Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson, won't seek another term next year.He says he decided not to see an 11th term, that he's thought about leaving the Legislature before, and that his decision was influenced by the timing of the sale of his company this summer. He's run it for more than three decades and is ready to retire. Hill, chairman of the House Local Government Ways & Means Committee, is a key member of the House on property taxes — he's opposed to state-imposed caps on local government revenues. City and county officials around the state credit him, among others, for fending off property tax appraisal and tax rate caps. "I was effective in keeping some things from happening that I didn't want to see happen," he said. The news broke in The Dallas Morning News' editorial blog, in a posting made while their writer was still on the phone with Hill. In an interview with us just a few minutes later, he said he was surprised at how fast word spread: "I guess I'm a little naive about how these things work." Hill was an early supporter of House Speaker Tom Craddick, but left Craddick's side during the latest legislative session and joined members calling for a new speaker. For a time, he was touted as a possible "interim speaker" who could serve between a Craddick departure and the election of a new speaker in January 2009. That plot fell apart in the last days of the session. Hill says he still admires Craddick and likes him personally, but thinks Craddick has put members in too many tight spots and that it's time for a change in management. He hopes someone will continue the fight against what he calls "the irrational attention on the part of some of my colleagues in the Republican Party to put restrictions on local government," which he sees as antithetical to GOP philosophy. "I just don't understand it. I'm a Republican. I've never voted for a Democrat. This is about local control, and Republicans have always been for that. "It sounds great to say we're going to put caps on appraisals, or on rates... but when you analyze the impact, you see that it's not a great idea," he says. "But that message is not getting to the governor and not getting to the speaker. "It doesn't make any sense to me. Texas is pretty well run when it comes to local government," Hill says. He also mentions transportation as an issue that tempted him to stay around for a while. "We need to resolve that problem now, so that it won't be a horrendous problem in 20 years," he says. Hill says he won't pick a favorite for his replacement — Jim Shepherd, a Richardson City Council member and former school board trustee, has been mentioned. And while he thinks HD-112 is a Republican district, he thinks it could be competitive in the general election. "It's a Republican district, but in this day and age when the Republicans are having all of these problems, anything could happen."

Mauricio Celis, a prolific political contributor from Corpus Christi, was indicted on charges of impersonating a lawyer, impersonating a public servant, perjury and theft, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Celis is fighting this war on other fronts. Attorney General Greg Abbott has civil actions underway on the allegations that Celis impersonated a lawyer. And that office issued a statement when the indictments were made public. This, from Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for Abbott: "With its indictments of Mauricio Celis, a Nueces County grand jury took a meaningful step toward protecting the integrity of our legal system. Practicing law without a license is illegal in the State of Texas. Investigators with the Office of the Attorney General will continue working with Nueces County District Attorney Carlos Valdez to ensure his office has all the investigative resources it needs to prosecute this case. We will also continue pursuing our civil enforcement action as we seek to prevent Celis or CGT Law Group from violating Texas law."

Celis has given $293,500 in cash and in-kind contributions to Texas political causes in the last five years. His favorites, by amount, include 2006 Democrat gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell, $64,500; Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, $50,500; Good Government Political Action Committee, $50,000; Save Texas Courts, $50,000; Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi, $25,000; Rep. Juan Garcia, D-Corpus Christi, $17,000; former Rep. Vilma Luna, D-Corpus Christi, $10,000; 13th Court of Appeals Justice Gina Benavidez, $5,000; unsuccessful state Senate candidate Barbara Canales-Black, $5,000; state District Judge Robert "Bobby" Galvan, $5,000; state District Judge Marisela Saldana, $4,500; 13th Court of Appeals Justice Linda Yañez, now a candidate for Texas Supreme Court, $3,000; state District Judge Sandra Watts, $2,500; and the Texas Democratic Party, $1,500.

Save Texas Courts was a political action committee set up to fight caps on medical malpractice damages in lawsuits. The Good Government Political Action Committee was set up by attorney Mikal Watts — the main contributor — and was a major booster of Juan Garcia's campaign against Rep. Gene Seaman, R-Corpus Christi; it spent money on his behalf rather than contributing directly to his campaign. Point of interest: Sandra Watts is Mikal's mom.

The three active state reps — Garcia, Herrero, and Ortiz — each gave to charity $1,000 of the money they received from Celis. That covers his most recent contributions to those three, but far short of the totals they received.

State candidates sometimes listed him as a lawyer — as in one of Yañez' 2002 reports — and sometimes as "partner" in the CGT Law Firm — as in one of Garcia's 2006 report. Others — Bell is one example — list him as self-employed attorney. Candidates aren't required to verify occupations, or in some cases, even to list them. But that's what was on their filings.

Celis has played in federal elections, too, and he's identified as a lawyer in the "occupation" blank on campaign finance reports filed by candidates with the Federal Election Commission. From 2002 to the present, he's contributed $91,846 individually, and got joint fundraising contribution credit for $27,000 to Kerry Victory 2004, and $25,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 2004. His wife, Rosa Celis, was listed giving like amounts to those two funds (her name doesn't appear in online campaign finance filings with the Texas Ethics Commission, where state candidates report and where there are no contribution limits).

Celis' federal giving went to presidential candidates John Edwards, $2,000, John Kerry, $2,000, and Hillary Clinton, $2,300. He opened his accounts to U.S. Senate candidates Ken Salazar of Colorado, $8,300, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, $4,200, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, $2,100, and to three Texans: Barbara Ann Radnofsky, $5,000, Ron Kirk, $1,000, and Mikal Watts, $4,600. He gave to U.S. House candidates Solomon Ortiz, $3,000, Nick Lampson, $4,600, and Ciro Rodriguez, $2,000, all from Texas, and to Jenny Oropeza of California, $2,300, and John Salazar of Colorado, $2,000. And Celis gave $9,946 to the Texas Democratic Party and $28,500 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Rosa Celis contributed $14,600 from 2004 to now, giving $2,000 to Ortiz, $4,000 to McCaskill; $6,600 to Ken Salazar, and $2,000 to Menendez.

Tom Mason got the top job at the Lower Colorado River Authority, replacing the retiring Joe Beal. Mason was that agency's general counsel and his promotion puts an end to rumors that the job would go to someone with a political resume, like former Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Reed O'Connor of Dallas for a spot on the federal bench. He'll be a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas, replacing Judge Joe Fish, who's taking senior status. O'Conner has been both a state and federal prosecutor.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed Elizabeth Anderson of Dallas to one of the three open seats on the state's Public Safety Commission — the board that oversees the state police. She's a marketing and IT consultant, and replaces Louis Sturns, who left when Perry appointed him to a state district judgeship in Fort Worth.

Perry filled four spots on the Texas Workforce Investment Council, naming Karen Bonner of Corpus Christi, Wes Jury of Arlington, Paul Mayer of Garland, and Danny Prosperie of Bridge City to that panel. Bonner is vice president for philanthropy at CHISTUS Spohn Health System Foundation. Jurey and Mayer are the presidents, respectively, of their local chambers of commerce. And Prosperie is the training director for the Beaumont Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.

The governor named Betty Pinckard Reinbeck, executive director of the Tomball Economic Development Corp. and the former mayor of Sealy, the chair of the Texas Facilities Commission.

Gloria Hicks and Dr. Robert Schmidt are the governor's newest appointees to the Texas Racing Commission. Hicks is CFO of Ed Hicks Imports in Corpus Christi. Schmidt is an orthopedic surgeon in Fort Worth, a partner of the Texas Hip and Knee Center, and chief of staff at Plaza Medical Center.

James Cooley is leaving the House after three legislative sessions with Rep. Dianne White Delisi, R-Temple, and will be landing soon at the Health and Human Services Commission. He'll do Medicaid policy research there, he says.