#TXLEGE: Murphy's elevation illustrates, once again, how incompetent the Democrats really are

"As snow in summer and rain in harvest,
So honor is not fitting for a fool."
Proverbs 26:1

Soo...this happened:

The @TXGOPCaucus has elected its officers for the 87th #txlege session. @JimMurphy133 will serve as Chair, @TomOliverson as Vice-Chair, @GoldmanCraig as Treasurer, and @CandyNobleHD89 as Secretary. The Caucus is ready to get to work. pic.twitter.com/2ZuKJsIEm5

— Texas House Republican Caucus (@TXGOPCaucus) December 5, 2020

Sigh.

Jim Murphy, of course, being this guy:

It appears that state Rep. Jim Murphy likes taxpayer-funded hats. Channel 2 Investigates identified him wearing a couple of them. One is for the 133rd District on Houston's west side, and the other remains unclear.

Employment contracts between Murphy and the Westchase District, a governmental agency and political subdivision of the state, show Murphy banking a fixed monthly fee of over $26,000 a month. That is a whopping $312,000 a year. The contract also lists him as a "consultant" even though the website for the Westchase District clearly says he's the general manager.

So what is the problem?

State law says, "No member of the Legislature may hold any other office or position of profit, except as a notary public."

In other words, a legislator cannot hold another taxpayer-funded job.

[Note: We can't post the original TV report due to formatting issues, but we strongly recommend you click through the link above and watch the whole thing (approx. 5 minutes).]

There's a lot we could say about what this means for the session. TL,DR: Nothing good. But that's all obvious.

Instead, we want to focus on how this announcement is almost forty eight hours old, yet the Democrats haven't said a peep.

For anything remotely resembling a credible opposition party, this is a softball down the middle of the plate. Yet the Democrats are standing there with the bat on their shoulder. Textbook example of why Texas Democrats aren't likely to win anything anytime soon.

Of course, none of this is new. We've been baffled, for years, at the Democrats' inability to capitalize on Jim Murphy's scandals. This should be a gimme for them.

But it won't be, 'cuz the Democrats in Texas really are **THAT** incompetent.

(On a not entirely unrelated note, this is also a great example of why they just spent $100 million on Texas house races to come up with bupkus.)

Bottom Line: To miss this obvious of an opportunity tells you what you need to know.

#TXLEGE: Miles/Murphy remain likely to get away with EVERYTHING

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness."
Proverbs 16:12

Back in February, we wrote the following:

#TXLEGE: Borris Miles, Jim Murphy and Bi-Partisan POLITICAL MALPRACTICE

The gist of the piece was that, in both parties, you had legislators enmeshed in serious scandals (financial in Murphy's case, sexual in Miles' case). Yet neither party was even attempting to make an issue out the other guy's stumbles. Gift horses, mouths, etc.

Well, here we are seven month later, and...nothing's changed.

Both Borris Miles and Jim Murphy are looking at a 95%(+) liklihood of being re-elected.

But the craziest part isn't they're both likely to be re-elected, it's that in neither case did anyone even attempt to embarrass them.

Bottom Line: If you want to understand the depressing reality of why government in this state is the way that it is, this is a pretty good place to start.

#TXLEGE: Borris Miles, Jim Murphy and Bi-Partisan POLITICAL MALPRACTICE

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness."
Proverbs 16:12

We've been back on the Jim Murphy hobbyhorse ever since leadership put him in charge of cleaning up this mess at the Teacher Retirement System.  We've also discussed how hammering this issue could be advantageous to the opposition party.  Finally, we've discussed how strange we find said opposition party squandering said opportunity.

So we were prepared to rip on the Democrats for their failure to make Jim Murphy a household name.  But we can't.  At least not alone.  Because, truth be told, Republicans are looking just as big of a gift horse in the mouth.

Because Borris Miles is also running around like nothing ever happened.

It's kinda astonishing.

On the one hand, you have a Democrat who, at best, has been on the receiving end of horrifying allegations of sexual misconduct.  On the other hand, you have a Republican who has been documented to be engaging in serious financial corruption.  Yet, neither party is inclined to exploit the respective gifts they've received.

Some might argue this is a form of mutually assured political destruction.  Maybe.  But we're not convinced.  See why here.

Bottom Line: The opportunity is there...if either party wants to take advantage.

#TXLEGE: Depressing

"Jesus wept."
John 11:35

We discussed this morning's Trib event with Craig Goldman and Celia Israel yesterday.  Yeah, we didn't go.  We did watch online. It was a great reminder of the ongoing institutional wretchedness...otherwise known as the Texas house.

The top line takeaway is easy: The majority party in the Texas house continues to suck.  The opposition party, however, continues to suck even more.  Thus, something close to the staus quo is likely to continue.

In a competition between D-minus and F, D-minus will continue to win by default.



It's difficult to oversell just how vacuous Craig Goldman was this morning. He's still drinking the Kool-aid from last session. "Transformational education reform" or some such nonsense.

For everything that could be said about Craig Goldman, however, all you have to know is that he praised "the leadership of...Speaker Bonnen."

He actually said it.

Yet, Celia Israel didn't call Goldman out.

[Note: Evan Smith didn't call Goldman out either.  But we can let that one slide.  That's not necessarily the moderator's job (although it is something a good moderator would do).  It is, however, the opposition party's job.]

Think about that: A member of the majority party praised a presiding officer who's being forced out because of corruption.  Furthermore, he did so while the campaign chief for the opposition party was literally sitting next to him.  Yet, that opposition party campaign chief didn't think such comments from the member of the majority party were noteworthy.

That, right there, tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about Celia Israel's political competence.

Then again, what would you expect from a political party that was too stupid to figure out the guy to whom they just lost was a slumlord?!?

Suffice to say, putting Jim Murphy in charge of cleaning up this Teacher Retirement system mess didn't come up.

Bottom Line: For as much material as the Texas GOP seems determined to give them, the Texas Democrats ongoing failure to exploit it remains a sight.

#TXLEGE: Questions we'd ask Goldman and Israel if we were Evan Smith

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
1 John 4:1

Trib's holding an event tomorrow morning about the Texas house:

It’s the question everyone’s asking across the state — and at the Capitol. With the speakership up for grabs, big issues looming, and redistricting around the bend, Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith talks strategy and tactics with state Rep. Celia Israel of Austin, who’s leading the Democratic party’s efforts to regain the majority, and state Rep. Craig Goldman of Fort Worth, one of the Republicans tasked with retaining it.

This is an event we'd normally attend.  But the weather looks like it's going to suck.  And we want to take it easy on our knee.

But there are any number of questions that should be asked.

For Celia Israel:

• Why should anyone believe the Democrats are even remotely capable of picking up nine seats when y'all were too stupid to figure out that Gary Gates is a slumlord?!?

• Following y'all's debacle in Ft. Bend county, have you figured out that nobody cares about redistricting?!?

• It has now been two weeks since the GOP put Jim Frickin' Murphy in charge of cleaning up the Teacher Retirement System scandals.  Why have Democrats failed to exploit this debacle for political purposes?!?  Does this failure reflect poorly on your basic political competence?!?

For Craig Goldman:

• Why should anybody believe a word the Texas GOP says at this point?!?

For Both:

• Does it actually matter which party controls the Texas house next session?!?  Besides the details of whose donors get paid off more.  And how, specifically, you'll lie to voters.

• It's not exactly a secret that the Texas house is governed by a 'bi-partisan' blob of 120 or so members.
• Hint: Not really.

• What does the utter, total, and complete failure of ANY member of the Texas house (in either party) to condemn putting Jim frickin' Murphy in charge of cleaning up the Teacher Retirement System scandals say about the culture of the institution.?!?

• Should Poncho Nevarez receive a taxpayer funded pension for the rest of his life?!?

Bottom Line:  We'd LOVE to hear Craig Goldman and Celia Israel answer all of these.

#TXLEGE: Maybe, just maybe, Jim Murphy isn't the best choice

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 6:24

We discussed the mess related to teacher retirement fund renting luxury office space a couple weeks ago.

The legislature is OUTRAGED!!!

(Outraged, they tell ya.)

So outraged they put someone in charge:



LOL, of course.

For those who don't remember, Jim Murphy is this guy:

HOUSTON – It appears that state Rep. Jim Murphy likes taxpayer-funded hats. Channel 2 Investigates identified him wearing a couple of them. One is for the 133rd District on Houston's west side, and the other remains unclear. 

Employment contracts between Murphy and the Westchase District, a governmental agency and political subdivision of the state, show Murphy banking a fixed monthly fee of over $26,000 a month. That is a whopping $312,000 a year. The contract also lists him as a "consultant" even though the website for the Westchase District clearly says he's the general manager. 

So what is the problem? 

State law says, "No member of the Legislature may hold any other office or position of profit, except as a notary public." 

In other words, a legislator cannot hold another taxpayer-funded job. 

Murphy is a five-time state representative.

[Note: We can't post the original TV report due to formatting issues, but we strongly recommend you click through the link above and watch the full report (approx. 5 minutes).]

Bottom Line: Foxes, henhouses, and all that.

#TXLEGE: Latest Crisis Subsides, Toxic Culture Remains

"Whoever has no rule over his own spirit
Is like a city broken down, without walls."
Proverbs 25:28

Sigh:

State Rep. Rick Miller, R-Sugar Land, is no longer running for reelection after he sparked a firestorm for saying he was facing primary challengers because they are Asian.

“During a recent interview with the Houston Chronicle I made some statements that were insensitive and inexcusable,” Miller said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “In trying to make a point about the campaign I used a poor choice of words that are not indicative of my character or heart.

“I do not want to be a distraction for my party or my constituents, and therefore I have decided not to seek re-election,” he continued.

Obviously, this was the least bad solution.  Had Miller not withdrawn from the race, this would have become a slow drip.  So one cheer.

We guess.

But does anyone feel good about this?!?

 After Bonnen left, we wrote:

[I]s anyone confident a new scandal won't soon emerge?!?

Cuz' we ain't.

Barely six weeks later...another frickin' scandal!!!

We've seen this movie:


From October:

This specific scandal is the completely predictable result of the toxic culture in the Texas capitol that has prevailed for a long time.

The GOP, meanwhile, has been running the place for a quarter century.

This is the same Republican majority that:

• Five years ago, was running college admissions scandals before it was cool.
• With all due respect to Aunt Becky, she ain't got nothin' on Jim Pitts.

• Two years ago, put a man who had been in a sexual relationship with a lobbyist for over a decade in charge of writing its sexual harassment policy.

• Just elected as vice chair a guy who was taking $56,000 a month from an entity under the jurisdiction of the committee he chaired.

The pattern is obvious...to anyone not under the influence of afore mentioned Egyptian rivers.

It can't be defended, and it shouldn't.

Yet, here we are.  Again.  Rick Miller, Dennis Bonnen, and Jim Pitts might be gone.  But Charlie Geren and Jim Murphy are still there.

Is anyone confident about that?!?

Cuz' we (still) ain't.

Bottom Line: Over/under six weeks before the next self-inflicted scandal?!?

#TXLEGE: Acute crisis subsides, Toxic Culture Remains

"For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."
2 Corinthians 7:10

This was always inevitable:

Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) announced this morning he would not seek reelection to the Texas House.

“Since Friday, I have had numerous conversations with Members who care deeply about the Texas House, and I respect the manner in which they have handled the entire situation. After much prayer, consultation, and thoughtful consideration with my family, it is clear that I can no longer seek re-election as State Representative of District 25, and subsequently, as Speaker of the House,” said Bonnen in a statement.

“I care deeply about this body and the work we have accomplished over the years, namely, the outstanding success we achieved in the 86th Legislature,” he continued.

This announcement comes after Michael Quinn Sullivan, of the conservative grassroots group Empower Texans, released a recording of a closed-door meeting he had with Bonnen, in which Bonnen offered a clear quid pro quo — Texas House media credentials in exchange for Sullivan monetarily targeting 10 select “moderate” Republican House members.

Two and a half cheers.

It's certainly good that Bonnen is gone.  It always serves the public's interest to remove corrupt officials.  Furthermore, Bonnen's departure reduces the odds of a GOP electoral wipeout.

Still, it's hard to get too excited.  It took them three months to make a completely obvious decision.  It should have taken about three days.

Last Saturday we wrote that, given their inability to do that which is completely obvious re: Bonnen, the GOP deserved to lose the Texas house.  Obviously, this morning's announcement renders most of the specifics of that blog post moot.  Still...is anyone confident a new scandal won't soon emerge?!?

Cuz' we ain't.

As we wrote:

It's no longer just about Dennis Bonnen.  Or one act of political funny business.  This specific scandal is the completely predictable result of the toxic culture in the Texas capitol that has prevailed for a long time.

The GOP, meanwhile, has been running the place for a quarter century.

This is the same Republican majority that:

• Five years ago, was running college admissions scandals before it was cool.
• With all due respect to Aunt Becky, she ain't got nothin' on Jim Pitts.

• Two years ago, put a man who had been in a sexual relationship with a lobbyist for over a decade in charge of writing its sexual harassment policy.

• Just elected as vice chair a guy who was taking $56,000 a month from an entity under the jurisdiction of the committee he chaired.

The pattern is obvious...to anyone not under the influence of afore mentioned Egyptian rivers.

Dennis Bonnen (and Joe Straus and Jim Pitts) might be gone, but Charlie Geren and Jim Murphy remain.

It's hard to feel confident in a culture that continues to tolerate the likes of Charlie Geren and elevates the likes of Jim Murphy.

Even if they did (very, very, belatedly) throw Dennis Bonnen overboard.

Bottom Line: We're certainly in a better place now than we were twelve hours ago...but that's not saying much.

#TXLEGE: At this point, the GOP deserves to Lose the Texas house

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

Never, ever, ever underestimate the cowardice, or the stupidity, of the Republican caucus in the Texas house:

Just in — Statement from House Republican Caucus on Bonnen-Burrows-MQS: pic.twitter.com/ifxTJqxNhD

— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) October 18, 2019

That one has to go to the Twitter feed of a Texas Tribune reporter to find that statement, while the GOP caucus hasn't posted it to their own, tells you everything you need to know.

We'd call it denial, but we don't want to insult Egyptian rivers.

In other words:



Yet here we are.

It's 2006 on steroids.

We don't have anything new to say about this specific scandal.  There's nothing we can say that we didn't say three months ago.  And two months ago.  And ten days ago.

Yet here we are.

It's no longer just about Dennis Bonnen.  Or one act of political funny business.  This specific scandal is the completely predictable result of the toxic culture in the Texas capitol that has prevailed for a long time.

The GOP, meanwhile, has been running the place for a quarter century.

This is the same Republican majority that:

• Five years ago, was running college admissions scandals before it was cool.
• With all due respect to Aunt Becky, she ain't got nothin' on Jim Pitts.

• Two years ago, put a man who had been in a sexual relationship with a lobbyist for over a decade in charge of writing its sexual harassment policy.

• Just elected as vice chair a guy who was taking $56,000 a month from an entity under the jurisdiction of the committee he chaired.

The pattern is obvious...to anyone not under the influence of afore mentioned Egyptian rivers.

It can't be defended, and it shouldn't.

The New York Times, meanwhile, gets in on the act:

AUSTIN, Texas — With President Trump arriving in red-state Texas for a campaign rally in Dallas on Thursday, the Republican Party in the state faces a host of troubles.

The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives is engulfed in scandal. Six of the state’s 23 Republican members of the United States House of Representatives say they will not run for re-election, opening new opportunities for Democrats. And one of the state’s three top Republican leaders believes that the president has become a political liability among a crucial bloc of voters.

“With all due respect to Trump — who I love, by the way — he’s killing us in urban-suburban districts,” Dennis Bonnen, the speaker of the state House and the central figure in the legislative scandal, said in a 64-minute tape recording released on Tuesday.

The recording of a sometimes salty conversation Mr. Bonnen had with a conservative activist at the State Capitol in June includes a description of what critics have called a quid-pro-quo offer that is now under investigation by the Texas Rangers.

Mr. Bonnen says the tape, which was recorded without his knowledge, proves that nothing he said in the conversation broke any laws.

Even so, the political landscape in Texas will now feature both an embattled state leader struggling to hold on to the speakership and an embattled president confronting an impeachment inquiry — a prospect that unquestionably raises the stakes for Republicans in a state their party has dominated for more than two decades.

Consequently, “corruption and abuse of power become not just a national issue but potentially a state-level issue for Republicans as well,” said Jim Henson, a pollster and political analyst based in Austin.

Obviously, a certain type of moron will reply "HashtagFAKENEWS" to the New York Times.  That's fine.  They'll get what they deserve.

To the reality based community, however, its' a warning.

You don't have to agree with every statement in that Times article to understand they've got the basic dynamic right.

The frickin' New York Times understands reality better than the majority party in the Texas legislature.

Think about that.

Yet here we are.

Bottom Line: The Democrats might not deserve to win.  It might remain the case that they suck even more.  It probably does.  But it shouldn't surprise anyone if "might" fails to defeat currently observable reality.

#TXLEGE: With Jim Murphy, house GOP makes its bed; now they lie (Die?!?) in it

"As a dog returns to his own vomit,
So a fool repeats his folly."
Proverbs 26:11

SMDH:

State Rep. Jim Murphy of Houston, who was considered the favored candidate of embattled House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, was elected vice chair of the House Republican Caucus on Friday night.

Wow.

The full DMN piece discusses Murphy's election in the context of Bonnen's scandals.  That's certainly an important angle.  Read the whole thing here.

Unfortunately for the GOP, there's a whole separate dumpster fire:

HOUSTON - It appears that state Rep. Jim Murphy likes taxpayer-funded hats. Channel 2 Investigates identified him wearing a couple of them. One is for the 133rd District on Houston's west side, and the other remains unclear.

Employment contracts between Murphy and the Westchase District, a governmental agency and political subdivision of the state, show Murphy banking a fixed monthly fee of over $26,000 a month. That is a whopping $312,000 a year. The contract also lists him as a "consultant" even though the website for the Westchase District clearly says he's the general manager.

....

State law says, "No member of the Legislature may hold any other office or position of profit, except as a notary public."

In other words, a legislator cannot hold another taxpayer-funded job.

[Note: Learn more about Jim Murphy's ethics issues here, here, and here.]

In other words, the house GOP is trying to ride out one scandal by bringing in a guy enmeshed in a separate scandal.

Bottom Line: It doesn't take a genius to see how this blows up in their face....

#TXLEGE: Seriously...Jim Murphy?!?

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 6:24

Texas Scorecard yesterday, discussing vacancy for house GOP caucus vice chair:

Thus far, three potential candidates have emerged for the position: State Reps. Jim Murphy (Houston), Hugh Shine (Temple), and Andrew Murr (Kerrville).

[Note: Emphasis added.]

Oy vey.

In case you forgot:

HOUSTON - It appears that state Rep. Jim Murphy likes taxpayer-funded hats. Channel 2 Investigates identified him wearing a couple of them. One is for the 133rd District on Houston's west side, and the other remains unclear.

Employment contracts between Murphy and the Westchase District, a governmental agency and political subdivision of the state, show Murphy banking a fixed monthly fee of over $26,000 a month. That is a whopping $312,000 a year. The contract also lists him as a "consultant" even though the website for the Westchase District clearly says he's the general manager.

....

State law says, "No member of the Legislature may hold any other office or position of profit, except as a notary public."

In other words, a legislator cannot hold another taxpayer-funded job.

[Note: Learn more about Jim Murphy's ethics issues here, here, and here.]

It doesn't take a genius to see how this goes horribly wrong.

Bottom Line: If the house GOP caucus is dumb enough to vote Jim Murphy into a position of responsibility, they deserve everything they get.

#TXLEGE: Oh, Dennis

"The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools."
Proverbs 3:35

Even from 1500 miles away, it was pretty difficult to miss to continued devolution of the Bonnen saga.

To write a full analysis of the past week would require more time than we have interest, but some thoughts:

• When we've been saying, for years, that state government in Texas is astonishingly corrupt...this is a pretty good example.

• The members defending Bonnen are a bunch of dickless chodes.
• aka. Mayes Middleton, Matt Shaheen, Drew Springer, Craig Goldman, and...especially...Jeff Leach.
• Update: Add James White, Scott Sanford, Brad Buckley, and Cole Hefner to the list.
• Update II: Add Tom Oliverson.

• We haven't seen this level of willful blindness to serious misconduct since Wallace Hall.

• Whether or not Bonnen survives as speaker is irrelevant.  Anyone who can get to 76 votes will be a scumbag.  Gib Lewis, Pete Laney, Tom Craddick, Joe Straus, and Dennis Bonnen have all sucked.

• This is the same Texas house that, nearly two years into the scandal, has yet to say a word about Jim Murphy.

• Does the Travis County DA have jurisdiction?!?

• This is FUN!!!

Bottom Line: These people brought this on themselves and deserve everything that's coming....

#TXLEGE: House trying to extend local-level corporate welfare under the radar

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight."
Proverbs 11:1

[Note: The hearing can be viewed here. Our testimony on the first bill is about an hour in.  Our second testimony is about an hour after that.  We'll update this post with our others.]

This afternoon, we've testified against two bills in House Ways and Means.  We're waiting to testify in favor of two others.  But the pattern is becoming clear.

The House is moving to extend two of the most noxious corporate welfare programs in this state.  "Chapter 312" are local tax abatements that subsidize displacement and gentrification.  "Chapter 313" are ineffective school-district boondoggles.  They want to extend both.

The bills related to Chapter 312 and 313 are the following:

• HB 360         Murphy
  Relating to the extension of the expiration date of the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act.
• HB 2129        Murphy            
  Relating to the extension of the expiration of certain parts of the Texas Economic Development Act.

Both programs share the same problem: They (kinda sorta) cut taxes for already wealthy people who can afford to hire lobbyists.  Everyone else gets nothing.  All this at a time when property tax reform for regular people languishes.

[Note: For perspective, HB 2 has been sitting in committee since the UTSA game.]

There's been a lot of talk this session about how to "pay for" property tax reform.  We don't particularly accept the premise of that question, but we understand why folks are asking it.  If we are going to have to "pay for" property tax reform for regular Texans, these sorts of special interest carve outs are the first place to look.

Furthermore, it's galling to hear these corporate guys whine about their school taxes.  On Chapter 313, specifically, we've heard corporate lobbyist after corporate lobbyist after corporate lobbyist going on about their burdensome school taxes.  Unfortunately, they couldn't care less about the rest of us.  As long as their lobbyists can get them special tax breaks.

To be honest, these corporate guys are making a great case for a much bigger tax compression as part of any school finance reform.

Finally, on Chapter 312/313, we'll say this: Having Jim Friggin' Murphy carry this bill might not be the best optics.

That being said, the committee is hearing two other bills to significantly increase transparency in the process:

• HB 2799        Sanford                 
  Relating to economic development.

• HB 1977        Cole               
  Relating to a requirement that a fiscal impact statement be provided before a taxing unit may enter into a tax abatement agreement.

Both are good.  Not surprisingly, the Sanford bill is better than the Cole bill.  But either one would be a significant improvement over the status quo.

Bottom Line: Must be nice to be able to afford lobbyists; unfortunately, that's not an option for the rest of us....

#TXLEGE: Patrick outlines path to Decent Speaker

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

On Thursday, Dan Patrick released his endorsements in house races:

PR 18 10 18 House Endorsements by on Scribd

That Patrick was willing to wade into house races is, itself, noteworthy.

But what's really interesting is who Patrick endorsed.  There are some pretty prominent names that were left off that list.  If the people on this list can stick together, the Republican conference will be able to elect an "ok" speaker.

That being said, from a speaker's race perspective, some of Patrick's endorsements are screwy.  Why on Earth would you endorse John Zerwas but NOT Phil King or Craig Goldman?!?  Also, the Jim Murphy endorsement can only be classified as very, very disappointing.

Overall, however, it's a reasonably solid list.

Bottom Line: If the names on this list can stick together, you're well on your way to meaningful change....

#TXLEGE: Murphy attempting to thread thin ethical/legal needle over apparent Conflict of Interest

"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold."
Matthew 24:12

Confession: We had forgotten about Jim Murphy drawing a $312k salary from a Harris County special purpose district while chairing the Special Purpose Districts committee in the Texas house.

An interim hearing last week reminded us:

Oh yeah....

Poking around the internet, we found this follow up report from May:



Highlights:

• Murphy no longer listed as "General Manager," now working as an "independent contractor."

• Murphy still banking $26k+ per month!!!
• In other words, he's still making $312k annually.
• Fixed fee.

• "This, just, looks like a salary."

• Murphy getting continuous monthly payments and re-imbusements.

• Murphy's contract "is unique."

• Sarah Davis on Murphy's previous bonuses: "It doesn't smell good, it really doesn't."
• Note: Good grief...are we going to have to agree with Sarah FRIGGIN' Davis on this one?!?

• Davis has asked for multiple A.G. opinions.

What to say?!?

This author is not a lawyer, so we can't comment on the legal issues.  This may very well be one of those "technically legal" situations.  But "technically legal" does not mean ethical.

And, even in the current arrangement passes "technically legal" muster, it doesn't excuse the previous decade.

Then there's the ongoing committee chairmanship: Whether or not Jim Murphy's compensation agreements dotted all the legal "i's" and crossed the legal "t's," it hardly seems appropriate for Jim Murphy to continue as chairman of the legislative committee with jurisdiction.  But that's a decision for the speaker.  And we're stuck with Joe Straus for another six months.

Bottom Line: None of this looks good....

#TXLEGE: This Jim Murphy situation is very, Very, VERY Serious

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 6:24

This is bad:



Highlights:

• Murphy has second government job running obscure special purpose district in Harris County.

• Murphy dodged the reporter physically, then dodged reporter's question once confonted.

• $312,000 per year.

• State law says legislator can't hold second taxpayer funded job.

• He's all over the place on their social media.

• Getting bonuses for getting contracts from state agencies over which he has budgetary authority; Murphy lied about the amount of those bonuses he's received.

• "Any common sense person knows that, if you've got a chance to make some money, you're gonna try to get that done.

It gets worse:



Highlights:

• Murphy is chair of the special purpose district committee.
• Note: Thank you very much, Joe Straus.

• Murphy making more that either the Governor or the Mayor of Houston.

• "If the goal of these contracts was to get favors out of Austin by hiring a state rep, they seem to be an effective mechanism for how to wire the system in an unethical way."

• "Corruption in Austin is fish in a barrel."
• Note: LOL, ain't that the truth.

• Murphy's been doing this since 2007.

• Gets travel re-imbursments.

• LOL: Sarah Davis' committee has interdiction to investigate Murphy.

Worse Still:

Bottom Line: This is really, really, bad.

#TXLEGE: Abbott's property tax related political theater includes FOUR (recent) tax-hikers

Left: Villalba, Geren and Button today in Ft. Worth;
Right: Jim Murphy yesterday in Houston

"He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence."
Psalm 101:7

[UPDATE: It gets better, apparently Bonnen voted for HB 486 in committee.]

[UPDATE II: Apparently, Giovanni and Linda Koop were there as well, which just further illustrates our point.]

Question: What do Angie Chen Button, Charlie Geren, Jim Murphy, and Jason Villalba have in common?!?

Did they?!?

• a) Vote to grease the skids for property tax hikes last session?!?

• b) Appear at one of Governor Abbott's recent press conferences promoting his property tax plan.
  
  -- OR --

• c) BOTH.

The answer, unfortunately, is "C."

Over the past 2 days, Governor Abbott has held press conferences in both Houston and Ft. Worth extolling the benefits of his new property tax proposal.  In fairness to Abbott (as we explained yesterday) it's a good proposal.  Unfortunately, many members of the cast of characters with whom Abbott has chosen to surround himself leaves us...less than sanguine about the proposal's chances of passage.

As a particlarly flagrant example of why, consider HB 486 from last session:



Next, consider which Republicans voted for HB 486 and cross reference them against attendance at Abbott's press conferences:

• Angie Button (R–Richardson) 

• Charlie Geren (R–River Oaks) 

• Jim Murphy (R–Houston) 

• Jason Villalba (R–Dallas)

Bottom Line: If you want us to believe that you're committed to reigning in the property tax system, you probably shouldn't surround yourself with four legislators who voted to grease the skids for further property tax increases as recently as last May.