The Mignon Memo

On Monday, State District Judge John Dietz found that Texas’ system of funding public schools is unconstitutional since the state has not provided adequate resources to lift students to the state’s new high standards. Judge Dietz issued his ruling after a 12 week trial involving six separate groups of plaintiffs in several lawsuits combined for the joint trial.  The State of Texas is expected to file a direct appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.  Rumors in Austin are that a special session will be needed in 2014 to address issues surrounding the court cases.

The Mexican American Legislative Caucus elected its officers: Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, chairman; Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, vice chair; Ana Hernandez Luna, D-Houston, legal counsel; Armando Martinez, D-Edinburg, secretary; and Mary Gonzalez, D-El Paso, treasurer.

With just over a month to go until the filing deadline, Texas legislators have filed 1384 bills.  In 2011, 5796 bills were filed so we have a long way to go to catch up to that number.

 

Governor Rick Perry delivered his State of the State speech to a joint session of the Texas House and Senate yesterday.  He discussed various priorities including job creation, support for the state’s infrastructure, and limiting state spending.  Follow this link to read the entire speech: http://governor.state.tx.us/news/speech/18095/#.UQgHua0qS8A.twitter.

Rep. Yvonne Davis (D-Dallas) was elected Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. Rep. Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie) will serve as Vice-Chair.

Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia and Rep. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) will meet in a runoff for the Senate District 6 seat. Garcia received about 45.4 percent of votes and Alvarado received 41.7 percent in last Saturday’s election to fill the seat of the late Sen. Mario Gallegos. The date of the run-off election between the two Democrats will be announced by Gov. Rick Perry once an official vote count is complete.

The current rumor is that Texas House Speaker Joe Straus will issue committee assignments tomorrow.  If that prediction is true, we will send you a link to that list as soon as it is released.  Once committee assignments are released, we expect the number of bill filings to increase.

 

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst issued committee assignments for the Texas Senate on Friday.  Newly elected Senators were placed on committees and veteran members were shuffled around.  Dewhurst previously announced the chairs of the various standing committees several months ago.  House committees will likely be announced in the next two weeks.  For a complete list of Senate committees, follow this link to the Texas Senate’s website: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/assets/pdf/TXSenCmtes83R.pdf.

Today Texas Senators drew envelopes to determine whether they would have a two or four year term of office. This drawing occurs after the redistricting process in order to achieve staggered terms. Happy legislators who drew a four year term include Senators Birdwell, Duncan, Ellis, Eltife, Fraser, Hegar, Hinojosa, Lucio, Nelson, Rodriguez, Taylor, Uresti, Van de Putte, Williams and Zaffirini.  Senators Campbell, Carona, Davis, Deuell, Estes, Hancock, Huffman, Nichols, Patrick, Paxton, Schwertner, Seliger, Watson, West, and Whitmire drew two year terms and thus will begin campaigning soon after session ends.  Whoever wins the Senate District 6 race will have a four year term.

Budget proposals were issued by both the House and Senate on Monday. These drafts will be the starting point for deliberations in both chambers.  The Senate proposed a $186.8 billion budget, a 1.6 percent reduction from the amount the current budget is estimated to grow to in the next budget cycle.  General revenue spending makes up $89 billion of the budget, an increase of 1.5 percent from the current budget.  The total House budget will be $187.7 billion, a 1.2 percent reduction from the current budget. General revenue spending makes up $89.2 billion, a 2 percent increase from the current budget. The difference in the total amount of the two budgets is a result of a difference in the estimation of growth in Medicaid enrollment. The Senate’s budget is based on August 2013 enrollment levels, while the House’s is based on the August 2015 enrollment levels.

Rep. Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie) has filed House Bill 515 which would roll back provisions passed in 2011 that require the prepayment of various taxes.  No one likes to pay taxes early so this will be a popular bill.

Rep. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) was elected House Republican Caucus Chair.

The Texas House and Senate recessed after Tuesday’s sessions until Wednesday of next week to allow members to attend the presidential inaugural festivities in Washington D.C. The State of the State address will be delivered by Governor Rick Perry to a joint session of the Texas Legislature on January 29^th.  While committee assignments in the Texas House are expected to take a few more weeks, Lt. Governor Dewhurst announced that he will reveal Senate committee assignments on Friday.

 

 

 

Gov. Rick Perry has set Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, as the special election date to fill the Texas State Senate District 6 seat formerly held by the late Sen. Mario Gallegos (D-Houston).  Candidates for this special election must file applications with the Secretary of State no later than 5:00 p.m. on December 27, 2012. The early voting period runs from Wednesday, January 9, 2013 to
Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

Former Texas Department of Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Chief of Staff Katie Olse was recently named associate commissioner at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). HHSC Commissioner Kyle Janek named Erica Stick as HHSC’s new chief of staff.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!  The Mignon Memo will take a break next week but will return in 2013.

Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) has filed paperwork to run for Speaker of the Texas House.  Simpson will challenge incumbent Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio). Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), who announced his speaker’s candidacy six months ago, withdrew from the race after Simpson’s announcement and pledged to support Simpson.  The members of the Texas House will elect the speaker on January 8, 2013, the first day of the 83^rd Legislative Session.

Today, Governor Rick Perry appointed Christi Craddick to fill out the balance of former Texas Railroad Commissioner Buddy Garcia’s term on the Commission.  Craddick won the seat in the November election and her new term of office will begin on January 13, 2013.

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced that the state collected $2.34 billion in state sales tax revenue for the month of November, 2012.   That is a 13.1 percent increase compared to the month of November, 2011.

In case you haven’t noticed, today is 12-12-12.  This is the last sequential date of this century.  Hope you enjoy it as much as you did 11-11-11 and 10-10-10.

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. of San Antonio as president and chairman of the Texas Economic Development Corporation. Bugg will serve as senior advisor to the governor on the state’s economic development strategies and initiatives, and provide leadership in coordinating the economic development efforts of the Texas Economic Development Corp., the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism, the Office of the Secretary of State, and state and local economic development partners.  Bugg is chairman and CEO of Southwest Bancshares Inc., Bandera First State Bancshares Inc., San Antonio Capital & Trust Holdings LLC, and Argyle Investment Co. LLC, and is chairman of the Bank of San Antonio.

Rep. Myra Crownover (R-Denton) will take over as Texas House GOP Caucus chairman until at least early January.   Crownover, who had held the position of caucus vice chairman, moved up to take over for Rep. Larry Taylor who was elected to the Texas Senate in November. The caucus will vote on new board members next month when the legislative session begins.

Mary Katherine Stout, who also served as budget and policy director to Gov. Rick Perry in recent years, has become Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek’s “special adviser” on ideas for overhauling the state-federal Medicaid health insurance program.

Jack Brooks, who spent 42 years in the U.S. House representing Southeast Texas, passed away yesterday at the age of 89.  Brooks, one of Speaker Sam Rayburn’s protégés, was also in the Dallas motorcade in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  Congressman Brooks is present in the famous photo of Lyndon Johnson taking the oath of office on Air Force One, standing immediately behind Jacqueline Kennedy.

 

On Tuesday, Governor Perry appointed John T. Steen Jr. of San Antonio as Texas’ 108th Secretary of State.  Steen is an attorney and past board member of the Texas Public Safety Commission. He also served on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.  Steen replaces former Secretary of State Hope Andrade who resigned earlier this month.

Governor Perry has appointed Jeffrey Boyd to the Texas Supreme Court effective Dec. 3, 2012, for a term to expire at the next general election.  Boyd, who currently serves as chief of staff for the Governor’s Office, replaces Justice Dale Wainwright who resigned September 30, 2012 to enter private practice.  To replace Boyd, Governor Perry named Ann S. Bishop as his new chief of staff.  Bishop has served as the Executive Director of the Employees Retirement System of Texas since 2004.

The Texas Legislative Budget Board (LBB) set a $77.9 billion cap on state spending for the 2014-15 budget year, a 10 percent increase above the current discretionary spending limit.  During a meeting of the LBB held on November 15^th, several members expressed their desire to limit spending increases to population growth plus inflation. Ursula Parks, the LBB’s director, told lawmakers that experts estimate that rate will be 9.85 percent in 2014-15.  The final spending cap will be set by Comptroller Susan Combs in January when she issues an official revenue estimate for 2014-15.

Governor Perry announced the creation of the “Skilled Workforce Initiative” in Texas. The initiative is a  collaboration between the Governor’s Office, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Workforce Commission that will use competency-based learning to help Texans quickly receive certifications in high demand industries.  In the new program, students will obtain a certificate of completion in a specific field that would fit between an associate’s degree of applied science and a high school diploma. Those credits would then be transferable if the students wanted to pursue more education later. The first classes will begin in September 2013 at Texas State Technical College campuses in Harlingen and East Williamson County.

Governor Rick Perry has yet to announce the date of the special election to fill the Texas Senate seat vacated by the death of Mario Gallegos following his posthumous re-election last week.  Despite the absence of a date, several candidates have announced their intent to run, including Democrats Sylvia Garcia, a former Harris County Commissioner, and Rep. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston).  Republican R.W. Bray who lost to Gallegos in the general election will also run again.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus has created the Interim Committee on Texas Response to Federal Sequestration, which will recommend ways that the state can prepare for possible tax increases and spending reductions.  The Committee will study how the sequestration process will affect the defense industry in Texas, the state budget, public and higher education and the tax burden on Texas families and businesses. The Committee will also develop specific legislative proposals.  Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving) has been appointed as Chair of the Committee. Rep. Mike Villarreal (D-San Antonio) will serve as Vice Chair.  The Committee will also include Reps. Cindy Burkett (R-Mesquite); Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe); Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin);  Craig Eiland (D-Galveston); Dan Flynn (R-Canton); Naomi Gonzalez (D-El Paso); Jodie Laubenberg (R-Rockwall);  Eddie Lucio III (D-San Benito); and Charles Perry (R-Lubbock).

On Monday, Texas legislators began filing legislation for the upcoming 83^rd Legislative Session.  Over 250 bills were filed on the first day as eager legislators unveiled their legislative programs.  Expect to see bills continue to trickle in through December and the numbers to rise once the session begins in January.

Senior State District Judge John Specia of San Antonio will take over as commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.  Judge Specia will replace Howard Baldwin, who announced last week he is leaving his post as commissioner to pursue other options.

The election results are in! Here are the “down and dirty” results of races of interest in Texas.  For more detailed information, go to the Secretary of State’s website at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/. A future memo will provide more detailed analysis of the Texas election results and the implications for the upcoming legislative session. We will also follow any possible recounts and election challenges.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Despite losing the election, Republican Mitt Romney carried Texas as expected.  Romney got 57% of the vote over President Barack Obama who received 41%.

U.S. SENATE

Republican Ted Cruz defeated Democrat Paul Sadler in the race to replace retiring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

U.S. HOUSE 

After redistricting, Texas now has 36 Congressional seats.  The partisan balance of the Texas Congressional delegation now includes 24 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

Two of the most highly contested congressional races in the country were here in Texas.  In CD 14 – retiring Congressman Ron Paul’s district, Republican Randy Weber defeated Democrat Nick Lampson.  In CD 23, Democrat Pete Gallego defeated U.S.Rep. Francisco Canseco (R).  There will be eight new members in the Texas delegation, including Republicans Randy Weber (CD 14), Roger Williams(CD 25), and Steve Stockman (CD 36) and Democrats Beto O’Rourke (CD 16); Joaquin Castro (CD 20); Pete Gallego (CD 23); Marc Veasey (CD 33), and Filemon Vela (CD 34).

STATEWIDE RACES 

There were a few statewide races on the ballot.  Two seats on the Texas Railroad Commission were up for grabs.  In Place 1, Republican Christi Craddick defeated Democrat Dale Henry. In Place 2, incumbent Republican Commissioner Barry Smitherman defeated Libertarian Jamie Perez.

There were three contested races for spots on the Texas Supreme Court although only one involved major party opposition.  In Place 2, Republican incumbent Justice Don Willett defeated Libertarian Roberto Koelsh. In Place 4, Republican John Devine defeated Libertarian Tom Oxford. In Place 6, Incumbent Republican Justice Nathan Hecht defeated Democrat Michele Petty.  There was one contested race for a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Republican incumbent Justice Sharon Keller defeated Democrat Keith Hampton.

TEXAS SENATE

Due to redistricting, all 31 seats were on the ballot.  The Texas Senate will have five new members.  Former Texas House members Charles Schwertner (SD 5), Ken Paxton (SD 8), Kelly Hancock (SD 9), and Larry Taylor (SD 11) will join the Texas Senate along with Donna Campbell (SD 25).  In the highly contested and expensive Senate District 10 race, Democratic incumbent Sen. Wendy Davis held off a challenge by Rep. Mark Shelton (R-Ft. Worth).  In Senate District 6, deceased Sen.
Mario Gallegos was elected posthumously.  A special election will be held sometime in December.

Assuming Senate District 6 elects a Democrat as the district is drawn to do, that will leave the Texas Senate with 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. This is the same partisan split as the last session.

TEXAS HOUSE

In the Texas House, all 150 seats were up for reelection.  Thirty incumbents did not seek reelection.  Ten incumbents were defeated in the primary elections. Seventy-six incumbents faced no major party opposition.   Immediately prior to the election, the partisan balance of the House was 102 Republicans to 48 Democrats.  Due to the results listed below, the House partisan balance stands at 95 Republicans and 45 Democrats.

Last night, three House incumbents were defeated. In House District 34 in the Corpus Christi area, Incumbent Rep. Connie Scott (R-Corpus Christi) was defeated by former state representative Abel Herrero (D-Corpus Christi).  In House District 78 in El Paso, Incumbent Rep. Dee Margo (R-El Paso) lost to former state representative Joe Moody (D-El Paso). In House District 117 in San Antonio, Incumbent Rep. John Garza (R-San Antonio) lost to former San Antonio City Councilman Phillip Cortez (D).

There were 39 “open” House races for newly created seats or seats held by members who were not seeking reelection or were defeated in the primary.  The results are listed below with the current member in parentheses.

District 3: Open seat in Mongomery, Waller counties

Cecil Bell, Jr. (R-Magnolia)

District 6: (Rep. Leo Berman R-Tyler)

Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler)

District 9: (Rep. Wayne Christian R-Center)

Chris Paddie (R-Marshall)

District 11: (Rep. Chuck Hopson R-Jacksonville)

Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches)

District 12: Open seat in Brazos, McLennon counties

Kyle Kacal (R-Bryan)

District 15: (Rep. Rob Eissler R-The Woodlands)

Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands)

District 20: (Rep. Charles Schwertner R-Georgetown)

Marsha Farney (R-Georgetown)

District 24: (Rep. Larry Taylor R-Friendswood)

Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood)

District 26: (Rep. Charlie Howard R-Sugarland)

Rick Miller (R-Sugarland)

District 29: (Rep. Randy Weber R-Pearland)

Ed Thompson (R-Pearland)

District 33: Open seat in Collin, Rockwall counties

Scott Turner (R-Frisco)

District 35: Open seat in Cameron, Hidalgo counties

Oscar Longoria (D-Mission)

District 40: (Rep. Aaron Pena R-Edinburg)

Terry Canales (D-Edinburg)

District 57: (Rep. Marva Beck R-Centerville)

Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin)

District 59: (Rep. Sid Miller R-Stephenville)

Republican JD Sheffield defeated Democrat Bill Norris

District 65: (Rep. Burt Solomons R-Carrollton)

Republican Ron Simmons defeated Democrat Gary Brown

District 67: (Rep. Jerry Madden R-Plano)

Jeff Leach (R-Plano)

District 68: (Rep. Rick Hardcastle R-Vernon)

Drew Springer (R)

District 69: (Rep. Lanham Lyle R-Wichita Falls)

James Frank (R-Wichita Falls)

District 70: (Rep. Ken Paxton R-McKinney)

Scott Sanford (R-McKinney)

District 74: (Rep. Pete Gallego D-Alpine)

Democrat Poncho Nevarez defeated Republican Thomas Kincaid

District 75: (Rep. Chente Quintanilla D-El Paso)

Mary Gonzalez D-El Paso

District 85: Open seat in Ft. Bend, Jackson counties)

Republican Phil Stephenson defeated Democrat Doro Olivo

District 88:  (Rep. Jim Landtroop R-Plainview/Rep. Warren Chisum R-Pampa)

Ken King (R-Canadian)

District 91: (Rep. Kelly Hancock R-Nth Richland Hills)

Stephanie Klick (R-Ft. Worth)

District 92: (Rep. Todd Smith R-Bedford)

Jonathan Strickland (R-Hurst)

District 93: (Rep. Barbara Nash (R-Arlington)

Matt Krause (R-Ft. Worth)

District 95: (Rep. Marc Veasey D-Ft. Worth)

Democrat Nicole Collier defeated Republican Monte Mitchell

District 97: (Rep. Mark Shelton R-Ft. Worth)

Republican Craig Goldman defeated Democrat Gary Grassia

District 98: (Rep. Vicki Truitt R-Keller)

Republican Giovanni Capriglione defeated Democrat Shane Hardon

District 101: Open seat in Tarrant County

Chris Turner (D-Ft. Worth)

District 106: Open seat in Denton County

Pat Fallon (R-Denton)

District 110: (Rep. Barbara Mallory Caraway D-Dallas)

Toni Rose (D-Dallas)

District 114: (Rep. Will Hartnett R-Dallas)

Republican Jason Villalba defeated Democrat Carol Kent

District 115: (Rep. Jim Jackson R-Dallas)

Republican Bennett Ratliff defeated Democrat Mary Clare Fabishak

District 125: (Rep. Joaquin Castro D-San Antonio)

Democrat Justin Rodriguez defeated Republican Alma Perez Jackson

District 136: Open seat in Williamson County

Republican Tony Dale defeated Democrat Matt Stillwell

District 137: (Rep. Scott Hochberg D-Houston)

Democrat Gene Wu defeated Republican MJ Kahn

District 144: (Rep. Ken Legler R-Houston)

Democrat Mary Ann Perez defeated Republican David Pineda

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION 

The new partisan split of the State Board of Education is 10 Republicans to 5 Democrats.   There will be 8 new members.  One incumbent was defeated – Republican Charlie Garza in El Paso.

District 1: Democrat Martha Dominguez defeated Incumbent Carlos “Charlie” Garza (R-El Paso)

District 2: Democrat Ruben Cortez defeated Republican Laurie Turner 

District 3: Democrat Marisa Perez defeated Republican David Williams 

District 4: Incumbent Lawrence Allen Jr. (D-Houston) defeated Republican Dorothy Olmos

District 5: Incumbent Ken Mercer (R-San Antonio) defeated Democrat Rebecca Bell-Metereau 

District 6:  Republican Donna Bahorich defeated Democrat Traci Jensen

District 7: Incumbent David Bradley (R-Beaumont) (no major party opposition)  

District 8: Incumbent Barbara Cargill (R-The Woodlands) defeated Democrat Dexter Smith  

District 9: Incumbent Thomas Ratliff (R-Mount Pleasant) (no major party opposition)  

District 10: Republican Tom Maynard (R) defeated Democrat Judy Jennings 

District 11: Incumbent Patricia Hardy (R-Weatherford) (no major party opposition)

District 12: Republican Tincy Miller defeated Democrat Lois Parrot 

District 13: Incumbent Mavis Knight (D-Dallas) defeated Republican S.T. Russell

District 14: Republican Sue Melton (R) (no major party opposition)  

District 15: Republican Marty Rowley defeated Democrat Steve Schafersman