The Mignon Memo

This is the last edition of the Mignon Memo for 2011. Enjoy your holidays and look for the Mignon Memo to return on January 4, 2012.

More news from the redistricting front. Late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s request for a stay on the state legislative and congressional maps drawn by the federal court in San Antonio. A hearing on the stay is scheduled for January 9, 2012. Then on Monday, the federal court in Washington, D.C. that is reviewing the Texas maps for preclearance under the Voting Rights Act announced that it will hold a trial January 17-26, 2012. What this means is the possibility of delayed or split primaries in Texas. The original filing deadline set by the San Antonio court was December 15th but that has changed with the stay of the maps. The filing period has been extended to 6:00pm on Monday, December 19. The court’s order stated that applications for filing may be amended once the maps are finalized. In other words, what a mess!

John Raney (R-Bryan) won a runoff election in House District 14 to fill the current term of former Rep. Fred Brown. Raney collected 3,901 votes, or 58 percent of the vote, compared to his competitor Bob Yancy’s 2,834 votes or 42 percent of the vote.

Former SMU football star and ESPN analyst Craig James is said to be considering joining the race to replace U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Two more lawsuits have been filed in the last week challenging the state’s system of public school finance. A group of property wealthy school districts claim that the current system violates the state constitution because it is inadequately funded and effectively imposes a statewide property tax. In addition, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund also filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the current system. Another legal challenge is expected. All of the cases will be consolidated for trial in Travis County next fall.

Comptroller Combs announced this week an overall improvement in the Texas economy. Combs projected that the state will have available revenue of $82.7 billion by the time the current biennium ends on Aug. 31, 2013. This would give the state a $1.6 billion balance over the $81.1 billion in the two-year budget approved by the 82nd Legislature earlier this year. Those funds may be used to partially offset a $4.8 billion shortfall in Medicaid.

Rumor has it that the Texas Senate committee assignments and interim charges may be released in the next few days before the holidays. Lt. Governor David Dewhurst is expected to shift some committee chairs due to the fact that certain chairs are not running for reelection. Stay tuned.

Speaker Joe Straus appointed Paul Hobby to the Texas Ethics Commission. Hobby currently serves as managing partner for the private equity firm Genesis Park, L.P. and is also the chairman of the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Now is the time to stock up on those holiday spirits. Under Texas law, package stores (liquor stores) are required to close on Sundays. When Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on a Sunday, as they do this year, those stores are also required to be closed the following Monday.

Last week, two more state representatives announced they would not seek reelection. Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) and Rep. Veronica Gonzales (D-McAllen) will finish out their current terms but will not return in 2013. That makes 26 open seats in the Texas House.

House Speaker Joe Straus has appointed Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) and Rep. Walter “Four” Price (R-Amarillo) to the Sunset Advisory Commission. They take the place of two members whose terms expire – Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving) and Rep. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood). The three other House members of the commission are: Commission Chairman Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton), Rep. Rafael Anchía (D-Dallas) and Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana).

Today is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many Texans forget that we have a fabulous museum in our state devoted to the Pacific Theater of World War II. The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas is worth a visit. Operated by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, the museum includes the two year old George H.W. Bush Gallery and a beautiful Japanese garden. For more information, follow this link to the museum’s website: http://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/

Last Wednesday, a panel of federal judges in San Antonio proposed a new congressional redistricting map for Texas. After the map was revealed, longtime Congressman Charlie Gonzalez (D-San Antonio) announced that he would not run for reelection in CD 20. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) will run in that district instead of the newly drawn CD 35. Congressman Lloyd Doggett retained much of his current district so he will run for reelection in CD 25. The path to the March primary election is not clear yet. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the implementation of interim maps for congressional and state legislative districts, arguing the three-judge panel that drew the maps overstepped its legal bounds. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia asked groups in the dispute to respond to the state’s request by Thursday, December 1st. Filing for the 2012 primary elections began Monday in spite of the uncertainty regarding the maps. Stay tuned.

Two more Texas House members are calling it quits. Rep. Burt Solomons (R-Carrollton), the chairman of the House Redistricting Committee, and Rep. Aaron Pena (R-Edinburg) have decided not to seek reelection next year. If you are keeping a count, there are now 24 state representatives who have announced they will not run for reelection. Add in the four state senators retiring and you have a minimum of 28 new members next session.

The Texas Supreme Court has issued a decision in the Allcat Claims case regarding the constitutionality of the state’s franchise tax. The Court found that the tax is not a net income tax on the partners and does not violate the state constitution. This decision will not, however, affect a separate challenge to the franchise tax that was filed by Nestle USA Inc. and two other companies. That case involves concerns regarding the application of the tax rather than its constitutionality. The revamping of the franchise tax looks to be a major focus for the next legislative session in 2013.

The results are in from yesterday’s election. As expected, voter turnout was low, with just over five percent of the state’s registered voters participating in Tuesday’s constitutional amendment election. Texas voters approved seven of the 10 proposed changes to the Texas Constitution, rejecting Propositions 4, 7 and 8, which would have instituted new bonding authority for counties, a recreation district in El Paso and tax breaks for landowners who conserve water. In the special election for House District 14, voters sent Republicans Bob Yancy and John Raney to a runoff to fill former Rep. Fred Brown’s seat. Yancy had 36 percent of the vote to Raney’s 28 percent. In Houston, Mayor Annise Parker won reelection and in New Braunfels, voters approved a ban on disposable containers on the city’s rivers. Tubers beware!

The filing period for March’s party primary elections in Texas has been shortened to the period between November 28th and December 15th, as ruled by a three-judge federal panel in San Antonio last Friday. The delay allows judges time to review proposals for interim boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts. Meanwhile, a federal court in Washington D.C. ordered a trial on the state’s new redistricting plan for the state House, state Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. In an order denying the State of Texas’s motion for summary judgment, the federal court indicated that it would hear from lawyers representing the state as well as opposing counsel from the U.S. Department of Justice as it considers the issue of pre-clearance of the maps. The redistricting process is never simple.

Two veteran members of the Texas State Board of Education announced they will not seek reelection to their seats. Republican Bob Craig of Lubbock and Democrat Mary Helen Berlanga of Corpus Christi will end their service on the Board next year.

Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) has been charged with abuse of official capacity, a third-degree felony.
According to court documents, Driver used campaign money to pay for travel expenses from September 2005 to August 2010. The Travis County District Attorney’s Office in Austin said he then requested reimbursements from the state for the same travel. Driver has repaid his campaign nearly $50,000 from his personal account.
Driver previously announced that he would not seek reelection and would retire when his terms ends in 2013.

Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp announced the appointment of two new vice chancellors following approval by the Board of Regents during its regular meeting last week. Guy K. Diedrich was named vice chancellor for federal and state relations and Dr. Frank B. Ashley III was named vice chancellor of recruitment and diversity. Dr. Stanton C. Calvert, current vice chancellor for governmental relations for the A&M System, was granted the title of vice chancellor emeritus. He will begin serving as a special advisor to the chancellor.

Don’t be alarmed this afternoon. The noise you hear is the very first simultaneous nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, the system the federal government uses to report crucial information during a national emergency. This test is different than the ones you have seen and ignored over the years so news outlets are making sure the public knows about the test that will be broadcast by radio, television, and cable stations. This test will occur today, Wednesday, Nov. 9th, at 1 pm CST or 2pm EST.

This Week in Texas: November 2, 2011

Filing for the state’s primary elections is scheduled to begin on November 12th but that may change, depending on the actions of the federal court in San Antonio considering the redistricting cases. As the three-judge panel decides whether to construct interim maps to take the state through at least the next election cycle, the panel could change the filing deadlines. The filing period could be pushed back to run from December 1st through the 15th but no final decisions have been made.

Early voting ends Friday for the November 8th general election. The ballot contains 10 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution and in some cases, bond proposals. There is also a special election in House District 14, a seat open due to the retirement on former Rep. Fred Brown (R-Bryan).

Interim hearings are ongoing at the Texas Capitol. The focus this week was on the state’s drought as the Senate Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Agriculture Committee, and the House Natural Resources Committee heard testimony from various stakeholders. With no good news in terms of weather forecasts, the committees are trying to ensure that the state is prepared in terms of water resources as the drought continues.

Speaker Joe Straus released the list of 82nd Interim Charges for standing committees in the Texas House. Each committee will hold public hearings and then submit a final report no later than December 1, 2012.

Governor Rick Perry has appointed Jeff Austin III of Tyler to the Texas Transportation Commission for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2013. Austin is vice chairman of Austin Bank and Texas NA.

Victor Vandergriff will continue to serve as chairman of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and as a director of the North Texas Tollway Authority instead of running for the Senate District 9 seat being vacated by Sen. Chris Harris (R-Ft. Worth). Former Texas House member Toby Goodman is said to be considering running for the seat. Rep. Rodney Anderson (R-Plano) is the only declared candidate at this point.

San Antonio attorney Tina Torres has joined the list of Democrats that will compete in the March primary for House District 117 currently represented by Rep. John Garza (R-San Antonio).

Plano attorney Jeff Leach will compete in the Republican primary for House District 67 currently represented by Rep. Jerry Madden (R-Plano).

Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) announced that he will not seek reelection to his House District 113 seat. Redistricting had paired Driver with Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Mesquite).

Governor Rick Perry announced some staffing changes in the governor’s office. Jeff Boyd was named Chief of Staff and David Morales replaces Boyd as general counsel. Allison Castle was named communications director while Josh Havens moves into the deputy press secretary role. Jonathan Hurst was named director of Budget, Planning and Policy for the governor’s office.

This week Lt. Governor David Dewhurst issued interim charges related to issues surrounding the recent wildfires in Texas and the ongoing drought to several of the standing committees in the Texas Senate. Dewhurst has not announced his complete list of interim charges to all committees.

Optometrist Steve Nguyen is entering the Republican primary race for House District 115 currently represented by retiring Rep. Jim Jackson (R-Carrollton). He joins Bennett Ratliff, Matthew Rinaldi and Elizabeth Grimmett in that primary race.

Early voting begins for the November 8th general election next Monday, October 24th and continues through November 4th. There are ten constitutional amendments on the ballot. If you need a refresher course on these amendments, check out the Texas Legislative Council condensed analyses.

Deirdre Delisi, chairwoman of the Texas Transportation Commission, has resigned from the position she has held since April 2008 to join Governor Rick Perry’s presidential campaign. Commission member Ted Houghton was named as chair of the Commission to replace Delisi.

Rep. Chente Quintanilla (D-El Paso) confirmed rumors that he will run for the El Paso County Commissioner’s Court instead of House District 75.

Round Rock educator Rebecca Osborne will run for State Board of Education again. She will compete for the spot currently held by Marsha Farney who is running for a seat in the Texas House.

Republican Bracy Wilson is running in House District 70, currently represented by Rep. Ken Paxton (R-Plano) who is running for Senate District 8.

Here is some good news for the Texas economy. The state collected $1.76 billion in sales tax revenue in September, registering an 11.8 percent increase over the previous year. This makes 18th straight month of gains in one of the state’s primary revenue sources.

Rep. Will Hartnett (R-Dallas) will not seek re-election to his House District 114 seat. Former Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Jonathan Neerman and former Rep. Bill Keffer are said to be interested in running to replace Hartnett.

Donna Campbell announced that she will run against Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) in the Republican primary for Senate District 25. Campbell most recently ran against Congressman Lloyd Doggett in 2010.

Rep. Mark Shelton (R-Ft. Worth) is expected to officially announce that he will run in the Republican primary for the redrawn Senate District 10, currently represented by Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth). Dr. Shelton will be joining Rep. Kelly Hancock (R-Ft. Worth) who previously announced his intent to run for the Senate seat.

Ryan Downton, an attorney who served as general counsel to the House Redistricting Committee last session will challenge Rep. Paul Workman (R-Austin) in the Republican primary for House District 47.

Lufkin school board president Trent Ashby will challenge Rep. Marva Beck (R-Centerville) in the Republican primary in House District 57.

Dr. Stuart Spitzer, a Kaufman surgeon, announced he will run in the Republican primary for House District 4, currently represented by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Terrell).

Governor Rick Perry appointed John T. Steen III of Houston to the Texas Racing Commission for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2013.

Sen. Chris Harris (R-Arlington) announced Monday that he will not seek re-election — the fourth incumbent to announce their retirement from the Texas Senate. Harris is the longest serving Republican in the Senate and chairs the Senate Jurisprudence Committee. Victor Vandergriff, Chairman of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and past chairman of the North Texas Tollway Authority, will run in the Republican primary for Senate District 9. Vandergriff joins Rep. Rodney Anderson (R-Plano) in the race.

Brownsville attorney Alex Dominguez has announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party’s nomination for state representative from District 37. House District 37 is currently represented by Rep. Rene Oliveira (D-Brownsville).

Trent McKnight, a Throckmorton County rancher, will compete in the Republican primary for House District 68. Rep. Rick Hardcastle (R-Vernon), the district’s current representative, is retiring.

Republican Bill Wallace, a former Chambers County Commissioner, will challenge Rep. Craig Eiland (D-Galveston) in House District 23.