They’ve got their work cut out for them

A governor vetoing legislation, university regents locked in power struggle with elected officials, threats of impeachment, all against the backdrop of a special session—sound familiar? You would be hard pressed to know whether it was the year 2013 or 1917.

Then

Our only Texas governor to be removed from office James “Pa” Ferguson (1915-1917) got into trouble because the board of regents at UT-Austin refused to remove particular faculty members whom he did not like. When the regents would not comply, the governor used his veto power (ability to reject legislation which requires two-thirds vote by both the Texas House and Senate) to remove most of the university’s appropriations.  In a special session called to address the appropriations issue, the House focused on and eventually impeached and then the Senate convicted “Pa” Ferguson who was removed from office.

Now

This time around, it is University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall that some legislators want to impeach during the special session for interference with the management of UT-Austin.   House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie) has put forward a resolution to impeach Hall who has been locked in a power struggle to get information from UT-Austin administrators. Pitts has accused Hall of going on a “witch hunt” by continually requesting documents.

This is the latest in the battle between legislators, regents, and the governor.  Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) was successful in getting a bill passed in regular session which placed restrictions and added training requirements for new regents. Gov. Rick Perry, who appoints the regents, vetoed the law.

So the last week of the special session is going to be the agenda clearing equivalent of a hot mess.   Trying to get through all of the agenda items and pass proposed legislation is never easy, but this is mission impossible.

Top priority was the final passage of the redistricting maps (the changed political boundaries) which resulted in extended lawsuits and a delayed primary process.   The House finally approved a map with minor revisions that basically “tweaked” the court ordered map put forward in 2012 by three federal judges. Now it just has to get past the three readings required under the state Constitution.

But wait, there’s more including the Governor’s proposal to divert half of all oil and gas revenue coming from severance taxes (fees charged to producers for extracting natural resources) to go to the state Highway Fund rather than to the Rainy Day Fund.  The proposal still requires a constitutional amendment—two-thirds vote by legislators which puts the measure forward for voter approval by majority vote.

And if they still have time the legislature will need to resolve whether teens should get mandatory life sentences with parole in capital cases and consider whether all abortions after 20 weeks can be prohibited.

Five days and counting.

Soldiering on into the sunset

The march through agenda clearing (the process of completing the legislature’s policy goals for the two year biennial cycle) continues.  There’s much that still needs to be done by May 27, or else Governor Rick Perry would have to call a special session (meetings to address additional business) for 30 days. The biggest sticking points are budgets for water projects and education.  Governor Perry’s top priority is for a water plan that would use monies from the Rainy Day Fund (Texas’ budget surplus), but that proposal (backed by a Republican majority) takes $2 billion from the surplus and requires a constitutional amendment to establish a dedicated account (both require a two-thirds supermajority vote).

Democrats hope to rally the troops by threatening to withhold needed votes to force a compromise on education funding they want restored after the last biennium when $5.3 billion in school financing was cut.

What’s the legislature to do?

Even if $330 million in funding for the public teachers’ pension funds are reinstated (something that Democrats are demanding for a compromise to be reached), that still leaves a budget shortfall of $1.3 billion. Complicating matters is that Governor Perry wants monies for transportation which also have to come from the surplus.  That forces some tough choices on decision-makers.

Speaking of tough decisions, legislation which limits the decision-making authority of the Higher Education Coordinating Board (the policy unit regulating policies and procedures to operate public higher education institutions) was dealt a blow with Senate Bill 215 that limits the agency’s life expectancy to 12 years.  Such sunset legislation (requiring termination of an agency or program by a specified date) means that the Board will have to get future justification for survival.

Legislators think the Board takes an “isolated approach to decision making” (in the words of Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury) and point to the Board’s decision to close low-performing degree programs (those failing to graduate at least 25 students in five years). The Board is accused of being heavy-handed in closing programs (especially in rural areas which graduate fewer students), and legislators want more transparency and local control in the process.   Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes, who oversees the Board, thinks that Texas needs the Board now more than ever to oversee initiatives for nontraditional students and online courses or else there will be an uphill battle to improve quality.

And higher education has more battles ahead.  The showdown over guns on college campuses comes to a floor vote soon since the Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted 4-2 to allow each campus to hold annual hearings to vote on whether guns are allowed.  Some are concerned that there are no penalties for “accidentally” bringing an unregistered gun on campus, while others raise the issue that disgruntled students will use weapons if they are unhappy about grades.  Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston), sponsor of the legislation that just passed, has proposed a solution, “grade on the gun curve.”

Soldier on faculty, soldier on.