Lt. Governor David Dewhurst made his committee assignments public at 4:53pm on a Friday. The only open chairmanship was at Administration, where State Sen. Tommy Williams took former state Sen. Brimer's place.
Most of the chairmanships stayed the same, including that of state Sen. John Carona, who was the lone vote against suspending the 2/3 rule for voter ID. Herewith, and more after the jump:
Dewhurst telling the press corps last week that committees were coming. Still haven't come.
During his biennial lunch with the press, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst said he would have committee assignments out by "midweek" this week. Midweek's come and gone, and committee assignments are still eluding us. And the senators. What gives?
Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht is appealing his $29,000 fine from the Texas Ethics Commission.
You probably recall Hecht was fined the $29K for failing to report discounted legal fees from the Jackson Walker law firm. Consumer advocacy group Texas Watch filed the complaint. Reporters have attempted to ask Hecht for his side of the story, but tracking him down has been difficult.
The appeal was filed on Tuesday, January 27th in J...
Texas First Lady Anita Perry announced a new partnership with independent banks this morning, to drum up more money for the Governor's Mansion Restoration Fund. It's the fund made up of private donations that was started last year after the historic landmark was destroyed by an arsonist.
So far, more than $3 million has been donated or pledged to the fund, with about $1.5 in cash-on-hand. The total cost of rebuilding is still unknown, but a large sum will likely come from state appropriations.
A quick look at the Governor's Mansion Restoration Fund, so far:
12:19pm: Wraps up at 12:19pm, a full 48 minutes after he started. Individual first name drops include: Senfronia, Boogie, Jerry, Hope, John, Chuy, John and Phil. More coverage tonight at five and six. Thanks for joining us.
12:18pm: "And reap that harvest we shall...and we shall reap it together." A reference to and twist on scripture by Perry's speechwriters.
12:14pm: Wants DPS funding to go back into general revenue, to help pay for infrastructure.
Repeat DWI offenders won't have a choice but to take a breathylzer or give a blood sample, under a bill filed by state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown. State Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, filed the companion bill in the Senate.
In response to President Obama's orders Monday directing the EPA to look at whether some states can have tougher auto emission standards, state Sen. Rodney Ellis and state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, are renewing their failed legislation from last session to have Texas follow the stricter California standards for auto emissions.
"For the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and commitment to change," Obama said following the signing of the order.
You'd be smart to avoid the elevators at the state Capitol today. Not only are teachers and other educators from across the state coming to lobby their lawmakers, bikers are on their way to converge on the Capitol, too.
"We have fought the "good fight" for many years regarding legislation that was not beneficial or supportive to our lifestyle, with a few minor successes and many failures, until now," said one of the group's members, Paul Landers.
It won't be hard to find the bikers. Hundreds of them should be arriving right about... now.
Apologies for the delay. It seemed like much of civilization was in Washington for the big inauguration, but hundreds of people joined up and caught the TV broadcast here in Austin. If you attended, here's a chance to play "Where's Waldo?" with yourself.
The prelude to the KBH 2010 gubernatorial announcement continues. The latest incremental step (a strategy meeting) happened on a Saturday morning, allowing her to finish up her week in Washington and still be well-timed to get into the Sunday newspapers.
Lt. Governor David Dewhurst riffed on his top priorities for the legislative session during a lunch with the capitol press corps. My notes are stained with some sort of fruit glaze, but here they are, in the order the Lt. Gov presented them... (and quotes from his riffs on the side.)
1.) Budget
Proposes drawing down a little from rainy day fund, wants to avoid the kind of across-the-board spending cuts we saw in 2003... touts Texas' relative strength compared to other states. "California's a great place to visit, I guess, but they have a huge deficit..."
Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the power-advocacy group behind tort reform in Texas, is going to take good care of the ladies of the legislature. TLR is treating female lawmakers, spouses and staff members to "manicure, pedicures, chair massages and more" (not sure what more means) at the Four Seasons Hotel next week.
The seats have run out here at the State Board of Education meeting, where board members are setting science curriculum standards for public school students. Science and religious faith are crashing into each other once again -- members may opt to teach Texas schoolchildren the "weaknesses" of evolution, to the chagrin of science professionals. The standards they establish will last a decade. More from the SBOE throughout the day. First, some photos!
US Senator John Cornyn, R-TX, has gotten Hillary Clinton's confirmation as Secretary of State delayed by a day - at least. Cornyn, a longtime fighter for open government, wants more transparency about foreign donations to Bill Clinton's foundation and possible conflicts of interest for Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Here's Marc Ambinder:
In a letter to Clinton, Cornyn wrote that he remained "deeply troubled" that "America's foreign policy and your diplomatic mission will be encumbered by the swe...
Sorry for the absence, blog friends. Have to work on television side of things... but more photos will come tonight from the scene at Scholz's, where Obama's Austin grassroots gathered to watch the swearing-in.
A really moving morning at the Capitol - the MLK "I have a dream" speech is being broadcast on the capitol lawn for anyone within a two-mile radius to hear. Of course, it's no ordinary Monday... the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. day one day before the inauguration of its first black president. The WaPo has a well-written piece on Obama's journey right here.
The current president returns to Texas tomorrow, flying into Midland and then to Crawford for the evening. Austinites in the "blue dot" of a red...
This seems like one of those "a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar" jokes. In this instance, Democratic House members Jim Dunnam, Garnet Coleman and Mike Villareal walk into a party, take the stage, Republican state Rep. Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton takes the mike and they all put Texas Association of Business' Bill Hammond on backup vocals...
Let's not forget state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, showing off his rhythmic talents on... you guessed it -- cowbell. More cowbell!
"I am preparing to run for governor. I'm not equivocal, I'm not undecided." -Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, November 2008
The latest campaign finance reports show Kay Bailey Hutchison's serious about running for Texas governor. She put $7 million of her federal campaign money into her state campaign coffers. (When she announced late last year, she transferred just $1 million over.) Her cash-on-hand is now $7.9 million. See KBH's report here....
State Senator Kirk Watson, D-Austin, has landed in a new law firm. He left the power firm of K&L Gates for a smaller power firm, Brown McCarroll. Watson's work outside of the lege focuses on commercial litigation, and his trial lawyering skills were on full display during the passionate rules debate, as TX Monthly notes.
"Brown McCarroll has roots in Texas and the Austin community that go back more than 70 years," said Sen. Watson in a statement. "I've known this firm and many of these attorneys for a long time. I know and have always...
Former House Speaker Tom Craddick is back to being a regular representative, and he has a lot of time to talk. In all, he sat down for nine freewheeling one-on-one interviews with members of the media today. Craddick took his time with us, too. No time limits, no rules, and even a short chat about the new taqueria, El Chilto, on Congress Ave.
Me: You know where Quizno's is?
Him: Yep.
Me; Yeah, El Chilito is right there, next to that.
Him: I didn't know there was a new place. I'll have to try that.
He also asked us - after the interview - about the rules fight that's still going on...
Before the Senate can move forward, it must adopt its rules. But that's taken longer than expected. (Burnt Orange is liveblogging this.)
At issue - the longstanding two-thirds rule in the Texas Senate that requires 20 of the 31 members approval to bring a bill to the floor. Republicans want to exclude the hot-button issue of voter ID from that rule. Democrats are attempting to parliamentary-inquiry-it-to-death on the Senate floor right now.
Speaker Joe Straus is now part of a special breakfast club. Every Wednesday during the session, the speaker, Lt. Governor and Governor eat breakfast together and chat about whatever's going on. On this morning of their first breakfast, the three emerged to talk with the press.
Just a few shots from the first day. It's clear from these I spent my first day on the House side, and attempts to go elsewhere were thwarted by the close quarters that kept anyone from moving more than five feet without stepping on, elbowing or falling on top of someone else. (It kind of felt like being in an elevator in Asia.) Enjoy the photos!
1:44pm: Governor Rick Perry now at the dais. "The first day of session is a beautiful thing," he says. "It's like a blank canvas." Perry reflects on his time in the House for a minute, then tells members that his door will be open to them.
1:34pm: "Let there be no walls in this House," Speaker Straus concludes. "...
It's here. After months in the wilderness of interim-ness, a 140 day legislative session is upon us once again. The House speaker's set -- now the real work begins. And is there a better way, really, to illustrate the process than my all time favorite Schoolhouse Rock song? ("Conjunction Junction" is a close second.)
In an earlier post, we featured speaker-to-be Joe Straus' answers on questions like iPhone versus Blackberry. Now we get to the more substantive stuff, on the issues. He took a few viewer questions too, at the end.
Straus with our San Antonio team from Belo.
Talk to us about the Austin delegation.
The Austin deleg...
Lawmakers will have a lot less taxpayer money to appropriate in the coming session. Comptroller Susan Combs projected a revenue drop in the first time since the dot-com bust of 2003, from $86.2 billion (current biennium) to $77.1 billion. It's a 10.5% drop in the state money that can be spent for Texas' needs. Read the full estimate here.
Speaker-to-be Joe Straus had interesting things to say about various issues in an interview with us and San Antonio sister station KENS-5 this afternoon. But I thought we'd warm him up with some getting-to-know-you stuff first... which I caught on my tiny pocket camera. (Sitting there and making eye contact and shooting video wound up being tricky, the video's pretty shaky so please bear with the PJ interns me.)
What he said about the issues will be coming up in our newscasts on Monday, and I'll transcribe that for the blog too, for those of you who like to read. But first, Straus on the m...
The two former lawmakers serving as advisors to State Rep Joe Straus in his transition will be staying on for longer. Straus named former state Rep Clyde Alexander to serve as his Chief of Staff, and former state Senator Cyndi Taylor Krier to serve as Senior Adviser.
"This has been an extraordinary week for all of us in the Texas House. I am gratified by the support and friendship of so many Members, uniting to serve the people's business.
I am honored that Clyde has accepted to return to his beloved House, in a fulltime role at my side. Clyde's insights and advice are essential to me. Clearly, Cl...
The Dept of Defense took some photos of Governor Rick Perry meeting with troops in Iraq. I didn't see one with Perry holding up a UT flag in Iraq... just A&M. Sorry, Longhorns.
2008 was the year of Joe's. Joe the plumber, Joe Six-Pack, Morning Joe, Joe the Biden.
In Texas, we're stretching the Joe tradition into 2009, with "Joe the likely Speaker". Since becoming the consensus candidate (and then the clear winner) in the speaker contest, his time for press has been limited. But we managed to get 30 minutes with the speaker this weekend, to ask him what YOU want to know.
So send me your questions (email address to the right) or leave them in comments. Or @reply me on Twitter. Please include your first name, home city and your qu...
The Capitol Press Corps didn't escape this era of shrinking news organizations and disappearing bureaus. We lost the reporter for the Valley newspapers (Liz Pierson Hernandez), three members of the Fort Worth Star Telegram bureau, two members of the Houston Chronicle's bureau, and The Dallas Morning News' Karen Brooks will leave this Friday for the calmer waters of new media.
Don't be too quick to call State Rep Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, a "presumptive speaker" or "speaker designate". His spokesperson and other aides want to make clear he's just "State Rep Straus" until an official speaker election next week.
Governor Rick Perry took some questions via satellite from Iraq, where he is currently visiting the troops. He gave us his take on the new speaker:
Is Straus fit for speaker?
I've known Joe for a long time, and what I suspect Joe will do as speaker of the Texas House is.. he'll take all the considerations of all the issues and go far with them. I know where I stand on them.
On his differences with Straus on the abortion issue (Straus is pro-choice, Perry pro-life)
I'm going to work with Joe. And I'm gonna work everyday to make sure that any issues we don't share the sam...
Peter Gibbons: What if we're still doin' this when we're 50?
Samir: It would be nice to have that kind of job security. --Office Space, 1999
The burning question among capitol staffers is where ousted Speaker Tom Craddick will office out of now that he's no longer speaker. Straus, of course, moves into Craddick's office and speaker's apartment. Returning members have already moved into their new offices (if they opted to move) and freshmen have already selected their office spaces. So where will Craddick go?
"We haven't decided that yet," said Steve Adrian, the House bu...
Sorry for the delay. This Smithee video file fell victim to some technical difficulties.
To review, State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, spoke just outside his office after meeting with his supporters and deciding to quit the race for house speaker. He says state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, also dropped his challenge, paving the way for state Rep Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, to become the next speaker of the House without challenges on the first day of session.
Watch Smithee below. He is both realistic and gracious about the situation:
Rep Smithee just confirmed both he and remaining speaker candidate state Rep Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, will withdraw their bids.
"Ive decided with the consent and pretty much the consensus of the Republicans with me to drop the challenge," said Smithee, outside his office after meeting with his remaining supporters. "To my knowledge there are no more challenges to Representative Straus."
What changed from last night?
"The numbers became obvious. We had to get some of our people back, and we went the other way. I know enough to know when I signed on that we were already down to 75 vot...
Just caught state Reps Phil King, Wayne Christian, Jodie Laubenberg, Bill Zedler and Will Hartnett walking into state Rep. John Smithee's office.
"I'll let him talk to you when this is over," said King. "He just called some of his supporters to meet with him to talk about what's next."
Smithee filed to run for speaker just last night, but after Straus emerged over the weekend with way more than the 76 pledged supporters needed to win the speakership, Smithee is weighing whether to stay in the race. More to come.
An already big deal seemed even bigger when likely-speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, chose the State Capitol rotunda for his first press conference since the withdrawal of Speaker Tom Craddick from the race. The first floor of the rotunda, where Straus and other members would take questions, filled with capitol staffers, press, lobbyists and other lurkers.
Those who didn't want to crane for a good view filled the balconies overlooking the rotunda to catch the action. Crazy day in Texas history. Check out a short slideshow below.
The man who could be speaker will hold a presser at the State Capitol at 11:30am, where he will be flanked by supporters including state Representatives Dan Branch, Joaquin Castro, Byron Cook, Brian McCall and Senfronia Thompson.
(Note that Castro and Thompson are Democrats and minorities, so this will be a show of bipartisan, multi-background support united behind Straus.)
Attempts to talk with Speaker Craddick tonight were as futile as his bid for a fourth-term. His press secretary released the following statement just after 10pm. Enjoy it while it lasts, cause it's only eight words long.
(Austin) - Alexis DeLee, spokeswoman for Speaker Tom Craddick, released the following statement:
"Tonight, Tom Craddick released his pledges for speaker."
Just after six o'clock Sunday night, the confirmations started coming in from members close to incumbent House Speaker Tom Craddick: He would withdraw his bid to be speaker for a fourth term, because he didn't have enough support from his colleagues.
Craddick gave no comment to the throng of reporters so anxious to hear from him that they chased him down a back alley.
At almost the same time, Republican speaker candidate state Rep Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, released a list of 85 commitments from members who said they will support him ...
The photo: Sunday, January 4, 2009. The night three-term House Speaker Tom Craddick gave up his power, withdrawing from an increasingly futile effort to win another term to head the House.
He'd planned a meeting at this downtown Austin steakhouse to huddle with his supporters, but in the 48 hours before the Sunday night meeting, the math became increasingly clear: Craddi...
If you haven't heard, the previously unthinkable happened. Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick was toppled by his opponents. The sitting speaker, upon realizing he doesn't have enough support to win another term, withdrew from the race to head the House.
The Craddick supporters gathered in downtown Austin to discuss what is next. While most of the members who were mobbed by reporters outside stayed quiet, state Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, was quite forthcoming. Check it out, and share with your cyberbuds if you'd like:
First, an update on the shenanigans. An aide to State Rep. Joe Straus says Straus will lay out more than 80 names of his supporters sometime this evening. Stay tuned for the list.
Meanwhile, the current speaker is hunkering down with his top supporters in Austin tonight. At a steakhouse. Get it, steak out? (Groan.) I'm mobilizing microblogging site Twitter to help keep up with the comings-and-goings at Speaker Craddick's strategy meeting. Check back or follow me at www.twitter.com/elisewho for updates starting at around 6:30pm. (Ed note: These are from Sunday night, live tweets are no longer updating w...
The speaker's race this Sunday remains a Category 4 storm with spin-gusts up to 120mph. A few updates for you:
State Rep Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, sent out a message on his microblog on Twitter to say state Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, has filed for Speaker. We can't confirm with the Texas Ethics Commission since it's closed today. But Smithee was expected to file to present a contrast to ABC consensus candida...
Straus told the combined Austin bureau of the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News that he has support from at least 76 members of the Texas House, the number needed to clinch the House speakership.
State Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, said "nothing's changed" and 64 Democrats remain committed to supporting someone besides Tom Craddick for Speaker. But he says "no vote was taken" about who to support during the two-hour meeting in Austin to plot out speaker's race strategy.
"It's up to the individual members, and it has been all along," said Dunnam.
--Meeting still going. I'm sitting here in the lobby on a chair that has surprisingly great lumbar support.
--Heard some laughter and a loud-talker, but couldn't identify the voice. State Rep. Garnet Coleman said he HOPES this doesn't go on much longer, but doesn't know for sure.
--Statesman's intrepid political reporter Laylan Copelin just walked in with his lunch, courtesy of Schlozky's.
--Me: Hey, how much longer?
--State Rep Pete Gallego, D-Alpine: We're having too much fun! We're talking about our kids still.
--"I've already signed my pledge," said state Rep. Lon Burnam, ...
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, has voted for House Speaker Tom Craddick three times in the past -- 2003, 2005 and 2007. She caught flak for it in 2007 by not only drawing a Democratic primary opponent who made hay of her support of Craddick in some nasty negative ads. (Read: Black and white generic lobbyist looking dude in slow mo and the video clips of Dukes and Craddick huddling together.)
This afternoon, Dukes told reporters she remains uncommitted to a candidate.
This time, we're scoping out the Democratic meeting to hash out Speaker strategy. Most the Democrats I've spoken with sound like they are okay with the Straus pick by ABC Republicans, if they HAVE TO vote for a Republican.
The meeting was just called to order, even though it was supposed to start at noon. The so-called Craddick D's we saw who showed were state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, state Rep Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City and state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio. More to come. Stay tuned.
Wow, some editors at Texas Monthly magazine must be patting themselves on the back tonight. In February of 2008, the magazine selected state Rep Joe Straus, now the chosen challenger to take on Craddick, as one of the 35 Texans who would lead the state into the future. Part of what they wrote:
Genial and pragmatic, he's a proponent of low taxes, economic growth, and other totems of fiscal conservatism, but he's no friend to hectoring social conservatives--and he's all for lowering the level of an...
Well, well, well. The late filing for Speaker by state Rep Brian McCall, R-Plano, turned out to be a pump fake. The Gang of Eleven emerged from their not-so-secret meeting location to declare state Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio to be their choice to take on Speaker Craddick.
Republican Brian McCall of Plano is gaining late momentum as the possible "consensus candidate" for Speaker. McCall filed late today, which means as a member of the Gang of Eleven he will be eligible to be chosen to take on Craddick.
First, we got there a little late, because the ABCs were telling everyone the meeting started at five pm, when really, all of them arrived by 4pm.
By the time I arrived, Pitts, Geren, McCall, Cook and Merritt were already there. Straus and Solomons showed up after that, and attempts to speak to them were pretty much rejected. (Lots of fast walking.)
"Are you the next speaker?" I asked Solomons.
"I don't know, I have no idea. But I think it's real smart of you to be hanging around though," Solomons said.
ABC state Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, says the maneuvering over who will be the House Speaker will wrap-up soon. How soon, he's not sure.
"But this won't go to the first day of the session. I think it's in the entire House's interest to have this worked out before the first day," McCall said.
Strategy sessions are planned for tonight and Sunday. ABC's will meet in a top secret location in Austin tonight to pick their consensus candidate for speaker.
"After that, we'll reach out to other members who are for change. Craddick will not be speaker," McCall said.
"The high-stakes contest is unfolding with characteristic flair and drama: Secret meetings. Public defections. Whispers of more to come." -Jay Root, AP
Oh the DRAMA! The Texas House elects its Speaker on the first day of the next session, January 13th. The Capital City is swirling with conversations and rumors and spin about how the vote will go down.
For those who are just joining in on the action, you don't have to feel like the Speaker-related conversations are in code. Here's a quick cheat sheet for those who are a little less Speaker-savvy:
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