Bright lights

The latest salvo in the battle between the University of Texas Austin, Board of Regents and the Texas legislature has landed on the desk of the State Attorney General Greg Abbott. The UT System Regents Chairman Gene Powell has asked for an Attorney General memorandum opinion on whether the Regents must comply with a request by the lawmakers to turn over documents.  Such a written opinion by the attorney general interprets a legal provision requested by a public official, but it is only advisory.

Texas, like other states, has open records laws or sunshine laws put in place in the early 1970s to give such access.  The laws give a “right-to-know” legal process that is free or low-cost so citizens can request government-held information and ensure government accountability.

So what’s the problem?

The Texas laws include a provision giving legislators privileged access to the documents, and lawmakers have requested information related to an investigation about UT-Austin Law School and an independent foundation. There are also allegations that the Board of Regents Chair, Gene Powell, is fighting for his job and that lawmakers are seeking to trim the Board’s power.  Lawmakers do not want an investigation, but the Regents do.

Looks some additional heat is coming from the Board itself as they convene  in a special meeting this week to discuss whether the Board should comply with the records request.  The state legislature can hold oversight hearings (meetings to review the actions) of the Board.

Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo), Senate Higher Education Committee Chair may be hoping that some of the heat could be turned down, and he has suggested that Governor Perry address the issue directly by scheduling a meeting with all the concerned parties.  That makes sense, because Gov. Perry appointed all nine of the current Regents.

And speaking of trying to take the heat off, last week’s vote on women’s health care resulted in gains for 170,000 low-income women who will receive additional health care coverage under a compromise plan. The credit is being given to Rep. Sarah Davis (R-West University Place) who worked to ensure bipartisan support.  Davis, a pro-life moderate on abortion issues when laws interfere with the doctor-patient relationship (the private consultations between both) also negotiated funding for the Women’s Health Program (the low-income program for family planning). That program had federal subsidies (financial support with tax dollars) pulled after Planned Parenthood clinics were removed from Texas’ health care programs.  Monies that were restored replace millions of dollars in federal family-planning dollars (called Title X a comprehensive family planning and contraceptive program) cut under the Obama administration.

How did Davis do it?

Through multiple negotiations she convinced her GOP colleagues that cutting funding for women’s health programs could alienate conservative women.  Closer public scrutiny might make it look like the Republican party didn’t care about women’s health care.

Sometimes maybe the glare of the lights is a good thing.

The flag is up

Last weekend Austin was the site of a Formula One (F1) racing event which the state worked hard to get since 2007 when the first race of its kind was held in the US.  The Circuit of the Americas track (estimated cost $400 million) is hoped to pump $200-300 million into the Texas economy, but here’s the yellow flag causing the state to proceed with caution. The Comptroller of Public Accounts (Texas’ chief tax collector and accountant) Susan Combs agreed to provide financial support to the builders of $250 million over the next ten years in the event that the track does not turn a profit. That means the track was built without any tax incentives or tax subsidies. What’s the difference?  Incentives are part of the tax code designed to encourage a certain type of behavior. Investors might be given a reprieve from paying property taxes for a certain period of time to encourage them to invest in a project. Subsidies are an outright grant of money by the state to assist an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public (so it’s like a loan you do not have to re-pay).  Here the state did neither—instead, Combs agreed to defray the costs of building the F1 before the city of Austin had signed off to give tax incentives on the deal which is required under Texas law.   That means Texans will pay for the 2012 race to the tune of about $25 million from the Major Events Trust Fund (a fund specifically designed to promote economic development).  Tea Party conservatives and newly elected freshmen legislators are not ready to give the go ahead and want to re-visit the issue because they are concerned about Combs’ decision to fund the project without sufficient funding to do so.

One program that did get a green flag by the State Attorney General was the for-profit medical school—the American University of the Caribbean—which requested authorization to allow foreign medical students to complete their coursework and residency in Texas.  Greg Abbot’s Attorney General opinion—a written opinion interpreting a legal provision requested by a public official—found that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board could allow foreign students to work in Texas hospitals. Some are concerned that these students will take slots needed by Texas students, or that the students will take up residency here after graduation.  The medical school requesting the exemption argues that 60% of its graduates practice in primary care specialties and 50% practice in under-served areas, two areas that have the biggest shortages in doctors.

Finally, Hope Andrade—the state’s first Latina Secretary of State in Texas announced that she was resigning this week—an unusual move given that she serves at the pleasure of the Governor.  This is one of the few positions the Texas Governor can appoint and remove, and typically someone does not leave the office until the end of the governor’s term. One of the office’s key areas of authority is over statewide elections, and Andrade has served for five different cycles.  The most likely reason why she is stepping down involved the furor over her letter sent to Texas residents  designated as “deceased” by Secretary’s office in advance of the 2012 presidential election. Unfortunately, many of the letter recipients were still quite alive and not happy they were being removed. Looks like Andrade got the checkered flag herself.