Vol 32, Issue 8 Print Issue

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at the Iowa Freedom Summit at the Hoyt Sherman Place theater in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at the Iowa Freedom Summit at the Hoyt Sherman Place theater in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015.

Is Scott Walker Having His Moment?

One of the biggest news stories of the week was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker having his moment in the still-nascent campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

Senators grilled Gov. Greg Abbott's appointees to the University of Texas System Board of Regents for more than five hours on Thursday, in what was a rough reception for the picks of the newly elected governor from the conservative wing of his party. A committee vote to recommend their nomination will come at a later date.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and fellow senators announced a slate of three bills designed to provide $4.6 billion in tax relief to businesses and homeowners in Texas. The residential component would rework the homeowner exemption to tie it to the state median home price while, on the business side, more businesses would be exempted from the franchise tax.

After 24 years in the Legislature — 16 of them in the Texas Senate — state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte bid an emotional farewell to her colleagues on Tuesday. She now faces a crowded field in the race to be San Antonio mayor, which includes current Mayor Ivy Taylor, former state Rep. Mike Villarreal and former County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson.

Rick Perry's lawyers have asked a state appeals court to dismiss the indictment against the former governor, saying he lawfully used his power to veto funds to the Travis County district attorney's office and his right to do so is protected by free speech. Earlier in the week, his lawyers argued an amended indictment against Perry was "woefully deficient" and should be rejected.

Retired state District Judge John Dietz, who found the Texas school finance system unconstitutional last year, told a training event hosted by the Association of Texas Professional Educators on Sunday that Texas is "dooming a generation" of children. The Legislature, not the courts, should fix the problems, he said.

Disclosure: The Association of Texas Professional Educators is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Political People and their Moves

Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to serve as his designee to the Southern States Energy Board for a term to expire at the pleasure of the governor.

Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton has been appointed by Abbott to serve as his designee to the Interstate Mining Compact Commission (IMCC) for a term to expire at the pleasure of the governor.

Brent Leisure and Tim Hogsett have been named by Abbott as State Liaison Officer and Alternate State Liaison Officer, respectively, to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for a term to expire at the pleasure of the governor.

Former state Comptroller Susan Combs has joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) as a visiting senior fellow, focusing on the state budget, government spending and debt as well as property rights.

David Reisman has been hired to fill the newly created position of chief ethics officer at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). Reisman previously served with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) where he initiated an ethics program and, before that, was executive director of the Texas Ethics Commission.

Thomas W. Gilligan, dean of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin since 2008, is leaving to take over as director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution on Sept. 1.

Jessica Sandlin has joined the Texas Association of Health Plans (TAHP) as communications director, having served most recently as Texas press secretary to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin, the UT McCombs School of Business and the Texas Public Policy Foundation are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.