Disappointment, Confusion, Frustration, Concern. No, it's not a spelling list, it's a list of the emotions felt a few days ago when we learned that Governor Perry had vetoed the School Bus Idling bill. The bill, designed to protect Texas children from exposure to dangerous air pollutants, was widely supported by legislators in both chambers.

It didn't create an unfunded mandate, the bane of school districts' existence.

It didn't require new forms or detailed reporting or accounting.

It had no fiscal note, but in fact would have saved school districts money by reducing gas consumption.

The Governor's veto statement suggested he preferred the school bus idling policy be determined by individual school districts, that it be left to local control, and yet he approved several pieces of legislation that overrule the local control of school districts:

• Requiring school districts to place multiple birth siblings together in classrooms at parents request

• Requiring school districts to allow parents to designate alternate locations from which children may be transported to and from school

• Requiring end-of-course examinations for certain classes

• Requiring school districts to test students for steroid use

• And last session the Governor mandated a uniform school start date for all school districts.

Are you beginning to see my Confusion?

Diesel school buses -- especially older ones -- emit a stew of toxins and sooty fine particles that aren't safe to breathe, especially by young children whose lungs are still developing. Pollution gets into the cabins of the buses as the bus idles outside schools and field trip locales. And that can lead not only to headaches, nausea, bronchitis, more frequent and more severe asthma attacks and delayed lung development but to other, more serious afflictions later in life, years after your child's last school bus ride.

Hence my Concern. Air pollution affects children more than adults because they inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight and have a more rapid rate of respiration, narrower airways and a reduced ability to metabolize, detoxify and excrete toxins.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would have set standards limiting the amount of time a school bus can idle in school zones and at school related activities, thereby limiting the amount of pollutants released in and around students and school buildings.

While Texas PTA is disheartened by the Governor's veto, we do agree with him that educators should spend more time and money on after school programs and bilingual education. But where does that money come from? We believe the amount of money saved by school districts on school bus fuel and maintenance would help pay for some of these programs, while improving the air our children breathe inside and around Texas school buses.

The Bus Idling Bill was part of a package of bills Texas PTA supported in an effort to improve the quality of the air children breathe in and around school buses: Texas PTA also sought funding for a program to help school districts retrofit diesel bus engines to reduce toxic emissions. Thankfully that program will be funded, albeit at a very small amount.

Our Frustration comes from knowing that the bus idling bill was an easy fix, a free fix, a fix that would begin to address a significant health problem for the children of Texas.

And, of course, we're very Disappointed, disappointed that Governor Perry chose to veto a bill that stood to improve the quality of life for many Texas school children.

Disappointment, Confusion, Frustration, Concern, makes a great spelling list, but a really bad way to feel about a really good bill.

Casey Magnuson is the Environmental Chairman for the Texas PTA Board of Directors.

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Texas Weekly's Soapbox is a venue for opinions, spins, alternate takes, and other interesting stuff sent in by readers and others. We moderate submissions to keep crazy people out, and anonymous commentary is ineligible. Readers can respond (through the moderator) to things posted here. Got something to submit? We're interested in everything from full-blown opinion pieces to short bits to observations or tidbits that have escaped us and the mass media. One rule: Your name goes on your words. Call or send an email: Ross Ramsey, Editor, Texas Weekly, 512/288-6598, ramsey@texasweekly.com.

Texas Democrats' fascination with Hispanic names on the statewide ballot took flight when Victor Morales came out of nowhere in 1996 and won a Democratic primary for U.S. Senate over two sitting congressmen — John Bryant and Jim Chapman — and Houston lawyer John Odam.

They all had more money Morales, but he had a little white truck that caught the media's attention and an Hispanic surname in a primary where a growing number of voters were Hispanic. It was also the last name of the well-known and then-popular attorney general, Dan Morales, but that often gets left out of the storytelling.

Consultants for Rick Noriega say Hispanics account for 42 percent of the Democratic primary vote. Combine that with Houston — Noriega's base — and they see a way to overtake Mikal Watts' financial advantage.

It's a hit-and-miss idea. In addition to the Morales story from 1996, there are other bits of recent lore. The idea of a rising Hispanic tide in Texas politics provided the rationale for the Tony Sanchez campaign for governor in 2002. He had money, too, and easily won the primary, but he got smoked in the general election.

The most recent field test was done last year, when a soft-spoken educator named Maria Luisa Alvarado won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in spite of a budget that wouldn't have covered one Saturday night pizza tab for a high school football team. There were three candidates in that Democratic primary, including two Hispanics. None of them were well-known in any meaningful way, but if you're buying this theory, here's the tidbit you want: Alvarado got 41.5 percent in the first round; Benjamin Grant got 36.1 percent, and Adrian De Leon got 22.4 percent. In the runoff, Alvarado got 57.6 percent.

But it's not always potent in Democratic primaries, and political hacks still argue about whether it helps or hurts a candidate in a general election, or has no effect. State Rep. Pete Patterson beat Ernesto De Leon in the 1998 primary for agriculture commissioner. Morales made it into a runoff for Senate again in 2002, but lost that round to former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk. De Leon lost again, to Tom Ramsay, in 2002.

Last year's primary example, Alvarado, got only 37.4 percent in the general election, a result mirrored by two Anglo male Democrats in the two races that followed hers on the ballot. And in a couple of statewide races in 2004 where the candidates weren't well known, surname apparently fell far behind party as a measure of how a candidate might do. Victor Carrillo, a Republican, got 55.5 percent in his first race for Texas Railroad Commission against a Democrat named Bob Scarborough. An Hispanic Democrat running for a spot on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, J.R. Molina, got 42.1 percent while losing to an Anglo Republican, Michael Keasler.

Watching out for gambling... and kids... and for preachers.

• A recent rule change at the Texas Lottery gives gambling opponents the heebie-jeebies. Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, wants Attorney General Greg Abbott to weigh in. Last year, she asked him about an "electronic pull-tab bingo" amendment that failed in the Legislature, and he answered that it was probably unconstitutional. The Lottery Commission's new rule allows pull-tab bingo in a way that she says would involve "the same substantive concept" as the unconstitutional amendment, and she goes on to say she believes it would allow the state to do by rule what that amendment would have done by law. So, she's asking: Can the lottery do that?

• The changes in the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, have already started, if you squint. The Legislature dropped (in most cases) a 90-day wait before someone becomes eligible for that insurance. And since the law takes effect on September 1, kids signing up now won't have to wait the full 90 days. The state's Health and Human Services Commission will extend coverage to 12 months for families that sign up this month and next. Other changes in the pipeline (assuming the feds keep their end of the program going): kids in the program have to renew their coverage annually instead of every six months; the asset limits on families double, allowed vehicle values for their families rise, and families are allowed to deduct child care expenses from income when qualifying their kids for the program. Legislators say those changes will allow about 127,000 more kids to qualify for CHIP.

• The Texas Supreme Court unanimously ruled against a woman who sued her pastor for disclosing her private confessions about an extramarital romance to the entire congregation. The nine justices said they had no legal right to jump into a church's internal affairs and overruled a lower appeals court. That lower court said Pastor C.L. "Buddy" Westbrook had been acting as a marital counselor and not as a pastor when he talked with Peggy Penley. And that court said she had the right to sue him for spilling the beans. The Supremes went the other way, saying the U.S. Constitution protects the church from outside interference.

To get a rough take on what lawmakers might be in "trouble districts," we looked at a statewide judicial race where both candidates had low name ID to see how each party did in each legislative and congressional district. Don Willett was the Republican; Bill Moody, the Democrat. Click on the chart to download a printable copy.

To end the "War on Terror," bloggers are calling for a draft — of one man, State Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston — at the expense of current U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. They're also buzzing about Gov. Rick Perry's trip to the Middle East, Tom Delay's partial escape from indictment, and Democratic presidential hopefuls' campaigning in Texas. Plus, a few quick hits on Houston Astro Craig Biggio.

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Draft Rick Noriega

Bloggers want Rick Noriega to run against John Cornyn for his seat in the U.S. Senate in 2008. Noriega hasn't committed yet, but he announced Sunday at the Mid-Cities Democrats picnic that he will launch an exploratory committee in about a week.

Here are photos from a Noriega visit to San Antonio. Right now attitudes in the blogosphere are split: Some love Noriega, like the folks at Texas Observer Blog and Half Empty. Some hate Cornyn, like the writers over at Dos Centavos, South Texas Chisme and The Texas Blue.

B and B thinks either Noriega or declared candidate Mikal Watts (a Corpus Christi lawyer, Democrat and blogger) would be an improvement over Cornyn. Burnt Orange Report thinks either one would beat Cornyn, too.

Texas Kaos wrestles with the question — maybe a little after the fact, no? — of whether the "new media" should push a candidate into an election. Texas Blue's also posted an interview with Noriega.

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When the Cat's Away…

Bubbling to the surface of Billy Clyde's Political Hot Tub Party is a humorous analysis of each stop on Rick Perry's Mideast Tour 2007, along the way reminding us of the existence of Texas A&M University at Qatar. What he doesn't explain, though, is how one says "Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!" in Arabic.

PinkDome wonders how Perry, if he's shooting for national office, is going to reconcile his overtly Christian platform with his new buddies in Zion.

The Observer, too, speculates that Perry's planning on branching out to the other 49 states in the Union, while Texas Politics, the Houston Chronicle's blog, speculates on where Perry derives his sense of fashion.

Finally, In the Pink Texas wins the Headline of the Week award starting its take on the trip: "It Had to be Jew."

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Stop. Hammer time!

Off the Kuff blogs on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeal's reasoning behind its decision to clear Tom Delay of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Burnt Orange provides an analysis of Delay's current legal situation following his day in court. Here's an earlier post stating Burnt Orange's opinion on the decision. Also on Burnt Orange is a post by District 10 democratic hopeful Dan Grant.

Austinist bemoans the prohibition of ex post facto laws by Article One of the U.S. Constitution (Sections 9 and 10). Houstoned, meanwhile, takes the opportunity to post — ex post facto — Delay's epic mug shot.

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Barack the Casbah, Edwards Calling

Burnt Orange wonders why rock star presidential candidate Barack Obama is passing on the Young Democrats of America convention in Big D. Obama's popular in San Antonio, though, judging by photos posted by Walker Report here, here and here.

Someone who has RSVPed for the YDA meeting, though, is former Sen. John Edwards, who was a big hit with bloggers Dos Centavos and Half Empty during a one-night-stand in Houston. Half Empty takes issue with the Houston Chronicle's coverage of the event. Texas Kaos couldn't make it to the Bayou City, but instead spent the evening talking about Edwards at a bar in Austin.

There's love in the air for the candidate's wife Elizabeth Edwards and middle fingers in the air for Ann Coulter, who seems determined to keep herself on television no matter what it takes. If you want to buy a t-shirt inspired by the fiasco, click here.

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Hit Parade

Off the Kuff, Brains and Eggs and blogHOUSTON each take time out to congratulate Craig Biggio upon achieving 3,000 career hits. As of Sunday, the Houston Astros catcher, second baseman and/or outfielder is also a mere 3 plunks away from becoming the career leader in getting hit by pitches. The current holder of that ignominious record is turn-of-the-20th-century player Hughie Jennings, nickname Ee-Yah.

Tom Kirkendall of Houston's Clear Thinkers posts a "best of Biggio blogs" blog, then turns his attention toward the future of the hapless Astros, which, sadly, is still the best baseball team in the state.

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This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who is temporarily situated in sunny Kermit, Texas. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.

In the course of reporting on Terry Keel's elevation to House Parliamentarian, we asked aides to House Speaker Tom Craddick whether Keel, a former Republican House member from Austin, would be allowed to keep his private law practice open now that he's an officer of the House. The short answer: Yup, Keel can practice law on the side. The longer answer came to us in an email from Alexis DeLee, the speaker's press secretary.

She sent us this description of Keel's duties:

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Mr. Keel's relationship with his law firm is the same as it was when he was an elected member of the House. Any work he does in his private practice will be done on his own time.

General Interim Duties

The parliamentarian is responsible for assisting the interim committees on procedural matters, including any rules issues, and on other projects as directed by the Speaker.

The parliamentarian works with the chief clerk during the interim to retrieve any bills or resolutions for archival purposes and to address issues as they pertain to the rules and/or procedure. This includes resolving outstanding points of order, entering rulings and ensuring the accuracy of details. Software program updates are also reviewed for proper applicability to the rules.

The parliamentarian works with the journal clerk in the interim on the entry of information into the printed journal, including rulings. At the request of the parliamentarian, the journal clerk will work on various interim research projects.

The parliamentarian works closely with the committee coordinator on interim committee matters and in the training of new committee clerks and the in-service training of committee clerks.

In the event that any joint interim committees need to be created by proclamation, the parliamentarian coordinates with the Senate the drafting of the required proclamations. The parliamentarian also advises joint committees on proper procedure and works closely with the Senate parliamentarian on various interim matters.

Specific Duties Leading Into the 81st Session

The parliamentarian works with the committee coordinator to prepare the committee clerk orientation and training, including updating and revising the committee clerk training manual.

The parliamentarian is responsible for assembling a House working rules group for input on proposed rules changes to the House rules.

The parliamentarian organizes and coordinates the New Member Orientation for newly elected House members.

The Office of the Parliamentarian reviews all pre-filed legislation.

Rick Noriega, about to be an official U.S. Senate hopeful, dominates the blogosphere again, but this week he's sharing headlines with fellow Democratic candidate Mikal Watts. Bloggers also celebrated a diluvial Independence Day while deploring George W. Bush's commuting the prison sentence of Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr. Finally, a potpourri composed of garbage, trashy movies and how the criminal justice system deals with the refuse of society.

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Democrats' ABCs: Anyone But Cornyn

Burnt Orange Report juxtaposes Watts', Noriega's and John Cornyn's stances on the war, the environment, and abortion and reminds readers of the existence of a third Democratic challenger to Cornyn, Dallas Lawyer Emil Reichstadt. Burnt Orange blogger Sarah White, meanwhile, offers Watts "$5 to calm down and stop throwing your money around."

Dos Centavos applauds Noriega's recent coverage in the M$M (that's "mainstream media" and predicts, "This is going to be a people's campaign."

Brains and Eggs takes issue with what he calls the "defeatist attitude of the Texas Democratic Party's elders" demonstrated by political consultant Matt Angle in a Houston Chronicle article. He also throws around the four-letter word "DINO" and claims that Watts has donated money to Republicans Greg Abbott and David Dewhurst. (A search under Watts' moniker on the Texas Ethics Commission's website campaign finance report database didn't flip those stones.

But if you look under the Good Government PAC that's based in Corpus Christi and that gets most — but not all — of its money from Watts and his law firm, you'll hit paydirt. That PAC, which has the same Corpus address as several law firms, including The Watts Law Firm, gave $40k to Dewhurst over the last few years, and $15k to Abbott, along with significant money for former Appropriations Chairman Talmadge Heflin, R-Houston, Regulated Industries Chair Phil King, R-Weatherford, Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, and former Rep. Toby Goodman, R-Arlington, who lost a hard-fought defense against the Democrats last year. Just for fun, here's the Federal database, too.)

The Texas Observer Blog explains the connection between Noriega and Republican Bob "Lorenzo il Magnifico" Perry, and the rationale behind it. Here's a hint: Perry apparently doesn't like Watts.

On June 19, the Rio Grande Guardian reported that Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chairman Juan Maldonado suggested that Noriega leave the Senate seat to Watts and instead run for the Railroad Commission or for the State Senate when Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, retires. "If it's so great, why don't you run for it?" responds Off the Kuff. Gallegos later says in the Guardian, "I think Juan Maldonaldo is full of the Christmas turkey" and that he plans to run for re-election.

Half Empty suggests that Watts might be better suited to challenge Ken Law for Chief Justice of the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin (doesn't matter that Watts now resides in San Antonio). He also says that if Watts runs for Cornyn's seat, the incumbent could focus his campaign against Watts' money, rather than on Watts himself.

Musings has a copy of Noriega's Independence Day speech. Off the Kuff has a copy of an endorsement of Noriega by State Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine.

Walker Report notes that Watts's campaign manager is Christian Archer, the man behind Phil Hardberger's two successful runs for mayor of San Antonio. Archer's done work for Watts — and for the Good Government PAC — in previous elections.

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Don't Rain on My Parade

Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, has photos of Fourth of July in the Valley in his A Capitol Blog. Dos Centavos went to the parade in Kingwood and also has pictures of a very soggy Houston.

Texas Kaos waxes reminiscently about Fourth of July in North Carolina, and Burnt Orange waxes angrily about a certain phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Texas Observer marked the holiday by posting Texas Democrats' presidential endorsements, while Common Sense celebrated with a salute to Jimi Hendrix.

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The Name is "Irve"

Bloggers... disagree... with... President... George W. Bush's... decision... to... commute... Scooter... Libby's... prison... sentence.

In the Pink posts the transcript of a press conference between White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and journalists, some from Texas. Musings has a copy of the $250,400 check Libby cut to pay his fine.

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Coda

Shouldn't paper go in the recycle bin? In the Pink reports that somehow a 189-page document/tome from the Department of Homeland Security wound up in a dumpster behind KXAN-TV in Austin, at least that's what KXAN claims. Contents of said document: "Preliminary plans for the expansion of a U.S.-Mexico border crossing station in El Paso."

Houstoned blogs about a case of taken identity. An excerpt: "Houstonian Syvette Wimberly... was recently made aware that a girl she went to high school with in Kingwood is now a porn star performing under Wimberly's name." Try explaining that to your pastor.

Elsewhere, Grits for Breakfast, who gives his take on how to reduce county jail overcrowding, profiles the Geo Group, Texas' largest private prison contractor, and wonders how it is that nearly everyone on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles seems to be a former cop or prosecutor.

Grits cites a Northwestern University study saying that juries get it wrong 13% of the time, with the tendency to wrongly convict rather than wrongly acquit. (This was shocking to this writer/compiler, who recently covered a West Texas murder trial where the jury returned a guilty verdict in about five minutes.)

Finally, Grits wins the "Headline of the Week" award in a post on how the system dealt with Lil Kim, Paris Hilton and Scooter Libby, titled, "Ain't That Tuff Enuff?"

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This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who is temporarily situated in sunny Kermit, Texas. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.

Mikal Watts personally gave more than $500,000 to political candidates and committees over the last half-decade.

The biggest chunks went to three political action committees: The Good Government PAC, $125,000; the Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC, $111,700; and the Save Texas Courts PAC, $75,000. That last one was set up to oppose a constitutional amendment limiting lawsuits by former Supreme Court Justice Deborah Hankinson, a Republican. The TTLA PAC is a long-running operation that gets money from lawyers all over the state for political candidates. But the Good Government PAC is closely associated with Watts, and it's the source of charges that he has supported Republican candidates as well as Democrats.

He's given smaller amounts to several candidates, including his favorite candidate, by a mile: Sandra Watts, a state district judge to whom he's contributed $104,751. She's also his mom.

The Good Government PAC gets most of its money from Watts and from his law firm, and shares their business address in Corpus Christi.

Since 2004, the Goo-Goo PAC (FDR and others called good government advocates "goo-goos") gave $40,000 to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, $15,000 to Attorney General Greg Abbott, and $5,000 each to Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson and state Rep. Phil King of Weatherford, according to campaign finance records at the Texas Ethics commission. It supported former Reps. Talmadge Heflin of Houston and Toby Goodman of Arlington in their unsuccessful reelection bids. But most of its money went to Democrats (or against Republicans): for Juan Garcia against Gene Seaman in last year's fight over a Corpus Christi statehouse seat, for Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin (then in a race for attorney general); for Chris Bell against Rick Perry (and Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman) in last year's gubernatorial election. And they were a drag on former Rep. Jaime Capelo, D-Corpus Christi, helping knock off the incumbent in a 2004 primary. It's also a contributor to other PACs, giving $100,000 to the Austin-based HillCo PAC run by lobbyist Buddy Jones and his associates.

On the federal front, contributions amounts are limited, but Watts has been busy for the last several years, according to records with the Federal Election Commission. He's a contributor to several presidential campaigns — John Edwards, now and four years ago, to John Kerry, after he'd put Edwards on his ticket in 2004, and to Joe Biden, last year. Watts also gave to Edwards' 2002 campaign for U.S. Senate. Barrack Obama, now a presidential candidate, got a donation from Watts for his 2004 Senate race.

He's given to U.S. Sens. and Senate candidates Ron Kirk, D-Dallas; Barbara Boxer, D-California; Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; Jon Tester, D-Montana; Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey; Tom Daschle, D-North Dakota; Harry Reid, D-Nevada; Tony Knowles, D-Alaska; and Ken Salazar, D-Colorado.

Watts contributed to U.S. Reps., former Reps. and House candidates Chet Edwards, D-Waco; Ted Poe, R-Humble; Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi; Richard Raymond, D-Laredo; Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo; Ron Chapman, D-Dallas; Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin; Martin Frost, D-Dallas; and Nick Lampson, D-Stafford. Poe, a former Houston judge, was the only Republican we spotted on Watts' federal giving list.

A California company has pulled together a database that tries to do for charities what campaign finance databases do for politics, and there's some interesting overlap.

NOZA pulls together public information from charities around the U.S. and makes it searchable, so you can find out, for instance, who in Texas gave money to a particular charity and about how much they gave. It's not completely hard data: The numbers depend on what the charities reveal about themselves and their donors. But if someone gives, and the organization lists them as a donor — often done, and often with dollar ranges — they end up in the database.

Craig Harris, a former nonprofit exec, set the website up to help other nonprofits get information that could help them raise money. if you give to one outfit and end up in the database, other similar outfits will know you're out there and can hit you up for contributions to their causes.

That opens a potential tie to politics and political giving, an avenue the company's now pursuing. If someone gives to a particular charities or charities and hasn't been active politically, it's possible to make an educated guess about their politics and their finances.

It's not a new idea — back in the day, Karl Rove, for instance, had direct mail businesses in politics and in fine arts, and found some useful overlaps there. And corporate America has been using cross-indexing like this for years. But it hasn't been this easy to access.

About a third of the database doesn't have dollar values attached, usually because the charities listed their donors without numbers. But that's potentially useful, too, since it links names to causes and to other gifts that might have bucks enumerated.

Harris says he's still aimed mainly at the nonprofit business, but says political campaigns and candidates are starting to poke into the data. So, he says, are reporters, who want to know more about contributors and about the candidates themselves, and who they give to. Check it out: www.nozasearch.com.

• While we're at it, there's a new website that's basically in existence to collect dirt on presidential candidates. You click on a candidate to find out what's going on with them, and you can click on another link to add to the muck. Sheesh: www.oppodepot.com.

The state's biggest phone companies and their competitors are fighting over a fund that subsidizes companies that provide phone service where it would otherwise be unaffordable. AT&T, the biggest, says the Universal Service Fund doesn't cover its costs. Competitors say the company gets at least twice what it should.

And the Public Utility Commission is getting ready to referee, hoping to refresh the formulas for the USF before the Legislature comes back for a regular session in January 2009.

AT&T says it's not paid enough for high-cost services the state requires it to provide; the companies on the other side say their customers are being taxed to help Ma Bell remain in a dominant position.

There's a pile of money at stake: About $425 million was disbursed last year to the phone companies in the biggest program within the USF, according to a recent PUC report. The fund is financed with a fee on your phone bill, and all of the phone companies have to take part. The money is supposed to subsidize high-cost customers who otherwise wouldn't get phones. An easy example: It costs a fortune, on a per-customer basis, to build and operate phone service in those long mostly uninhabited parts of West Texas. But the big phone companies agreed to do it if they could use money from high-profit areas to cover the costs. With competition coming into play, that subsidy turned into the USF; the notion was that the profitable areas would have lots of companies competing, and their customers, the state decided, should pay into a kitty to keep the phones running in unprofitable areas.

The formulas were last set in 1999, based on numbers from 1997. The biggest recipient, AT&T (formerly SBC, formerly Southwestern Bell, etc.) serves the greatest number of high-cost areas. And they're paid based on what those ten-year-old financial models say they should get. But some areas that were rural ten years ago are suburban now, and profitable for the phone companies (three smaller companies also get USF money for high-cost areas they serve). And more companies are competing for various businesses, including old-fashioned land lines, wireless phones, television, and on and on and on.

A coalition of those competitors has been pressing for a change in the formulas for several years, and now hope the PUC will get something new in place by this time next year. That's a group that includes the Texas Cable and Telecommunications Association, Time Warner Telecom, and Sprint/Nextel, among others. They don't want to kill the USF, but they fear AT&T and others are getting more money than they need to serve those high-cost areas, and want to make sure the USF money going to those companies isn't being used to competitive advantage. The companies getting the money don't have to prove they spent it in high-cost areas and don't have to detail their expenses in order to get reimbursed. The opposition wants to make sure they get the money they need and no more, and that they use it for the purposes intended.

On the other side, AT&T, Verizon, Windstream, and Embarq, say they've got the disadvantage of being the "providers of last resort," and as such, have no choice but to make sure everyone in the state has access to phone service. AT&T — the 300-pound gorilla here — contends the USF reimbursements don't cover the costs of the services they provide. A spokesman says flatly that they're under-compensated for the services they're required to provide in high-cost areas. And they contend the cable companies and others want to hobble the phone company so it'll be a weaker competitor.

The PUC's been at this for a while, but the case is expected to really get going in September, and the agency could have a decision as early as next spring, according to their current timetables.

Reports aren't due yet, but some campaigns are trumpeting their fundraising results...

Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams hasn't filed his mid-year reports yet, but aides say he raised $322,000 in ten days, an amount they think is a record for a Railroad Commissioner. Williams, like other state officeholders, was barred from raising money while the Legislature was in session and while Gov. Rick Perry was in the 20-day window for approving and vetoing bills after the session ended.  Williams is also set to announce endorsements from "four-fifths" of the members of the State Republican Executive Committee (he's the state GOP's former general counsel) and from 100 of his party's county chairmen. Here's a weird bit of trivia: He might draw opposition in next year's election from Dale Henry, who ran as a Republican against Victor Carrillo and as a Democrat against Elizabeth Ames Jones in the last two election cycles. That would apparently make Henry the only guy to run against every sitting member of a Texas Railroad Commission.

• Dan Grant, a Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Austin in CD-10, says he raised $72,700 in the last month. No report yet (it's not due) from the incumbent. Grant worked as a civilian setting up new government operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq and consulted for the John Kerry presidential campaign; he poses himself as a "foreign policy expert."

• Another early announcement: Joe Jaworski, a Galveston Democrat challenging state Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, in SD-11, says he'll report more than $250,000 in his campaign accounts at mid-year. That total includes $214,495 he says he raised during the last six months (non-officeholders aren't barred from raising money during legislative sessions, as incumbents are).

• Texans for Public Justice reports, based on info at the Texas Ethics Commission, that House Speaker Tom Craddick had nearly $4.2 million in the bank at the beginning of the year and was sitting on nearly that much during last year's election cycle. But he didn't spend much, contributing less than $200,000 to the political action committees that were defending his supporters in their reelection bids last year, TPJ says in their report.

You'd think legislators would want to hog credit for state employee pay raises. You'd be wrong.

They put a small increase in pay in the budget, but made it contingent on the comptroller saying the money was there to pay for the thing. Everybody knew the money was there; the state has more than $7 billion in uncommitted money in the treasury. Anyhow, Comptroller Susan Combs officially says the money is there for a raise when the budget starts in September. State employees will get a two percent hike then and another two percent hike a year later. Law enforcement officers will get bigger increases. The total tab for that is $402.4 million during the next budget cycle. On a micro level, someone making $40,000 a year now will be making $41,616 two years hence.

• Quico Canseco, a Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, in CD-23, picked up endorsements from car dealer Red McCombs and from Ken Mercer, the former House member who's now on the State Board of Education.

• Department of Corrections: We got our trucks mixed up last week, putting former Texas Senate candidate Victor Morales in a red one instead of a white one. Shoot, and we even rode in it a couple of times. The red truck that got stuck in our head belonged to Fred Thompson, who drove it around when he was running for U.S. Senate from Tennessee.