Escaping, Xeriscaping, and Scapegoating

Last week Governor Perry gave a record breaking seventh State of the State message (a public address to the legislature about his policy priorities for the upcoming session).     The message was notable for what the Governor focused on, but it was also important for the things Governor Perry escaped discussing.  While previously he emphasized abortion limits and tough immigration reform, the speech contained nothing about either. It’s no secret that Governor Perry is considering a second bid for the White House in 2016, but some wondered whether his silence on controversial topics signals that he is agenda setting (establishing key priorities) on issues that will win support on the campaign trail.  He supported $3.7 billion funding for water and transportation projects to be paid from the state’s Rainy Day Fund and emphasized the need for a constitutional amendment to allow the state to return tax surpluses to taxpayers.  To amend the Constitution, the legislature must pass the amendment by two-thirds vote, and the voters must vote for the provision by a majority vote.

Governor Perry’s willingness to address the state’s water shortage was met favorably by supporters of xeriscaping (a method developed especially for arid and semiarid climates that utilizes water-conserving techniques such as planting drought-tolerant plants).  Regulatory mechanisms (rules that allow organizations to control certain types of behavior) allow Homeowners Associations (HOAs) to regulate what homeowners can do with their property.  HOAs (organizations in a subdivision, planned community or
condominium that make and enforce rules for properties in its
jurisdiction) frequently mandate homeowners cover their front yards with grass despite the high costs.  Watering lawns and landscaping accounts for about 50-80 percent of all home usage, but systematic attempts at reform have been limited.

Until now.

Two different proposals from Austin Democrats limit the ability of HOAs to prohibit xeriscaping. With water restrictions in place, however, such lawns wind up turning brown.  The bills prevent HOAs from banning xeriscaping with the hopes that homeowners will promote more water efficient landscapes.  Hopefully there’s some relief in sight.

And speaking of relief, there’s no way for the state legislature to avoid scapegoating (laying the blame on some other individual, group, or organization) for the problems faced by the Texas public education system given the ruling by state district judge John Dietz on Monday.  Last October over 600 school districts filed a class action lawsuit (a case supported by small groups acting on behalf of a larger group) against the state for underfunding public schools.  The lawsuit affects three-fourths of the state’s five million public school students, and the plaintiffs (the parties filing the lawsuit) argue that the state is not meeting its constitutional obligation to adequately fund public education. They sued following a $5.4 billion cut to education in the last legislative cycle. The state judge found that Texas violated the state Constitution by underfunding public schools and trying to shift the responsibility to the local level. Such an approach, he said, created an unconstitutional statewide property tax. An appeal by the state will most definitely follow.

Guess that means there’s no free lunch after all.

 

You’re cut off?

The statutory restriction on the number of terms an official or officeholder may serve (term limits)—have been popular since the late 1980s-90s as the federal government implemented reforms focused on legislative accountability (the extent to which legislators pursue the interests of their constituent supporters).  While the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal term limits in U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton (1992), today 15 states have limits for elected state representatives.  Five liberal justices in the U.S. Term Limits case found that federal government must pass a Constitutional amendment to enact limits. Why?  The Articles of Confederation (our country’s first Constitution considered a terrible failure, but which led to our current Constitution) had term limits, so the majority reasoned that the founders’ omission meant they did not intend for such provisions to be enacted.

Nonetheless, the recent surge of Tea Party support in Texas brought to power officials who want to change the system, including establishing term limits for state offices.  Ironically, the measures introduced in the next legislative session will target fellow Republicans who do not share the Tea Party’s more conservative values.  Proposals for term limits range from a Constitutional amendment limiting statewide, non-judicial officeholders from running for a third consecutive term (most statewide offices are four years) to other proposals which limits lawmakers to serving six biennial (two year) legislative sessions.

That certainly would limit the incumbency effect (the perpetual re-election of representatives because they have the advantage of using their elected office to accumulate support and name recognition).

Speaking of trying to put a stop to something, the Attorney General Greg Abbott has raised concerns about stopping school campus violence.  In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings,  Attorney General Greg Abbott warned 78 of the state’ s 1025 school districts that they were not in compliance (had not met state requirements) for having proper campus security arrangements.   Of great concern is that 38 districts do not even have a safety plan on file which is mandated by a 2005 state law requiring schools have policies for emergencies and crises.   The law could be considered a symbolic policy because it has no fines or penalties attached—there are no enforcement mechanism requiring schools carry out state policy.

One district that has a unique form of compliance is Harrold ISD-a rural school near the Oklahoma border which allows teachers to carry guns on campus.  Most folks don’t know that both federal and state laws allow for schools to obtain permission for arming teachers.  Harrold’s “Guardian Plan”—put in place after the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings—requires teachers complete the concealed handgun class, obtain the approval of the school board, and agree to use only “frangible ammunition” (which breaks apart when it hits hard surfaces thus preventing ricochets).

So for perpetual incumbents facing term limits and guns in schools, have they been cut off?  The answer is a definite “maybe”.