Vol 28, Issue 26 Print Issue

Tourists enter the empty Senate chamber Wednesday morning as the Texas Senate adjourned sine die the day before, leaving the House with unfinished business on June 29, 2011.
Tourists enter the empty Senate chamber Wednesday morning as the Texas Senate adjourned sine die the day before, leaving the House with unfinished business on June 29, 2011.

How Will It Play?

Lawmakers have officially made their exit from the Pink Building, leaving two bills that will bring major changes to Texas school districts awaiting the governor's signature. Lawmakers, meanwhile, are wondering whether and how the two measures will play in next year's elections.

Protesters with American flags line the hallway outside the Senate chamber protesting HB12 the so-called "sanctuary cities" bill on May 25, 2011.
Protesters with American flags line the hallway outside the Senate chamber protesting HB12 the so-called "sanctuary cities" bill on May 25, 2011.

A Rare Win for Democrats

Call it the biggest consolation prize in recent history of the state legislature. Democrats, outnumbered in both chambers, actually won the battle over immigration after losing out to the Republican supermajority on abortion and Voter ID legislation and deep cuts to public services, mainly health care and education.

A Non-Growth Spurt

Though university officials around the state were hoping that the special session might open the door for the issuance of bonds for campus construction projects, that opportunity never developed in a significant way.

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

Formula One racing got the permission it sought from the City of Austin and is on its way, with the help of $25 million a year in state subsidies, to a June 2012 race date. There's still a lawsuit pending on that state money, but the city's nod clears away environmental permitting concerns.

Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the texting-while-driving bill that passed in the regular session, so there won't be a state ban. But there might be a ban soon in Arlington, where the city council is talking about a prohibition on sending, reading, browsing the Internet or playing games on cell phones while driving. Under current state law, you can't use your cell phone while you're driving unless you're 18 or older.

There's a doozy of a congressional race coming up in Central Texas, where U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is moving into a Democratic district because his own turf was remapped to favor Republicans. He'll face state Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio — the twin brother of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro.

The Legislature voted to keep the details of the governor's travel costs secret for 18 months. Specifically, the state will be cloaking details of his security team's travel costs, after state police complained it would reveal operational strategies to release the information. That's currently the subject of a case pending in the Texas Supreme Court; two lower courts have said the records are public under law.

The drought in Texas is now a federal disaster area, made so by a declaration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The order made 213 of the state's counties disaster areas, and includes 41 more counties as eligible for aid because they're adjacent to the first bunch. That's all 254 counties in Texas.

Political People and their Moves

Uncorked, finally — the president's appointments for federal prosecutors in Texas, which have been held up by bickering inside the state's congressional delegation. The list includes Sarah Saldaña of Dallas, who heads the U.S. Attorney's public corruption unit there; U.S. Magistrate Robert Pitman of Austin, who would be the state's first openly gay U.S. Attorney; John Malcolm Bales, who's been the acting U.S. Attorney in East Texas; and Kenneth Magidson, an assistant U.S. Attorney based in Houston.

House Speaker Joe Straus must like his current gig — he said at the end of the 170-day session-plus-special-session that he'll seek a third term as speaker in January 2013.

Jay Kimbrough, a former chief of staff to Gov. Rick Perry (and a guy who's done a number of trouble-shooting jobs for the governor over the years), will be the interim chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. He replaces Dr. Mike McKinney, a former legislator who also did time as Perry's chief of staff. Kimbrough will hold down the fort while the system's regents look for a permanent chief executive and said he won't be a candidate for the permanent job. McKinney, a former state representative and head of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, announced his departure in May. A&M, like the University of Texas, is caught up in a public debate over how much time the professors at the state schools should spend teaching and how much time should go to research and other tasks.

Roger Williams is out of the U.S. Senate race and in the race for a new congressional seat — CD-33 — that takes in Arlington, part of Fort Worth, all of Parker County and part of Wise County. U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, announced that he will stay in CD-6, where he now lives, even though Arlington is in his current district. Williams will face at least one familiar face: former Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams earlier left the Senate race for that same congressional seat. The first round: Michael took a shot at Roger for blasting the federal government's financial mess after lobbying for federal bailouts for automobile manufacturers. Roger got after Michael for claiming a home in Arlington when he's been working in Austin for the last 13 years.

Houston lawyer Roland Sledge announced he'll run for the Texas Railroad Commission next year, saying he'd welcome a nomination to that post and promising that he won't use the job as a stepping stone to another post. Sledge, an executive with VAALCO Energy, is a Republican and has been in the industry he wants to regulate for 35 years. There's an open spot at the commission now — Michael Williams' spot — and will be another on the ballot next year; Elizabeth Ames Jones is giving up her reelection bid to run for the U.S. Senate.

State Rep. Fred Brown announced on the last day of the special session that he would resign early. The College Station Republican is moving to Salado and will run a car dealership in Temple. There will be a special election to fill out the remainder of his term, and there are already two candidates. Seth McKinney will run in that GOP primary. He played football at Texas A&M and then in the pros and is the son of former A&M Chancellor Mike McKinney. It's his first run for office. And Rebecca Boenigk (it's pronounced BAY-nick), also a Republican, is announcing her candidacy before the holiday. She's the CEO and Chairman of Bryan-based Neutral Posture, which makes ergonomic office chairs.

Sarah Whitley, chief of staff to for the comptroller's office, is leaving after working for Susan Combs for a decade. Combs hired David White to replace her, with the title of senior policy advisor. He worked as a consultant during the session and before that, was political director for Gov. Rick Perry's reelection campaign. He was previously chief of staff to state Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center.

Press corps moves: Bob Moser, editor of the Texas Observer for almost three years, is leaving to become executive editor of The American Prospect.

Deaths: Randall Dale Adams, who spent more than a decade in jail for a police killing that he didn't commit. His case became a cause after it was featured in a documentary, "The Thin Blue Line." He died last October, but his passing wasn't reported until this month. He was 61.