Burnt Orange Report

TPJ Report: Tax-Break Recipients Give Combs $238,500

TPJ — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:16:45 GMT

State to Pay $1.2 Billion in Related Tax Abatements

Since Susan Combs became comptroller in 2007, her office and local school districts have granted corporations $2.1 billion in property-tax abatements for almost 100 manufacturing and power-generating projects.

Beneficiaries of 37 such projects slated to receive an estimated $1.2 billion in tax breaks have contributed $238,500 to Combs since she first ran for comptroller in the 2006 election cycle.

A new Lobby Watch report at www.tpj.org reveals who's playing to not be paying for public education.

Click here to find out which of Combs' donors have received $1.2 billion in tax abatements.

Democrats Restore $3.9 Billion to Public Education In Budget Negotiations

Katherine Haenschen — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:28:53 GMT

Today was a huge win for the Democratic members of our Texas Legislature: they held firm in budget negotiations and restored $3.9 billion in funding to public education.

In 2011, the Republican supermajority slashed $5.4 billion from our public schools, resulting in teachers losing their jobs and school children being unable to gain a competitive education. Restoring those funds has been a priority for Democrats this session. Today, Democrats held firm and struck a deal that restores $3.9 billion, which is the best that 55 Democrats in the House and 12 in the Senate can realistically do.

Pragmatically, this is the best we can do with Republicans in charge of our state who still seek to shortchange our children, and represents practically the highest dollar amount discussed to be restored to public education this session.

From the Texas Tribune:

Under Friday's deal, the $2 billion in water funding will come from the state's Rainy Day fund, a reserve made up mostly of oil and gas taxes. That funding will be found in House Bill 1025, a supplemental budget bill that addresses funding on various issues.
The roughly $4 billion for public education hews closely to what Democrats had pushed for all week after acknowledging they were not going to be able to completely restore last session's cuts. Budget conferees agreed to $3.2 billion for the Foundation School Program, the main account the state uses to fund public education. Another $200 million is expected to be added to the Foundation School Program in HB 1025.
As part of the $4 billion education package, negotiators also agreed on a $330 million infusion into the Teacher Retirement System's pension fund.

All in all, this is a major win for Democrats, who restored more funding to education in the budget conference committee process than was present in the House or Senate versions of the budget.

While many Democrats and progressives want to see all $5.4 billion restored, this is still a tremendous leap forward for Democrats, who maximized our leverage by standing together and standing firm against Governor Rick Perry's attempts to prevent funding from being restored to public education.

Special thanks goes to Senators Wendy Davis and Sylvia Garcia and Representatives Rafael Anchia, Lon Burnam, Nicole Collier, Joe Farias, Mary Gonzalez, Ana Hernandez Luna, Abel Herrero, Trey Martinez Fischer, Justin Rodriguez, Chris Turner, and Armando Walle, who voted against the budget in the Senate and House respectively, setting a high bar for what was necessary to gain final passage.

This early opposition to an inadequate budget helped give Democrats leverage to fund education, because their votes in the House were needed to fund the Water Plan. Democrats held firm, and now our Texas school children will have a better chance at success.

Good work today, Democrats. Y'all deserve to celebrate this tremendous effort to restore $3.9 billion to public education. Let's finish strong and keep doing the best we can -- and that happens when we stick together.

Dubiously Named "Campus Carry" & "School Marshal" Bills Coming Up In Texas Senate

Joe Deshotel — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:44:45 GMT

The national advocacy organization for responsible gun ownership, Mom's Demand Action, along with their Texas chapters are calling state Senators today urging them to vote no on two bills to liberalize the presence of guns at educational institutions -- HB 972 "Campus Carry" and HB 1009 the "Protection of Texas Children Act". Such bills are knee jerk reaction to the national dialogue about guns in America, and are more about Texas Republicans digging their spurs into the ground to defend the state's reputation as the last frontier for true conservatism than they are about protecting students.

First, House Bill 972 referred to as "Campus Carry" is a misnomer. It implies that under current law campuses can not chose to allow licensed concealed handgun owners to carry their weapons on campus, which is not true. Currently each institution of higher education can vote to allow guns to be carried on campus, but this legislation, which is on today's intent calendar in the Texas Senate, would reverse that policy forcing campus' to vote to opt out each year.

Similar legislation has failed in past sessions, but as guns become the new rage for the right and Republicans in Texas run out of taxes and social programs to cut, the measure for true conservatism seems to be how ubiquitous one can make guns in society. This is a litmus test by design and not by demand...

Click the jump for the latest twist in this story...
Last year the Princeton Review ranked Texas A&M University the most conservative college student body in the nation, and contrary to what "conservatives" in the legislature have been arguing, students at A&M voted twice to keep the ban of guns on campus -- recently by 57%.

The other bill HB 1008 "Protection of Texas Children Act", has also been pushed with a dubious description. Proponents of the bill slated for public hearing today upon adjournment (apparently at Dan Patrick's desk) claim that the program would be modeled after the Federal Air Marshal Program. However the so called, "School Marshals" would not have near the training of actual law enforcement officials. According to Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America:

"Federal Air Marshals receive 155 hours of firearms training as part of a full 16-week program; the armed volunteers created by HB 1009 would receive only 80 hours of firearms training. Entrance into the Federal Air Marshal Program requires at least 4 years of previous law enforcement experience, while the "school marshals" created by HB 1009 would only be required to procure a concealed handgun license."

This session through the timing of political opportunity has seen more than it's share of bad gun legislation. It's not that Texas wasn't a gun friendly state before but this "gun show" is necessary to further the politically acceptable tenets of secession, a disdain for the federal government and a "from my cold dead hands" mentality about the changing politics of our nation -- remember the Alamo?

Sen. Cruz: Bought and Paid For By the NRA

JordanKrueger — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:29:13 GMT

I was outraged when a few dozen members of the Senate managed to block an up-or-down vote on expanded background checks for gun buyers.

But then my friends at Mayors Against Illegal Guns exposed the donation records of the gun lobby to some of those senators, and it was easy to see what compelled these members of Congress to vote against the vast majority of their constituents: money.

That's why they created this powerful receipt to show how Senator Ted Cruz is bought and paid for by the NRA.

Click here to send a free fax to Sen. Cruz with this receipt from the gun lobby for his vote blocking expanded background checks for gun buyers.

The strengthened background check bill could have saved countless lives. And over 90% of Americans, and 74% of NRA members, supported expanding background checks in this way.1

But because the NRA opposed the plan, these bought and paid for senators helped block an up-or-down vote.2

The 45 members of the Senate who voted against the vast majority of Americans on background checks have accepted over $8 million — just in contributions and independent expenditures — from the NRA and other lobbying groups that act as a front for gun manufacturers.

Putting the NRA's agenda above the will and needs of their constituents is wrong. They need to hear that from constituents like you.

Click the link below to send a free fax of Senator Cruz's gun money receipt straight to his office:
http://act.credoaction.com/letter/gun_vote_receipt_Cruz/

Thank you for taking action against the NRA's corruption.

Jordan Krueger, Campaign Manager
CREDO Mobile from Working Assets

Sources:
1. "New poll of NRA members by Frank Luntz shows strong support for common-sense gun laws." Mayors Against Illegal Guns, July 24, 2012.
2. "On the Amendment (Manchin Amdt. No. 715 )." United States Senate, April 17, 2013.

Keep Guns Out Of Our Schools

TexasDemocraticParty — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:53:10 GMT

We need your help protecting Texas’ colleges. This is urgent.

Republicans in the Texas Senate are pushing a dangerous bill — the so-called “Campus Carry bill” — that would reverse a decades-old ban on weapons in our college campuses.

We need your calls today to stop this bill. Call your senator right now and tell them to vote to vote “NO” on the “Campus Carry” bill.

Click here to record your call and get the phone number for your senator.

At the start of this year, Texas Democrats convened a Task Force for Common Sense on Gun Violence.

Our findings after collaborating with community leaders, mental health experts, gun owners, hunters, and educators? Banning guns on college campuses is common sense gun control, except when those firearms are possessed or carried by certified peace officers.

The Task Force was firmly against lifting the ban. So are we.

Can you call your senator right now? We need to remind Democrats AND Republicans that Texans don’t want to see this ban lifted.

Please call your senator right now and tell them to vote “NO” on the “Campus Carry” bill. Then record how your call went by clicking here.

Texas Lunch Links: Special Session, Texas Barbecue, and Combs' $1.2 B Piggy Bank

Nick Hudson — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Texas Lunch Links is a lunchtime buffet of Texas News and Views with a heavy emphasis on happenings at the Texas Legislature.

SPECIAL SESSION: Dallas Democratic Senator Royce West told a reporter from the Statesman on Thursday, "I think a special session is pretty much certain... The reason is that the attorney general wants the Legislature to approve the maps the courts have drawn for redistricting. There are a number of people (Democrats) who won't vote for that. (The Republicans) don't have the votes to get it through in the regular session, but they can push it through during a special session."

BARBECUE: Texas Monthly published its annual Top 50 Barbecue Joints list earlier this week. Austin's Franklin Barbecue took the number one spot.

WATER: The key to securing Texas' water future might be to form urban-rural partnerships with local farmers to decrease regional consumption.

BUDGET: Negotiations on Texas' budget broke down on Thursday as Democrats persisted in their demands for more education spending. Katherine Haenschen authored a post on ongoing budget deliberations earlier today.

Read more Texas Lunch Links below the fold!
TAX BREAKS: Texas Comptroller Susan Combs approved $1.2 billion in tax breaks for her campaign contributors since 2006, according to the Texans for Public Justice. Corporations received abatements of up to 90 percent of their property taxes under the 2001 Economic Development Act. Dick Lavine of the Center for Public Policy Priorities tells the Texas Observer "This is a hugely expensive program that has not been monitored closely at all."

ADVANCED DIRECTIVES: Texas Right to Life's criticism of Republican Senator Bob Deuell's painstakingly-crafted bill to improve laws governing end of life medical decisions has devolved into talk about death panels.

WEST, TEXAS: Authorities on Thursday refused to rule out foul play as a possible cause of the deadly, devastating April explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. in West, Texas.

MORTON ACT: Governor Rick Perry signed the Michael Morton Act into law on Thursday. The law requires Texas prosecutors to share information with defendants that could help their case.

CALL TODAY: Terrible Bill to End Texans' Internet Privacy One Step Away from Rick Perry's Desk

Ben Sherman — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:08:05 GMT

After passing out of the Criminal Justice Committee yesterday, House Bill 2268 is now up for a full vote in the Senate. The bill will allow the government to force Internet providers to hand over Texans' online communications without good cause and within a very short window of time that will put each Texan's private communications in jeopardy. If this bill becomes law, any investigation that can be brought into the Texas jurisdiction would have all the tools of CISPA, in which any private online activity can be easily seized by the government, at its disposal. That is terrible news not only for Texans but for all Americans.

If we don't speak up now, this bill is very likely to become law. But if we show that Texans are paying attention and oppose the bill, we can stop it.

Please call our State Senators and Rick Perry today and tell them to protect Texans' private information by opposing this intrusive law. This easy phone bank tool gives you all the numbers you need and lets you record their responses.

Affordable Care Act Brings $10 Million to Texas Health Centers

Emily Cadik — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:30:00 GMT

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made in important step in implementing the Affordable Care Act by providing $9.8 million to Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHCs) in Texas to help them offer in-person enrollment assistance to uninsured Texans. Nationwide, $150 million is being distributed to FQHCs.

The funding will allow FQHCs to hire and train staff, hold community outreach events, educate consumers about their coverage options and eligibility, and assist them in enrolling in the health insurance options available and affordable to them.

According to Stacey Pogue from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, "Three of four people who will be eligible for coverage through the new Marketplace say they want in-person assistance to help to learn about and enroll in coverage." This funding for FQHCs will go a long way towards making that happen.

There are close to 70 FQHCs in Texas, representing more than 300 sites in all regions and close to half of Texas counties. About one million Texans make use of FQHCs each year, and about half of them are uninsured. Of particular importance to Texas is the fact that FQHCs do not deny care based on immigration status. They're an indispensable resource, and a great way to reach and work with uninsured Texans.

Read more after the jump.
Congressman Gene Green (D - Houston), who represents a district with one of the highest uninsured rates in the nation (43 percent of adults and 26 percent of children), said, "Helping eligible Texans access health insurance coverage is critical, and Federally Qualified Health Centers play an essential role in our healthcare delivery system... By providing them the tools to help enroll their patients, it will ensure that the Affordable Care Act works as it is intended."

But Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country, at 28.8 percent and growing. Over 6 million Texans are uninsured. The health exchanges available through the Affordable Care Act will make a big dent, as will the assistance from FQHCs in getting Texans enrolled. But Texas will still likely retain the unfortunate distinction of highest uninsured rate in the nation without Medicaid expansion. Most other states are taking advantage of it, and without it we'll be left even farther behind.

This funding for FQHC outreach is an important step in getting eligible Texans enrolled in health insurance. But we can go even farther by fully implementing the Affordable Care Act - and that means expanding Medicaid too.