name.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 11:40 AM | Permalink

The first filibuster of this year's session was launched Tuesday afternoon by an unlikely senator - Mario Gallegos of Houston - who had a liver transplant earlier this year and only recently returned to the Senate. The bill that brought the Democrat to his feet was a measure to restrict the ability of the City of Houston to regulate air quality outside its boundaries.

Houston Mayor Bill White has been working on a plan to restrict emissions from refineries and other industrial plants not only in his city but also in neighboring suburbs and communities. His proposal has drawn opposition from some of those cities and led Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, to carry a bill that would stop Houston in its tracks. Under the measure, Houston's power to regulate air quality would stop a mile outside its city limits.

Sen. Gallegos began filibustering the bill Tuesday afternoon, bringing Senate business to a halt for nearly two hours before he gave up his effort. The chamber then tentatively approved the measure 20-11, with all Republicans voting yes and all Democrats voting no. The legislation must still win final approval of the Senate on Wednesday. Under a long-standing Senate tradition, any senator can keep talking to delay action on legislation as long as he can remain standing at his desk and confine his remarks to topics related to the bill.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 1:48 PM | Permalink

The only school voucher measure given a chance of passage in the current session – one that would have allowed autistic children to attend any public or private school using tax dollars – has been pulled off the Senate bill calendar and its prospects now appear dim. Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said Tuesday she has pulled the measure for now and will only bring it back if she can rework it to her satisfaction.

“I won’t say it’s gone for the session, but I won’t put it back (on the Senate calendar) until I can get it written the way I originally intended,” Ms. Shapiro said, noting that efforts to strike a compromise on the measure “neutered” it to the extent that it won’t accomplish what she wanted. The senator also decided to concentrate on other portions of her legislative package, pointing to a Senate rule that allows senators to have no more than five bills on the Senate intent calendar on any day.

The main opposition to the autistic measure came from Senate Democrats, who banded together to keep Ms. Shapiro from gaining the necessary two-thirds vote of the chamber to bring the bill up for debate. Critics have argued that the bill would take money away from public schools and open the door to a larger private school voucher program. Ms. Shapiro and other supporters said they were trying to give reasonable alternatives to parents of the estimated 17,000 autistic children in Texas.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Senate has signed off on tougher punishments for sex crimes against children. Click below for Emily Ramshaw's early report.

Continue reading "Jessica's Law" »

Posted by Ryan J. Rusak at 1:50 PM | Permalink

Sen. Kip Averitt, R-McGregor, fends off press inquiries about who will be the Senate's five negotiators with the House on the budget by reworking a line from the classic Humphrey Bogart film, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

In the movie, a Mexican bandit leader named Gold Hat tries to convince Bogart's character, Fred C. Dobbs, that Gold Hat and his buddies are the Federales.

Dobbs: "If you're the police, where are your badges?"

Gold Hat: "Badges!? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!!"

Now back to the Capitol extension yesterday ...

Reporter: "What's the latest on the budget conference committee?"

Averitt: "Conference committee!? We don't need no stinking conference committee!! Take it or leave it!"

That was pretty clever, given the sensitivity of the subject.

Continue reading "Bogart flicks live on ..." »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 3:18 PM | Permalink

If much better gas mileage isn't reason enough to make the switch and buy one of the growing number of hybrid motor vehicles, the Senate on Wednesday added another carrot. Under a bill approved unanimously by the chamber, owners of hybrids would be able to obtain a sticker that would authorize them to use high occupancy vehicle lanes regardless of the number of occupants in the car or SUV.

The special "hybrid vehicle" insignias would be issued for free by the Texas Department of Transportation. The stickers could continue to be issued until HOV lanes in a metropolitan area reached 80 percent of capacity under the Senate bill.

Reports out of California indicate that such stickers have added significant resale value to hybrids that had the stickers before the state quit issuing them when predetermined limits were reached. So that could be another reason to spring for a hybrid now. The bill by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, now goes to the House.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

One of our DMN brothers, editorial writer Bill McKenzie, has an interesting take on the Patrick-Whitmire showdown.

Posted by Ryan J. Rusak at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Boaters would face sobriety checkpoints on Texas lakes under legislation unanimously approved Thursday by the Senate. The measure by Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, would authorize law enforcement agencies that patrol public waters in Texas to set up temporary checkpoints to determine whether some boating operators are illegally intoxicated.

Sponsors of the measure, which now goes to the House, said it would keep drunk boaters off Texas lakes and reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents on the water. Law enforcement agencies have had success with land-based sobriety checkpoints - but there is no provision under current law to check out boat operators.

Boats could not be held up more than 10 minutes at any checkpoint unless there was reasonable suspicion to further detain the watercraft. In addition, a checkpoint could not operate for more than four hours and not more than twice at the same location in a seven-day period, under the legislation.

Posted by Terrence Stutz at 6:27 PM | Permalink

Senators just welcomed their Houston Democratic colleague, Mario Gallegos, to the floor for the first time since January.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and senators applauded and bestowed hugs on Mr. Gallegos, who is recuperating from a liver transplant.

He returned to Austin today to vote on the budget.

“My constituents expect me to represent them, and despite doctors' orders to the contrary, I cannot in good conscience be away from the Senate floor on the day that I’m expected to vote on the state budget,” Mr. Gallegos said in a written statement.

Continue reading "Gallegos returns" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 10:23 AM | Permalink

About 100 community activists held a fire breathing rally inside the Capitol today, calling on the Legislature -- and specifically, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst -- to roll back restrictions imposed on the Children's Health Insurance Program four years ago.

Three men of the cloth -- and some of the placards folks in the crowd were holding --rebuked Mr. Dewhurst for opposing a House-passed plan that would again let families renew coverage annually instead of every six months.

"We don't have patience with a lieutenant governor who doesn't understand the problems and the difficulties that affect the working families of Texas," said Father Kevin Collins of Houston, one of the clergymen active in Industrial Areas Foundation groups such as Dallas Area Interfaith.

Continue reading "Dewhurst to CHIP 'zealots': Get continuous" »

Posted by Robert T. Garrett at 11:05 PM | Permalink

Even a gun-friendly Legislature has its limits.

Sen. Kim Brimer says the Senate will install metal detectors in its galleries within the next few weeks for the duration of the session after some senators have been stalked and threatened to the point where Brimer’s worried about a terrorist incident.

Brimer, chairman of the Senate committee that oversees these things, said he recognizes that the move may draw some criticism from people who don’t like the Legislature’s loosening of gun controls – including one that would let employees keep guns in their cars in the parking lots of businesses – but says he can’t compromise the security of the Senate.

“It’s a damned if you do and damned if you don’t type of deal,” he says. “It’s more severe type threats. It’s not just guns, it has to do with explosives,” he said. “More terrorist oriented. A larger group of people could be injured, and we just feel like we have the capabilities, and the members are all interested in doing it, so it’s a sign of the times.”

When it goes into effect, anyone – lobbyist, guests, school kids, local delegations – who wants to sit above the chambers and watch them live in action would have to go through a metal detector.

Brimer says he originally wanted them in the entrances of the Capitol but couldn’t get House Admin Chairman Tony Goolsby on board.

Goolsby still isn’t sold on detectors in the galleries, either, though as of this morning he hadn’t told Brimer.

“We don’t see any need to do it in the House side. I have a little concern about some idiot getting in that gallery and throwing something down, but that’s only happened twice since I’ve been here.”

(There's a joke in there somewhere...)

Starting in August, though, Goolsby says the Capitol is starting “a whole security deal” on the front doors – metal detectors, presumably – in August.

Right now, DPS officials here say that guns – with CHL’s of course, Texas’ version of a library card – are allowed in all the public areas of the Capitol. No! the floor, but in the galleries, committee rooms, rotundas, etc. How that would work with the detectors, the captain here says, remains to be seen.

Anyone remember when they did that right after 911? Thankfully, the detectors at the front doors were out by the time session started.

I’ll tell you one thing. If I have to spend every day of every session standing in line behind 300 school kids (and I mean, that’s a conservative estimate some days) just to get to work, I’ll shoot my own self.

Posted by Karen Brooks at 5:56 PM | Permalink