tie game (dems make gains in texas house)

Texas Democrats may have failed to elect any of their statewide slate yesterday, but they did make inroads in the Texas Legislature.

With most of the races completed, Democrats have picked up a net gain of three seats in the 150-member House. They flipped six seats that had been held by Republicans and lost three of their own seats. And there's an Irving seat where GOP incumbent Linda Harper-Brown has eeked by with a 25-vote margin (out of 40,700 votes cast), but there are still provisional ballots to count and a recount in the race is almost certain.

If the Democrats are able to flip Harper-Brown's seat in a recount, then the Texas House would be tied with 75 Republican members and 75 Democrats. That could mean that a speaker race which could end with a Democrat as Speaker of the Texas House.

As we head into redistricting, it's more important than ever to have Democrats in control of the state legislature. And it's looking more and more like a real possibility after yesterday.

texas democrats block voter id bill

In the Texas Senate, the Democrats hold 11 seats. 21 senators must agree to bring a bill up for consideration, so the Democrats can effectively block legislation if they vote as a bloc.

But they also have to have their votes counted.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst tried to pull a fast one today, when the Senate was voting on the Voter ID Bill (HB 128). One Democratic senator wasn't on the floor because he was ill, and another that was there didn't even get his vote counted.

When the vote total, 19-9, was announced, chaos ensued, according to the Houston Chronicle.

[The Democrats] revolted after the original 19-9 vote was revealed, loudly arguing that Sen. John Whitmire was on the floor but his no vote wasn't counted.

"Right is right. Wrong is wrong. You tell the man I have a right to have my vote counted," Whitmire growled at his Republican colleagues. He later slammed his fist on his desk, prompting Dewhurst to threaten to kick him out of the chamber.

"You're going to compose yourself or you're going to leave the floor," the Republican lieutenant governor said.

Dewhurst insisted that he had given Whitmire plenty of time to cast his vote and resisted Democrats' calls for a re-vote. But he eventually agreed to conduct another vote, insisting it wasn't going to change the outcome.

But by that time, the Democrats were able to vote as a block, with ill Sen. Carlos Uresti returning to the chamber and Sen. Whitmire's vote being tallied (plus another Republican making it to the floor), and the legislation was blocked by a vote of 20-11.

temporary fix passes the lege

The Dallas Morning News reports that HB 1 and HB 2 have passed, allowing a temporary fix by lowering property taxes by seventeen cents and using the profits from any other bills passed to help buy down the property taxes. The passage of these bills will comply with the minimum requirements of the Texas Supreme Court ruling that held the current property tax and school finance system unconstitutional. Still to be seen is whether or not Perry's controversial business tax will pass the Republican-led House.

EDIT: According to In the Pink Texas, HB 3 has passed 80-69.

Unfortunately (as we are obviously stationed in the Dallas area) none of our bloggers were able to make it down to Austin for the special session. Over the past few days, we have provided you with some information about what the special session is and what it means. If you would like to read live blogs from the floor of the Texas State House, please visit Pink Dome and Capitol Annex, both top-notch blogs that have provided excellent coverage of the special session.

and the special session continues

The good news is that James Leininger has decided not to disrupt this pivotal special session with school voucher propaganda:

San Antonio multimillionaire and school voucher supporter James Leininger said Friday he won't push Gov. Rick Perry and legislative leaders to include a voucher program in the special session on school finance.

Leininger, who has spent some of his personal fortune into a private scholarship program in San Antonio, said he doesn't want a fight over using taxpayer money for vouchers to derail the special session.

Less exciting is the fact that professional sports team lobbyists are exerting their influence, attempting to exempt their broadcast revenue from the business tax proposed in Perry's plan. In a Dallas Morning News online poll, over 90% of voters felt that broadcast revenue should not be exempt from the new business tax.

Lt. Governor Dewhurst has launched an advertising blitz targeting Dallas, Houston, and Austin in support of the Senate's education plan, saying that he wants Texas constituents to know what their legislators are voting on. The governor is also planning a $6 million media campaign focusing on tax reform. Perry aides say they are not mad about Dewhurst's promotional campaign, but they have a different emphasis when it comes to the special session.

Here's to the hope that the Lege will get something accomplished in the twenty-something days they have left. They've got a lot of distractions, but they've also got a deadline. The Texas Supreme Court has given the Texas Legislature a deadline of June 1 to do something about the tax system as it concerns school finance.

special sessions can be fun

Yesterday, the two houses of the Texas State Legislature kicked off one of their famous thirty-day special sessions. Since the Texas Constitution only requires our lawmakers to meet once every two years, the governor has to call special sessions to get things done. Unfortunately, because this is Texas, the Lege still can't get anything done. Ever. As Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst called the Senate to order, his gavel broke. He remarked, "I hope that's not a reflection on the session." Inevitably, it will be.

Besides Governor Rick Perry's "tax relief" proposals, some of the interesting bills and resolutions introduced so far include:

• A pay raise for school employees by up to $2,000, and more funding for high schools to promote graduation rates; introduced by Sen. Florence Shapiro, a Republican from Plano.
• A law that would make it a misdemeanor to disrupt funerals, in response to the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas (operated by evangelist/freak Fred Phelps) and their vociferous anti-gay protests at funerals of fallen soldiers; introduced by Sen. Robert Duncan, a Republican from Lubbock.
• A resolution to honor Karl Rove "as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives" for his supposed service to Texas and the country; introduced by Rep. Tony Goolsby, a Republican from Dallas.
• Resolutions to replace Rep. Carl Isett, a Lubbock Republican, and Rep. Frank Corte Jr., a San Antonio Republican, with their wives, as they are both serving currently in Iraq; introduced by Rep. Harvey Hildebran, a Republican from Kerrville, and Rep. Delwin Jones, a Republican from Lubbock.
  

In other interesting news, Sen. Royce West, a Democrat from Dallas, was sworn in as President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, making him second in line for gubernatorial succession. If both Perry and Dewhurst are out of the state, West will act as governor. Also, gubernatorial hopeful and State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn made an unexpected announcement of more than double the expected budget surplus: $8.2 billion. Strayhorn's suprise announcement leads us nicely into a short discussion of Perry's tax plan. The "tax relief" legislation has been broken down into five pieces of legislation introduced by several different Republicans in the Lege.

1. Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa, Rep. Rob Eissler of the Woodlands, and Rep. Dan Branch of Dallas introduced HB 1, a bill considering tax relief by reducing school district property tax rates by seventeen cents.
   
2. Rep. Jim Pitts of Waxahachie introduced HB 2, a bill that would send revenue from the five separate tax bills to help buy down property taxes.
   
3. Rep. Jim Keffer of Eastland, Rep. John Otto of Dayton, and Rep. Vilma Luna of Corpus Christi introduced HB 3, a bill that would revise (read: increase) franchise tax provisions.
   
4. Rep. David Swinford of Amarillo introduced HB 4, a bill that would modify (read: increase) tax on the use and sale of motor vehicles.
   
5. Rep. Peggy Hamric of Houston introduced HB 5, a bill that would modify (read: increase) taxes on tobacco products such as cigarettes.

Perry has called the special session primarily to pass his tax intiatives because of a recent Texas Supreme Court ruling that made the current school finance system (Robin Hood) illegal by holding it unconstitutional. The Lege has a deadline of June 1 to pass school finance reform. Perry's plan would trade higher taxes on smokers and business-owners for lower property taxes. It was partially devised by former Comptroller John Sharp, a Democrat.

Strayhorn's "extraordinary" announcement of a surplus of $8.2 billion dollars may prove an impediment to Perry's tax legislation getting passed. As noted by Lt. Governor Dewhurst, the Republicans want "to return as much of the surplus to the taxpayers [as possible] because it's taxpayers' money." Dewhurst has commented on the heavy support of Perry's plan but has stopped short of formally endorsing it. Speculators say that many House members would prefer not to vote on a major tax bill this year, instead taking a temporary approach to fulfilling the Supreme Court's mandate.

Rep. Jim Dunnam, a Waco Democrat and the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, urged careful spending of the projected surplus. "We can do both, have meaningful property tax relief and provide more money for schools," he said.

Stay tuned. It looks as if this special session, which must adjourn by May 16, could get interesting. Who says special sessions aren't fun?