#TXLEGE: Bettencourt calls Legislators' Bluff re: TRS

"Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes;
But by a man of understanding and knowledge
Right will be prolonged."
Proverbs 28:2

A couple weeks ago, we wrote a commentary for Texas Scorecard about the TRS scandal.  We still recommend reading the whole thing.  But the TL,DR version is that legislators who were howling in alleged outrage were a bunch of liars who've never lifted a finger to prevent this sort of scandal in the first place.

Now, however, it looks like they'll have an opportunity to put our money lobbyists' money their money where their mouth currently resides:

Discussing recent @TRSofTexas office space decisions in Senate Finance Committee. Unfortunately right now we have a system where questions are asked but the public cannot get answers. That must change and I will file legislation to fix in the next #txlege.

— Team Bettencourt (@TeamBettencourt) February 25, 2020

Good for Paul Bettencourt. Somebody has to step up. Not surprising that it's him.

Unfortunately, wish Bettencourt luck...cuz' he's gonna need it.

We can pretty much guarantee one of two things will happen:

• A bill passes the Senate to die in the house.

• The bill gets gutted in the house and is basically toothless in the end.

But the odds of a strong bill surviving the legislative process are basically zero.

Still, kudos to Bettencourt for forcing the issue at all.

Bottom Line: It's LONG past time for legislators to put up or shut up on this topic.

#TXLEGE:Four Good Bills (and one STINKER)

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
Mark 16:16

{Note: The committee hearing can be viewed here; our testimony on the smoking age bill is about two and a half hours in, our testimony on the election integrity is about five hours in.]

We spent most of today in the Senate State Affairs committee.  We testified on two bills and dropped cards on two others.  Finally, we discovered a bill that, while we weren't aware it was getting a hearing today, is totally worth supporting.

The Good:

• SB 13          Creighton               
  Relating to the ethics of public officials, including restrictions relating to lobbying and the personal financial statements of public officials; creating a criminal offense.
  
  This is similar to ethics legislation the House has killed in previous sessions. Testimony on the bill was closed by the time we arrived at the hearing. But this very worthwhile.

• SB 9           Hughes                  
  Relating to election integrity; increasing criminal penalties; creating a criminal offense; creating civil penalties.
  
  This is the omnibus election integrity package. Others argued in-favor of it far more eloquently than we could. We're sure they'll write about it in detail as well. But this is must pass legislation for this session.

• SB 29          Hall                    
  Relating to expenditures for lobbying activities made by certain entities.
  
  This is the Senate compainion to the ban on taxpayer funded lobbying. We were out of the room when they called us to testify. But there isn't anything to say on this topic we haven't already said.

• SB 22          Campbell | et al.        
  Relating to prohibiting certain transactions between a governmental entity and an abortion provider or affiliate of the provider.
  
  This bill would prohibit municipal governments from subsidizing abortion providers; obviously, this bill doesn't prevent a single abortion, but it's nevertheless worthwhile.

The Awful:

• SB 21          Huffman | et al.         
  Relating to the distribution, possession, purchase, consumption, and receipt of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and tobacco products.
  
  The smoking age bill. Such a terrible bill for many reasons. Unfortunately, there's a good chance it will require the Governor's veto.
  
  Yeah, we know....

Bottom Line: For better or worse, bills are moving this session....

#TXLEGE: Senate likely to pass meaningful local debt transparency

"The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender."
Proverbs 22:7

[Note: The committee hearing can be viewed here; our testimony is somewhere between the half hour and forty five minute mark.]

Earlier this afternoon, we testified in favor of SB 462 in front of the Senate Property tax committee: Relating to ballot propositions authorizing certain political subdivisions to issue debt obligations.

SB 462 would require local governments to disclose, on the ballot, the size of the tax increases required to pay back proposed bond packages.  It does a number of other worthwhile things.  But the major part is the disclosure of the size of the tax increase.

We've been on this issue for a long time.  This was one of the original issues that interested us in state level activism four sessions ago.  It was also on this issue where we learned the truth about how the Capitol all too frequently works.  The only thing that's changed in that time is the amount owed.

We also testified that, for down ballot campaigns in high turnout elections, information on the ballot is key.  Like it or not, 30% of voters in those type of situations are clueless.  Debt transparency, on the ballot, is the last line of defense for voter education.

We would like to correct one error: During our testimony, we stated that local government debt had grown by $50 billion during the time we've been following this issue.  It's actually $32 Billion.  We regret the error.  That being said, we got the direction right.

During the hearing, Chuy Hinojosa announced that we was supporting Campbell's bill.  With Hinojosa's support, that likely means this bill has the votes to pass.  The only opposition came from taxpayer funded lobbyists.

Bottom Line: This needs to get done this session....

#TXLEGE: (at least) 5 Good Bills Getting Hearings Next Week

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Luke 12:34

Tuesday; Senate Property Tax:

• SB 462         Campbell                
  Relating to ballot propositions authorizing certain political subdivisions to issue debt obligations.

Wednesday; House Homeland Security:

• HB 238         Krause                  
  Relating to the enforcement of certain federal laws regulating firearms, firearm accessories, and firearm ammunition within the State of Texas.

Wednesday; House Ways and Means:

• HB 2                         Burrows
  Relating to ad valorem taxation.
  
• HB 705         Geren                
  Relating to the substitution of a county sales and use tax for all or a portion of property taxes imposed by the county; authorizing the imposition of a tax.

Wednesday; House State Affairs:

• HB 281         Middleton               
  Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public money for lobbying activities.
  [Note: They're not on this website's priority issues, but several other bills on the State Affairs docket also look good.]

Bottom Line: Just because a bill gets a committee hearing does not mean that bill will make it to the Governor's desk, but it's virtually impossible for that to happen without one.

UH's, Applewhite's, Chickens Come Home to Roost; Kendal "White Women" Briles gets golden parachute

"Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 16:18

Reading the Athletic's analysis (Note: Subscription Required) of the UH coaching vacancy, this stands out:

When November began, Houston had a 7-1 record and was No. 17 in the AP poll, and quarterback D’Eriq King was among the most prolific players in the country. Things were rolling.

Less than two months later, Houston fired head coach Major Applewhite after finishing 8-5 with a 70-14 loss to Army in the Armed Forces Bowl. Things change quickly.

This isn't surprising when you consider the arrogance and greed UH has shown in the past year.

--------

Kendal "White Women" Briles:

Under Major Applewhite, UH hired an offensive coordinator with more sexual assault baggage than any other active coach in the country.

In case you have forgotten Kendal Briles' CV:

Former Baylor offensive coordinator Kendal Briles allegedly used sex to sell the football program according to a new lawsuit against the university obtained by the Dallas Morning News.

The lawsuit, filed by a woman identified as Elizabeth Doe who reports being gang raped by two former football players, alleges that Baylor "used sex to sell" the football program to recruits. One Dallas-area high school recruit said Briles once asked him, "Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at Baylor and they love football players."

Briles, the son of fired Baylor head coach Art Briles, is now the offensive coordinator at FAU.

The lawsuit is another bombshell in the long-lasting Baylor sexual assault scandal. The investigation by lawyers identified at least 52 "acts of rape" by 31 football players from 2011 to 2014. This included five gang rapes, at least two of which were committed by 10 or more players at one time, according to the lawsuit. These numbers are significantly higher than previously disclosed by Baylor's regents.

Yikes.

Meanwhile, UH's rationalization for hiring Briles was that he was some sort of alleged genius as an offensive coordinator.

 Yet, from an on-field perspective, Briles' offense only managed 14 points...against Army.

It's fitting.

-------

UH's stonewalling re: Kendall "White Women" Briles:

[Note: Keep in mind that, throughout all this, UH was tooting their own horn in the local media about their post #MeToo handling of sexual assault.]

But, even though he doesn't deserve it,  let's give Kendal Briles the benefit of the doubt.  Let's assume, for the sake of discussion, that the Baylor Truthers are right.  Let's assume that Art and Kendal Briles were scapegoats.

If all of the above were true, then UH hiring Kendal Briles might have been a worthwhile act of forgiveness.

If, however, the above were true...then one would think UH would be extra-transparent about how they vetted Kendal Briles.

UH did the opposite:

University of Houston President and Chancellor Renu Khator assured faculty on Tuesday that the university conducted additional review "above and beyond" typical hiring practices when it added ex-Baylor University football assistant coaches Kendal Briles and Randy Clements to its football program.

Both Briles and Clements were employed by Baylor during a sexual assault scandal. UH announced the hires earlier this month.

Khator, who wrote to faculty in an email Tuesday, said the university also required coaching staff to receive additional training about the law, UH policies "as well as about our culture of reporting."

Khator did not mention Briles and Clements by name or by their former affiliation with Baylor in the email, but a university spokesman confirmed that the two were the subject of the notice. Khator also said that the "new staff members" had morality clauses in their contracts, which Briles and Clements did.

aka: "Trust us."

We didn't trust UH.

Shortly after UH hired Kendal Briles, this author sent an open records request about how Kendal Briles was vetted.  UH's response left more questions than answers.  But what little we did learn undermined the official story.

Specifically, based on information UH released in response to an open records request from this author, we learned:

• Baylor raised red flags about Kendal Briles.

• Major Applewhite remains in contact with Art Briles.

• Applewhite was more concerned about the Kendal Briles hire leaking early than we was about any of the Baylor stuff.

That's not good.

In response, we sent several rounds of follow up open records requests.  We got nothing.  As in, UH literally didn't respond to our requests.  Keep in mind, they're obligated by law to at least respond.

The situation got so bad that we filed an official complaint with the Attorney General's office.

While the Attorney General's office resolved the immediate issue, none of the above inspires confidence in how UH originally vetted Kendal Briles.

-------

Major Applewhite's 'extra-cirriculars':

Then there's this:

A lawsuit by former Texas women’s track coach Bev Kearney against the school is probing how administrators in the offices that investigate campus sexual misconduct handled former football assistant Major Applewhite’s 2009 relationship with a student trainer on a bowl trip.

Kearney, who is black, was forced out in 2013 after the school learned she had a relationship with one of her athletes a decade earlier. She has alleged race and sex discrimination, noting that Applewhite, who is white, was allowed to keep his job and was later promoted after his incident was discovered. Applewhite, a former quarterback at Texas, stayed on staff through 2013 and is now the head coach at Houston.

[Note: We said our piece about this lawsuit from the Longhorn perspective at the time.]

By itself, this incident doesn't reveal much.  Obviously, it's not good.  But Major Applewhite shouldn't be crucified for doing something irresponsible on a night when everyone was partying.

That being said, in the context of the Kendal Briles hire, a pattern of arrogance as it relates to sexual matters begins to emerge.

We've also always found it interesting that this story emerged during the same week UH was stonewalling over Briles.

Finally, one can only wonder if Major Applewhite is hiding other skeletons.

-------

Borris Miles:

Then there's this:

So Tillman Fertitta, UH's Board Chairman [Note: Yes, THAT Tilmann Fertitta], had Borris FRIGGIN' Miles as an honored guest at a UH football game.

Yes, THAT Borris Miles.

In fairness to Tilman Fertitta, UH is located in Miles' state senate district.  So a case can be made that including Miles is politics as usual.  But, with all due respect to Tilman Fertitta, we don't think politics as usual applies with Borris Miles.

A toxic culture starts at the top.

-------

Kendal "White Women" Briles' Golden Parachute at Florida State:

Despite all that:

Kendal Briles has been hired to be Florida State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, head coach Willie Taggart announced Sunday.

“I’m excited about the addition of Kendal to our staff,” Taggart said.

“He brings play-calling experience and familiarity with the type of scheme and tempo we will run, which is similar to the offenses he has coordinated. His ability to recruit, manage an offensive staff, develop quarterbacks and make in-game adjustments will be beneficial to us as we evolve in our offense. Kendal has success at the Power 5 level and has also shown his adaptability to personnel and situations that occur during a season. He had multiple opportunities following the 2018 season and we feel the fit here will be a good one.”

Briles, who will have primary play-calling duties, comes to FSU having served as an offensive coordinator at Baylor during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Florida Atlantic in 2017 and Houston in 2018.

Obviously, we're appalled.  But he's not Texas' problem any longer.  Florida can have him.

Also, for the record: Florida State is Jameis Winston's alma mater.

-------

Bottom Line: As UH assesses what went wrong this season, they'd be wise to do a deeper self-examination....

#TXLEGE: On property taxes, several good proposals.

"But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God."
Nehemiah 5:15

With property taxes once again likely to be a major issue next session, several good proposals exist:

• The Governor's proposal -- Governor Abbott's proposal would require local governments to obtain voter approval before they would be allowed to raise taxes over 2.5%.  Furthermore, the governor wants significantly more ballot transparency for bond elections.  Finally, the governor wants to create super-majority requirements to pass bonds!!!
  
  Pros: Covers all forms of local governments (school districts, cities, counties, special purpose).  The ballot transparency stuff is something we've been advocating for years.  SUPER MAJORITIES FOR BOND ELECTIONS!!!
  
  Cons: Doesn't 'cut' taxes in a top-line sense (although, the resulting income growth will probably mean a bottom-line cut as a percentage of household budgets.  Difficult to pass politically (Because it's so wide ranging, invites wide ranging opposition).  Rural R's and their taxpayer funded lobbyists will scream to high heaven about the alleged costs of special elections -- BS argument but simple talking point.

• The TPPF Proposal -- TPPF's proposal would implement a strong spending cap at the state level and use the resulting savings to "buy down" school district M&O taxes over time.
  
  Pros: Because you're giving Rural R's and D's something they want (more state level education spending), it's more difficult for them to oppose.  Because this would only impact school districts, other forms of local governments likely to stay on sidelines.  Direct cut to biggest item on most people's tax bill.
  
  Having the state pick up a bigger share of the education spending tab is also the simplest way to move from a property tax to a consumption tax.
  
  Cons: Because it only covers school districts, won't stop cities, counties, and special purpose districts from consequently jacking up their own spending.

• The "Steve Toth" proposal -- During convention week, former (and likely future) State Rep. Steve Toth testified in front of the legislative priorities committee in favor of ABOLISHING APPRAISAL DISTRICTS and taxing properties at the price of sale.
  
  We didn't know this until we heard Rep. Toth's testimony, but apparently Texas appraisal districts cost taxpayers over $1 BILLION a year in direct operating costs; thus, in addition to the tax cut for homeowners, abolishing apprasal districts saves significant money on the spending side.
  
  Finally, as someone who regularly participates in the battles around gentrification in a major urban area...allow this author to politely, but firmly, suggest that a serious effort to abolish appraisal districts would be VERY well received in the African-American and Hispanic communities in the major urban areas.  Woe unto the Democrat who might oppose such an effort.  In light of the #WalkAway movement, this is a point to VERY seriously consider.
  
  Pros: The biggest potential tax cut of all.  Possible SIGNIFICANT political upside.  Basic Fairness.
  
  Cons: Impossible to predict the unintended consequences of a shock to the system of this magnitude.

Politically speaking, some form of the TPPF proposal is probably the easiest to get to the Governor's desk (although a serious effort on appraisal districts could take off like a prairie fire).

Bottom Line: It's way to early to know where potential votes may lie, but any of these ideas would be a significant step in the right direction.

Speaking about Texas' TOOTHLESS Open Records Laws....

"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

Obviously, this author just filed an official complaint with the Attorney General's office against the University of Houston over their stonewalling related to their football program.  We will confess that we used this afternoon's TPPF/Texas Tribune event "Open Government, Engaged Citizens: A Conversation on Texas' Public Information Act," as a deadline to get the complaint filed.  That's now happened.

Texas' public information laws, while they look good on the surface, have more holes than Swiss cheese.  One tactic that has recently gained in popularity is to launder governmental funds through shell "non-profits" or allegedly "private" entities.  Austin's ongoing Amazon fiasco, the recent troubles with the Alamo, and a 2015 Texas Supreme Court decision related to the "Greater Houston Partnership" are recent examples of this phenomenon.

Senator Kirk Watson discussed several bills he carried this past session to close various loopholes in the Public Information Act.  All of Watson's bills passed the Senate with overwhelming majorities.  Unfortunately, they all died in the house [Note: What else is new?!?].

Todd Hunter gave a "woe is me" speech about how he totally supports Open Government, but it just got lost in the shuffle of a busy end-of-session period in the house.  Of course, Hunter neglected the fact that he's the chair of the Calendars committee, which might give him leverage over a recalcitrant committee chairman.  Hunter made a bunch of vague promises as it relates to transparency issues next session.  That being said, Hunter did make an interesting point about many of the 'recovery' related contracts from Hurricane Harvey having major disclosure issues.

Watson and Hunter both plugged a Joint Interim committee that was created this past session to study the issue.  Unfortunately, neither chamber has appointed any members.  Isn't that revealing....

James Quintero of TPPF spoke of the need for the Attorney General to have greater enforcement powers.  He also explained the need to repeal certain provisions that have been interpreted to allow "economic development" discussions to occur in secret.  He also discussed his frustrations trying to get information out of the City of Austin related to the Amazon 'negotiations,' a frustration we share.

Bottom Line: Texas' Public Information laws are a joke.  But we know how to fix them.  Whether or not the political will to do so exists in the Texas house remains an open question....

Taxpayer Funded Lobbying: Financial and Spiritual ABOMINATION

"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage."
2 Peter 2:19

This morning, TPPF hosted a Policy Orientation Panel, "Should local governments use Taxpayer Money to hire lobbyists?!?"  Obviously, anyone who's read this website for more than 5 minutes knows where we stand.  But it was still an interesting discussion.

From a strategic perspective, the most important takeaway is that nobody was willing to show up to defend the practice.  This despite the fact that TPPF extended "over 20" invitations to groups one would expect to be supportive.   That's notable because we've learned from experience that when people are no longer willing to show up at TPPF to defend a practice, it's often a sign that those involved know they've lost the argument.

The panel featured local Austin attorney Roger Borgelt and a staffer for Representative Matt Shaheen [Note: Shaheen had been originally scheduled to speak on the panel, but came down with the flu yesterday].  Borgelt began by explaining how, during the annexation debates the past few sessions, all of the support came from average citizens while all the opposition was taxpayer funded.  This is true for any number of public policy reforms that would reduce the size of government.

Moderator Chuck DeVore asked if, in banning taxpayer funded lobbying, we would simply be transferring the problem to local governments who would hire bureaucrats dedicated to "government relations."  That's obviously one workaround political subdivisions would try, but it would still represent an improvement over the status quo.  At a minimum, if a political subdivision wants to hire a full-time bureaucrat to perform "government relations," they'll have to disclose it in their budgets.  Furthermore, it's better to have a local bureaucrat representing their political subdivision full time rather than a capitol lobbyist who could have any other number of clients with any number of other potential conflicts of interest.

During Q&A, TPPF attorney Chance Weldon pointed out that taxpayer funded lobbying is a form of compelled political speech.  As such, it's flagrantly unconstitutional.  We'd never thought about that before, but Weldon is absolutely correct and there should probably be a lawsuit.

As for this Author, we asked a question that pointed out how taxpayer funded lobbying is a gatekeeper issue that needs to be addressed before any number of other limited government reforms (eg. Property Taxes, Bond Transparency, Parental Educational Choice) can become politically feasible.  Taxpayer funded lobbying inherently tips the scales in favor of big government.  Disconcertingly, we also learned that public sector unions are growing faster in Texas than anywhere else in the country.

Bottom Line:  Local governments have no right to use taxpayer money to lobby the legislature.  For every public entity that lobbies, there's a private entity that holds the same position.  Ending this practice is a necessary step if we're ever going to get serious about restoring government in Texas to it's constitutional framework.

#atxcouncil: Principles for the next City Manager

"It is a joy for the just to do justice,
But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity."
Proverbs 21:15

Big announcement yesterday afternoon:



The Statesman has a good round up about the finalists; suffice to say we don't share the Mayor's rosy assessment.

On that note, here are the principles we'd like to see guide the end of this process:

• No Long Term Contracts -- If there's one lesson sports has taught during the past half decade, it's how the back end of long term contracts can bite you in the backside.  Nobody knows how the world will look in 6 or 7 years, and it's important to have the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances.  The same principle applies to local government.
  
  Thus, no commitments longer than three years.
  
  Personally, we'd like to see a one year deal with a council option for a second.

• Avoid Sticker Shock -- There's a difference between a genuinely competitive compensation offer and one that disguises lavish opulence under that label; stick with the former.

• Transparency in Compensation -- If necessary, we intend to file an open records request for "all compensation related documents" whenever a finalist is announced; that being said, it'd sure be nice to have the city release this information on their own before a final decision is made.

• The City Manager works for the Elected Council, NOT VICE VERSA: The City Manager is the hired employee.  The elected city council is the boss.  This chain of command must be explicit.

Bottom Line: This is an opportunity for the city to rebuild trust.  They probably won't.  But they could....

#TXLEGE: Meanwhile, Straus' Interim Charges are a spend/regulate-athon....

"He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck,
Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
Proverbs 29:1

Joe Straus also released interim charges yesterday:

• Study the Texas olive and olive oil industry. Provide suggestions to improve, promote, and standardize the industry. Examine current policy related to the industry and examine factors such as research, marketing, labeling, standards, data collection, and the necessity of creating a commodity board or similar type of organization.
• Note: We wonder which lobbyist is getting paid on this one; also, which major industry player will benefit from this act of protectionism.

• Study the effects of declining migratory species, such as the monarch butterfly, as well as native and domesticated bee populations on agricultural production and its economic impact on the state. Identify possible causes of the population changes and monitor national trends. Make recommendations on how to improve and promote monarch butterfly and bee populations and habitats in the state.
• Note: Because, clearly, Texas' state government is capable of "improv[ing] and promot[ing] monarch butterfly and bee populations.

• Examine the use of federal funds by state agencies responding to the effects of Hurricane Harvey and identify opportunities to maximize the use of federal funds to reduce the impact of future natural disasters. Also, identify the need for state resources to respond to Harvey relief and recovery efforts, as well as opportunities for state investment in infrastructure projects that will reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
• Note: Spend, spend, spend....all while hitting up the Feds for even more.

•  Straus' also gives the Appropriations Committee roughly a dozen charges to review the operations of state agencies.  In theory, this could be either a useful exercise or a smokescreen for another spend-a-thon.  We'll let you guess which one we think will happen.

• Evaluate whether counties have the necessary ordinance-making and enforcement authority to deal with flood risk in unincorporated rural and suburban areas of Texas. Additionally, examine whether counties have adequate resources and authority to ensure that new development in unincorporated areas is not susceptible to flooding.
• Note: Regulate, regulate, regulate. 

• Study the feasibility of establishing and mobilizing a volunteer contingency of private boat owners through the boat registration and license database administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to assist first responders in search and rescue efforts in natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey.
• Note: If this already happened during Hurricane Harvey without the state government being involved, why does the state government need to get involved at this point?!?

• Evaluate the ongoing and long-term workforce needs of the state’s businesses and industries. Determine whether state resources are adequate to address shortages and assist with closing existing or future gaps in workforce readiness and skills to ensure the continued economic security and success of the state.
• Note: Spend, spend, spend.

• Review Texas’ open meeting laws and related government decision-making policies. Determine if the formal processes prevented the efficient delivery of assistance during Hurricane Harvey. Make recommendations on maintaining the current standards of accountability without limiting government-provided aid during disaster events.
• Note: That's a loophole you could drive a truck through.

• Determine, to the extent possible, the scope of financial losses to 2- and 4-year institutions, including facilities, that resulted from Hurricane Harvey. Recommend possible state actions to mitigate any negative impact on institutions and ensure governance structures and parameters allow for effective responses. Review the educational opportunities offered to students displaced by Harvey throughout the state. Recommend any changes that could improve the process and what additional services might be needed for these displaced students.
• Note: Spend, spend, spend.

• Study aggressive driving in Texas and review the causes and current mitigation efforts. Make recommendations for legislative action.
• Note: Regulate, regulate, regulate.

• Study the use of appraisal processes under property insurance policies in Texas, including the effects of court decisions on the use of these processes and the impact of their use on insurers and policyholders.
• Note: Regulate, regulate, regulate. 

• Review local and state zoning and land use regulations. Determine if current rules provide an adequate balance of disaster preparedness and deference to private property rights.
• Note: Regulate, regulate, regulate.

• Examine Texas’ eminent domain statutes to ensure a balance between necessary infrastructure growth and fair compensation for landowners. Review available public information and data relating to the compensation provided to private property owners. Make recommendations to improve the accountability, as well as successful development, of the entities granted eminent domain authority.
• Note: Nice property rights you've got there, be a shame if anything happened to them. 

• In fairness to Straus, he gives the Licencing and Administrative procedures committee a couple of charges that might be helpful.
• Note: Stopped clock, twice a day, and whatnot....

• Examine the potential value, the necessary elements, and the implications of a broad-based information and awareness campaign regarding water issues in Texas. Consider input from water stakeholders, educators, and communications experts.
• Note: Spend, spend, spend.

• Evaluate the governance structures, including investment oversight, of the Employee Retirement System (ERS), Teacher Retirement System (TRS), Texas Municipal Retirement System, Texas County and District Retirement System, and Texas Emergency Services Retirement System. Identify best practices and make recommendations to strengthen oversight within the systems.
• Note: In theory this could either be useful or a spend-a-thon; we'll let you guess which will happen.

• Determine, to the extent possible, the scope of financial losses, including facilities, that resulted from Hurricane Harvey. Recommend possible state actions, such as changes to student counts or property valuation, to mitigate any negative impact on districts and ensure governance structures and parameters allow for effective responses.
• Note: Spend, spend, spend.

• Review current state mechanisms for identifying and rewarding educators through state-level strategies. Examine how providing additional funding to enhance compensation in districts facing a shortage of experienced, highly rated teachers would affect retention and teacher quality, in addition to whether it would encourage teachers to provide additional services through extracurricular activities, tutoring, and mentoring.
• Note: Didn't the Governor propose doing this during the special session?!?

•  Examine programs in public schools that have proven results meeting the needs of and improving student achievement for students with disabilities, with an emphasis on programs specializing in autism, dysgraphia, and dyslexia. Recommend ways to support and scale innovative programs for these students, including providing supplemental services, or incentivizing public-private partnerships or inter district and charter school collaborations. Monitor the implementation and funding for the pilot programs authorized in H.B. 21 (85R) and review the Texas Education Agency's compliance with S.B. 160 (85R), which prohibits special education student caps.
• Note: Spend, spend, spend.

• Review the charter school system in Texas. Determine if changes are needed in the granting, renewal, or revocation of charter schools, including the timeline for expansions and notification of expansions to surrounding districts. Review the educational outcomes of students in charter schools compared to those in traditional schools, and to what extent schools participate in the alternative accountability system. Monitor the implementation of facilities funding for charter schools. Consider differences in state funding for charter schools compared to their surrounding districts and the impact on the state budget. Consider admissions policies for charters, including 33 appropriate data collection to assess demand for additional charter enrollment, compliance with access by students with disabilities and the effect of exclusions of students with criminal or disciplinary histories. Consider differences in charter and district contributions to the Teacher Retirement System on behalf of their employees and make appropriate recommendations to support the retirement benefits of all public school teachers.
• Note: Straus imitates Bill DeBlasio.

• Study treatment of traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's, and dementia, and recommend opportunities for advancing treatment and cures.
• Note: Spend, spend, spend. 

• Study and make recommendations to improve services available for identifying and treating children with mental illness, including the application of trauma- and grief-informed practices. Identify strategies to assist in understanding the impact and recognizing the signs of trauma in children and providing school-based or community-based mental health services to children who need them. Analyze the role of the Texas Education Agency and of the regional Education Service Centers regarding mental health. In addition, review programs that treat early psychosis among youth and young adults.
• Note: Parental rights be damned.  

• Study the efficacy of existing transportation finance mechanisms from state, regional, and local perspectives. Identify opportunities to improve existing transportation finance mechanisms and investigate the feasibility of developing new ones.
• Note: Spend, spend, spend. 

• Monitor and evaluate the need for affordable housing in urban and rural areas across the State of Texas. Examine whether existing housing programs are adequately addressing the needs for affordable housing. Identify prospective and innovative ideas and solutions to address affordable housing needs in Texas.
• Note: Subsidize, subsidize, subsidize.

• Examine local government oversight of abandoned and substandard buildings, including buildings of historical significance. Identify ways to best address these issues in an efficient and effective manner.
• Note: Regulate, regulate, regulate.

Read the full list of Interim Charges here.

Texas Senate moves Local Government Accountability forward

"And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
Hebrews 4:13

[Author's Note: Hat tip to TPPF; we'll include their statements below.]

Local government debt, involuntary annexation, and and nanny state ordinances share the common characteristic that they're power grabs by local governmental entities. The Texas Senate's committee on Intergovernmental Relations recently released an interim report that proposes remedies for each.  Our only modest quibble is that they didn't explicitly discuss the Uber/Lyft issue, but in fairness to the committee that issue didn't emerge until fairly late in the process.

Committee report recommendations:

• The legislature should consider providing consistency and eliminating the possibility of variances by strengthening the uniformity in ordinance procedures and standards.

• The legislature should improve transparency and find a more appropriate balance between drafting ordinances and providing ordinance information to voters by supporting reforms that provide increased transparency through best practices in Texas statutes that provide a common-sense standard in regard to the process, form, and model language.

• The legislature should weigh-in and afford, at a minimum, critical criteria to ensure that ballot language is not misleading by codifying the recent Texas Supreme Court decision that establishes the "definiteness and certainty" standard in the wording of the ordinances.

• The legislature should take steps to ensure that when local jurisdictions are found by a court of law to have purposely included misleading chief features of an ordinance, measured through their word choice, that safeguards are provided in statutes to eliminate the burden on taxpayers challenging propositions that lack definiteness and certainty.

• The legislature should provide a better balance in election contests so as to encourage greater transparency and compliance with state law in ordinance development, drafting, and balloting.

• The legislature should find a better balance in election contests so as to encourage greater citizen participation, while safeguarding the integrity of ordinance development, drafting, and balloting.

• The legislature should strengthen the delicate balance between cities wishing to expand their jurisdiction and safeguarding private property rights by increasing transparency in the annexation process through greater notice requirements for impacted stakeholders.

• In order to improve the annexation process and provide greater transparency and informed consent to those impacted, the legislature should consider updating the annexation process to provide guidance regarding parcels of land subject to a 3 year annexation plan.

• The legislature should strengthen the annexation process by encouraging greater citizen participation from those impacted by a proposed annexation plan.

• The legislature should ensure uniform structure and procedures that eliminate unnecessary and burdensome administrative requirements that impeded citizen interaction in locally-driven petitions.

• The legislature should build-in better statutory safeguards to facilitate greater citizen compliance with administrative petition requirements.

• In order to enhance greater citizen participation and increase uniformity, the legislature should establish uniform thresholds for citizen petitions.

• The legislature should consider providing basic essential information that will inform voters of the potential impact of the issuance of new financial obligations.
• Author's Note: "new financial obligations" = bonds.

• The legislature should consider the different possibilities of informing potential voters of the chief measures found in aggregate-item elections.

• The term of new bond debt should not exceed the life of the capital improvements financed by bond proceeds; and unspent bond proceeds should not be used for projects other than those approved by voters at the ballot box.
• eg. Using bonds to purchase iPads.

Read the whole report here.

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TPPF statement on the annexation component:

“It’s time for the Texas Legislature to right a terrible wrong in our state by ending involuntary annexation,” said Quintero. “Under the current setup, cities can annex Texans living on the outskirts without their permission, letting officials force their taxes, debts, and regulatory schemes onto people who were never asked. That goes against everything that Texas stands for. Changes, like those put forward in the Texas Senate’s new report, are sorely needed to protect private property rights and allow Texans to participate in the democratic process.”

TPPF statement on the local debt component:

“Texas’ local governments are awash in a sea of red ink,” said Quintero. “The latest data suggests that local debt totals more than $338 billion, or roughly $12,300 owed for every man, woman, and child in the state. That’s a stunning level of debt. While there are no silver bullets to solve Texas’ massive local debt problem, there are steps that can be taken to step back from the brink, like those put forward in the Texas Senate’s new interim report on local governments. One of the most important is to better inform Texas voters on the impact of their decisions at the ballot box. Every time a Texan steps in the voting booth, he or she should know, at least, the total cost of the proposed bond (principal and interest) and how its passage would affect their taxes. Making sure that every Texan has that information at their fingertips would go a long way toward improving the current system.”

TPPF statement on the Nanny state component:

“Transparency and accountability are sorely lacking in today’s local policymaking process,” said Quintero. “Around the state, examples abound of local officials misleading, confusing, or providing insufficient information to their constituents on ballot propositions and local ordinances. This is a concerning trend, rightly identified by the Texas Senate’s new report, that should be swiftly dealt with in the next legislative session.”

Texas' Local Governments: Pensions bad; DEBT worse....

"The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender."
Proverbs 22:7

[Update 12/6/2016 -- TPPF has updated figures for local debt this morning: "the total debt owed by all local governmental entities rose to $342.1 billion in FY 2016, an increase from $338.4 billion owed in the previous fiscal year."]

Via the Trib this morning, a report on the very real challenges big cities in Texas will face related to pensions in the coming years; most important takeaway:

Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio collectively face $22.6 billion worth of pension fund shortfalls, according to a new report from credit rating and financial analysis firm Moody’s.

Obviously, that's not good, but consider that number against total local government debt across Texas:

As of fiscal 2015, local debt service outstanding, or the amount required to fully repay the principal and interest owed, totaled $338.4 billion.

[Author's Note: Emphasis added in both quotes.]

We admit it's a bit of an apples to oranges comparison to compare every political subdivision in the state to four cities, but it still gives you a picture of the relative importance of the two issues.

Bottom Line: If local governments would simply stop racking up debt, they could afford their pensions.

Once again, Paxton backs HIGHER ED TRANSPARENCY!!!

"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong."
1 Corinthians 16:13

Good to see:

Attorney General Ken Paxton has once again thrown his support behind University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall’s efforts to receive records, including confidential student information, from an investigation into favoritism in admissions at the Austin campus. 

Paxton recently filed a brief asking the 3rd Court of Appeals to reinstate Hall’s lawsuit, which was thrown out by a Travis County judge in December, prompting an immediate appeal by Hall. Paxton also asked the appeals court to order UT to provide the records to Hall. 

“A regent’s access to university records must be absolute,” Paxton said in the friend-of-the-court brief filed last week but made public Tuesday.

Read the whole thing here.

Annise Parker's FINAL (*) INDIGNATION: Houston Gets DOWNGRADED

"The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender."
Proverbs 22:7

(*) -- Hoperfully

Following the ruinous fiscal legacy of the former mayor, the inevitable finally happened:

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the City of Houston's (TX) general obligation limited tax rating to Aa3 from Aa2, affecting approximately $3 billion in previously issued bonds. Concurrently, Moody's assigns a Aa3 to the City of Houston, TX's $600 million Public Improvement Refunding Bonds, Series 2016A. The outlook remains negative.

The downgrade to Aa3 reflects weakening economic and financial performance driven by prolonged decreases in oil prices. It also reflects the city's high fixed costs, large unfunded pension liabilities (among the highest in the nation), as well as property tax caps.

The Aa3 also considers recent positive General Fund performance, and growth in non-energy sectors that has offset some of the softening. Additionally, the rating recognizes the positive actions taken by the new Mayor and his plan to engage several stakeholders to modify the city's fixed costs and generate additional revenues, all within the next 18 to 24 months. These plans signal a change from past initiatives, and positive movement on the plans will be key to stabilizing the credit profile.

TPPF has more:

"Moody’s downgrade of Houston is the latest in a series of troubling fiscal incidents that, show how urgently reform is needed. Houston’s booming economy has helped mask the city’s spending and pension problems for a long time. But the city’s big-spending ways can no longer be ignored. It is time that the city got a handle on spending and put its fiscal house in order."

How Byron Cook Killed pro-Life Legislation

"They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The poison of asps is under their lips."
Psalm 140:3

After slow walking the bill for weeks then deliberately watering it down, on Tuesday night Byron Cook chose to assault the first amendment rather than protect the unborn:



Highlights:

• Schaefer tries to get Cook to postpone the "ethics" bill until after voting on the campus carry and pro-life bills.

Texas Right to Life has A LOT more here.

Cook's Fiasco "Ethics" Bill draws Senate Rebuke

"But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine."
Jeremiah 10:8

Van Taylor puts Cook in his place:

“The purpose of the Senate’s ethics package, which was applauded by Governor Abbott who placed this charge on his emergency call, is to put a mirror on elected officials and affirm to the people that our efforts to represent them rise above even the appearance of impropriety or self-service,” stated Taylor.

“Some in the House apparently don’t think elected officials are the problem and instead muddled the bill with a litany of bizarre measures that point the finger at everyone besides themselves, including a page from Hillary Clinton’s playbook to launch an assault on the First Amendment. This is one of those head shaking moments that rightfully raise doubts in the minds of our constituents as to the Legislature’s resolve to serve the people above all else.”

....

However, the House State Affairs Committee morphed the bill from meaningful ethics reform of government officials to attacks on civil liberties and additional protections for elected officers. The changes were so out of line with the original purpose of the bill that the House committee had to change the bill’s caption. Instead, the House reached for non-germane and unconstitutional provisions including the forced disclosure of donors of non-profit organizations in order to engage in political speech.

Read the whole thing here.

Texas House votes to censor filming legislators

"Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
And from a deceitful tongue."
Psalm 120:2

One of the most egregious provisions of Byron Cook's re-written "ethics" bill currently being debated on the Texas House floor would open citizen journalists to lawsuits if they film a legislator without the legislator's knowledge.  Representative Matt Schaefer offered an amendment to strip that provision from the bill.  During the debate, Cook and Representative Jessica Farrar whined about how it was just so dadgum mean to do ambush interviews of legislators without knowing who signs their paychecks.

Schaefer, David Simpson, and Jonathan Stickland, meanwhile, explained how filming legislators is a tool for citizen journalists to hold elected officials accountable; Pat Fallon explained that, even if the elected officials don't like it, ambush interviews come with the territory.

The amendment failed 66-74:

RV# 1539 — Unofficial Totals: 66 Yeas, 74 Nays, 3 Present, not voting

Yeas - Anderson, C.; Anderson, R.; Ashby; Bell; Bohac; Bonnen, G.; Burns; Burrows; Canales; Craddick; Crownover; Cyrier; Dale; Davis, S.; Fallon; Fletcher; Flynn; Frank; Goldman; Gonzales; Guillen; Gutierrez; Huberty; Hughes; Keough; King, P.; King, S.; Klick; Koop; Krause; Landgraf; Larson; Laubenberg; Leach; Lozano; Metcalf; Meyer; Miles; Murphy; Murr; Paddie; Parker; Paul; Phelan; Price; Rinaldi; Rodriguez, E.; Sanford; Schaefer; Schofield; Shaheen; Simmons; Simpson; Smithee; Spitzer; Springer; Stickland; Thompson, E.; Tinderholt; Turner, E.S.; VanDeaver; White, J.; White, M.; Wray; Zedler; Zerwas

Nays - Allen; Alonzo; Alvarado; Anchia; Aycock; Bernal; Blanco; Bonnen, D.; Button; Clardy; Coleman; Collier; Cook; Darby; Davis, Y.; Deshotel; Dukes; Dutton; Elkins; Faircloth; Farias; Farrar; Frullo; Galindo; Geren; Giddings; González; Guerra; Harless; Hernandez; Herrero; Howard; Hunter; Isaac; Israel; Johnson; Kacal; King, K.; King, T.; Kuempel; Longoria; Lucio; Márquez; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; McClendon; Miller, D.; Miller, R.; Minjarez; Moody; Muñoz; Naishtat; Nevárez; Oliveira; Otto; Phillips; Pickett; Raney; Raymond; Reynolds; Riddle; Rodriguez, J.; Romero; Rose; Schubert; Sheffield; Smith; Thompson, S.; Turner, C.; Villalba; Vo; Walle; Workman; Wu

Present, not voting - Mr. Speaker; Sheets(C); Turner, S.

Absent - Burkett; Capriglione; Farney; Keffer; Morrison; Peña; Stephenson

DPS Closes Baseless Stickland Investigation

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:9

Press Release from Stickland's Office:

DPS Informs Stickland that Committee Allegations Have No Merit

Austin, TX – State Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R–Bedford) announced today that DPS in-formed his legal counsel late last week that DPS has completed their investigation of allegations against Stickland and his office related to witness registrations at an April 30, 2015 Transportation Committee meeting. DPS informed Stickland that the allega-tions are without merit and that the case is closed.

“Late Friday I spoke with one of the rangers assigned to the case,” said Trey Trainor, outside legal counsel for Stickland and his staff. “I was told that the investigation was over and that I would not be hearing from DPS anymore.”

DPS officers met with Stickland and his staff and interviewed them related to a criminal investigation of violations of the penal code. Those meetings concluded on Thursday and DPS promptly closed the case the next day.

“The officer said they had taken the evidence gathered by DPS to the DA’s Office and the district attorney was not interested in taking the case,” added Trainor. “We have said since the beginning that there were no violations of the law or violations of House rules, and I am glad that law enforcement agreed.”

Stickland spoke with General Investigating and Ethics Committee Chairman John Kuempel (R–Seguin) on Monday and was informed that the committee did not have any additional hearings scheduled at this time.

Double Standards and the Governor's Emergency Items....

"Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord."
Proverbs 20:10

Update: Apparently, the Ethics bill was heard in House State Affairs last week; doesn't change the underlying point of the post.

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Sheesh:

The centerpiece on the 84th Legislature’s table isn’t getting the attention the governor hoped for.

In his mid-February State of the State speech, Gov. Greg Abbott tried to put ethics reform high on the agenda, telling the Legislature, “Let’s dedicate this session to ethics.” He added it to his list of five “emergency” items that could get expedited treatment by lawmakers.

He pointed to ideas in his “blueprint” for the state, “like requiring elected officials to disclose contracts they have with public entities, prohibiting lawmakers from voting on legislation from which they could profit and more disclosure of campaign finance information.”

Abbott told lawmakers that a failure to act would threaten the bonds between them and their constituents, “and rightfully raise suspicions about who we truly serve — ourselves, or the people of Texas.”

But not a lot has changed, and only two weeks remain before the session ends. Further reform is still possible, but the most significant changes being proposed still haven’t been considered by the Texas House, much less by a committee that would have to reconcile the Senate and House versions of reform

....

But the contract and income disclosures that Abbott wanted remain undone. Those would require lawmakers to reveal contracts and business relationships with government contractors that currently go undocumented. Lower limits on how much money lobbyists can spend on lawmakers without identifying those lawmakers is stuck.

....

Time is short. A House committee has the legislation now, and has until the end of the week to send it to the full House, which in turn has to act on it by May 26.

Byron Cook hasn't called a hearing has slow-walked the Governor's ethics bill (among other things).  Meanwhile, we were expected to fall into line over pre-K.  Duly noted and very revealing.

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Representative Byron Cook: (512) 463-0730

TPPF: Freedom of Association vs. Forced Disclosure

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;"
James 1:19

Texas Public Policy Foundation -- Last night, TPPF hosted an event discussing the perils of donor intimidation vs. "disclosure."  Participants were Paul Avelar of the Institute for Justice and Vice Chairman Chase Untermeyer of the Texas Ethics Commission.  Mr. Untermeyer's words speak for themselves.

Untermeyer opening remarks:



Highlights:

• Asked Joe Straus to put him on the "Ethics" Commission.

• "The status quo is usually the right course."

• "Ethics" Commission only has civil jurisdiction.

• Empower Texans case wasn't about disclosure.

• Attacks against donors aren't retaliation, they're "politics."

Untermeyer under examination:

Highlights:

• Anonymity is inherently suspect?!?

• Transparency leads to trust.

• We vote in private for a reason.

• "Dark money" goes to a non-profit.

Paul Avelar opening:

Highlights:

• Discussing Texas-specific topics could make him a lobbyist.

• Non-profits can inform voters of politicians records.

• "Not liking what is being said is not reason to restrict speech."

• It's not the government's business.

• Sometimes, unpopular speech needs to be anonymous.

• The best judge of speech is the speech itself.

• These types of political reprisals are well documented.

Avelar under examination:

Highlights:

• Untermeyer scared of the term "Dark Money."

• The public does not have an interest in knowing who pays for a non-profit campaign that the government can enforce.
• It's the organization's choice.

• "The speaker controls the message in America."

Untermeyer Rebuttal:

Highlights:

• Belittles Avelar's examples.

• Empower Texans has more influence than NAACP in Alabama.

• TPPF doesn't get involved in elections, so who cares?!?

Avelar rebuttal:

Highlights:

• Most people believe in "privacy for me but not for thee."

• Non-profits can't have their main function be influencing elections.

• "Undue influence" standard "is dangerous."
• Legal morass

Untermeyer summation:



Highlights:

• "There is no public harm in disclosure."
• Author's Note: Talk about Chutzpah

Avelar Summation:

Highlights:

• ISIS attack in Garland proves how far people are willing to go to shut down speech.

• Americans are no more influenced by political ads than from commercial ads.
• You still need a good product underneath.
• cf. New Coke

Q&A:

Highlights:

• Disclosure laws have the greatest effect on small donors with regular lives.

• Political branches are full of incumbents.

• Untermeyer dodges Tony McDonald's question.

• Mozilla CEO was discovered by California disclosure laws.
• Untermeyer didn't care

• Internet has made donor intimidation much easier.
• There are groups that mine this data.

• Untermeryer: Donors to big, established organizations have more rights.

• You can evaluate speech on it's own merits.