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.

 

Happy New Biennium!

Hope all is going well for you so far in 2013! Things have started already heating up for the newly installed 83^rd Texas legislature as it came back into session yesterday with a full set of policy issues facing the state in the short biennial session (the 140 day period which runs in odd-numbered years).   Typically the first day is full of pomp and circumstance to welcome the legislators, but it is also a day filled with agenda setting (a discussion about what issues need to be addressed in the upcoming cycle).  With 150 members in the Texas House and 31 members in the Texas Senate, this session promises to be a rough ride because of the range of policy issues up for consideration.

In the last decade, Texas has become a majority Republican state–meaning that Republicans control the governor’s office as well as both chambers of the legislature.  So it’s no surprise that the GOP also controls the 83^rd legislature (Senate 19 Republicans-11 Democrats; House 95 Republicans-55 Democrats).  What is interesting is that we have a record number of freshmen legislators (those members of the House and Senate for whom this is their first term in office) and that Governor Perry has promised to make this a fiscally and socially conservative legislative year by limiting government spending.  The State Comptroller of Public Accounts-Susan Combs (person responsible for the state expenditures) said that spending must be limited to $101.4 billion dollars for the next two year cycle, so legislators are gearing up for discussing what should be the fiscal priorities this session.

Get ready for a budget battle.

Combs’ report Monday highlighted that the Texas Rainy Day Fund  (the reserve surplus that Texas holds for emergencies) has grown from 8.8 billion to $12 billion, leading some legislators to call for restoring spending on health care and education that were substantially cut in the 82^nd legislative session (about $5.4 billion).   Governor Perry fired back saying “[t]here are interests all across the state who view Monday’s revenue estimates as the equivalent of ringing the dinner bell.” Given that a number of conservative Republican incumbents were upset by Tea Party candidates (very conservative Republicans who adhere to reducing government spending and to promoting conservative social issues), the Governor will have additional support.  Added to the mix is whether the Governor himself may want to try another bid for the U.S. Presidency in 2016.  So while even some conservatives are concerned that Texas is being too tight with spending given how well the economy is doing, other Republicans are saying we need to be even more fiscally lean.

Don’t ring that bell just yet.

Counting down and heating up

Early voting ended Friday in Texas, and now we wait for Tuesday to see who takes over in 2013. What are the most salient issues on the agenda and what are the hot races to watch? Turns out Texans are still leery about federal government and the direction the country is heading, but the good news is marginally more persons think Texas is heading in the right direction.   As for what the new state legislature will do after the election in terms of setting the agenda (deciding which issues and problems government should try to address) is hard to know. Border security and the economy top out as the most important topics in public opinion polls.

Depending on the margin in the legislature, Republicans may be in a strong position to move through their agenda.  The most expensive race in the state is the Wendy Davis/ Mark Shelton battle for Senate District 10 in Ft. Worth which will wind up costing six million dollars by the time it’s over. It has been a particularly ugly campaign because Shelton has accused Davis of ethics violations and Davis has accused Shelton of wanting to let rapists go free by voting against legislation for rape evidence kits.  Who’s ahead—no way to tell—this is a true horse race (election contest where the media focus on candidate personalities and the competition rather than emphasize the issues).

One race that is literally heating up is in CD-14, a newly re-drawn district where Mark Weber (R) and Nick Lampson (D) are competing to fill the vacancy left by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, (R-Lake Jackson).  Recent video posted on-line shows Lampson getting aggressive in response to questions about some of his policy positions. The Lampson campaign quickly fired back that this was a Republican set up. The biggest difference between these two candidates is about the role of government and business.  Lampson argues that there is a role for government to play in helping to protect the economy, while Weber said that “[g]overnment is the problem.”

The third hottest race (but only because of the glare from the lights of national attention on what this race means for the Tea Party) is that between Paul Sadler and Ted Cruz.  Sadler recently called Cruz one of the most extreme U.S. Senate candidates ever because of Cruz’s support of Tea Party principles. The race isn’t hot because it will be close though, expect Cruz to take this easily.

What aren’t considered “hot” this season are judicial elections.  Most folks don’t pay attention to the fact that judges are elected on a partisan basis in Texas.  Critics of electing judges argue that campaign donors “buy” justice through their contributions to judicial campaigns.  Two candidates this cycle who have been the objects of media lights and who are seeking re-election for another 6-year term are Justice Nathan Hecht  (the longest-serving member on the Texas Supreme Court) and Justice Sharon Keller on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (best known for closing office doors promptly at 5 pm rather than accept a last-minute death penalty plea).   Keller, along with Justice Nathan Hecht each owe fines for ethics violations which have been levied by the Texas Ethics Commission.  Hecht’s fine was for failing to report a campaign contribution from a top law firm, while Keller was fined for failing to disclose more than $2 million in personal holdings on financial disclosure forms.  You might see Keller go up in smoke, but plan on Hecht continuing to burn bright.