There will be a special session to finish work left undone by the Legislature, but the final date hasn't been chosen, and Gov. Rick Perry has declined to say what's going to be on the agenda.

Several issues have dominated the conversation about special session topics: Extending the lives of five agencies that were left to die at the end of the regular session, authorizing the sale of $2 billion in transportation bonds approved by voters almost two years ago, and changing state law to allow the Texas Department of Transportation to proceed with public-private partnerships (also called Comprehensive Development Agreements, or CDAs), and a revolving fund using those bonds to go forward without waiting for the next regular legislative session.

Perry confined his remarks to renewing the expiration dates on five agencies the Legislature stranded at the end of the regular session.

"The way I see this, these are really pretty simple to address and we can get in here and, I think, in a very short period of time, take care of the people's business and let the members get on back to their joyous vacations and whatever else they have going on... ," Perry said. "We'll do it, hopefully, sooner rather than later."

The Senate closed the session on the first day of the month without voting to extend the lives of five agencies that were up for a periodic review. If those "sunset" reviews aren't completed in time, lawmakers typically extend the automatic shutdown dates for the agencies in question. That didn't happen this time because of a House-Senate spat.

Transportation, insurance and three other agencies are now set to go out of business in September 2010 unless lawmakers return before then.

Transportation has some particular problems to fix. The expiration date is at the top of the list. If the agency doesn't get its date changed, officials there have doubts about whether they can legally let new contracts. Next on their list: Lawmakers didn't authorize the sale of $2 billion in bonds approved by voters in 2007. The state budget would let TXDOT sell the bonds starting in January, but the agency can't do anything without the authorization. That bond money is needed for about a third of the "lettings" in next year's agency budget. The Legislature also stopped before approving a revolving fund that would have leveraged the transportation bonds — borrowed against them — to raise up to $5 billion more for toll roads and other projects. And that ties into the CDAs, or partnerships between private firms and the state on toll roads and other projects. That all goes on the back burner for two years if the Legislature doesn't act.

That argues for a special session sooner rather than later, but there's the matter of a political year in 2010, and Perry wants to avoid anything that looks like things aren't running smoothly in Austin. He'll be running against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, arguing that things aren't running smoothly in Washington. A legislative mess now could turn into a political mess in the March primary.

Democrats fear Perry will add Voter ID to the agenda if he calls a special session. That could be an obstacle to a deal on the transportation issues. Perry could cut a deal with the Democrats — fix transportation and we'll leave Voter ID alone — but that could upset his own supporters.

Perry hasn't said for sure what will be on the agenda — and what won't. But if he wants a short session, as he has said, it's not likely that he'll add anything controversial to the list.

Enough for Another, If it's a GOP Majority

House Speaker Joe Straus released the names of 111 state representatives who he says have pledged to elect him to a second term as speaker in January 2011.

Straus says a few more names have trickled in since he released this list — he's now released two supplemental lists — and says he's confident he's got the support he needs for another two years in the job.

Straus' Republicans hold a 76-74 majority in the Texas House. A few of the Democrats who pledged to the speaker did so, he said, with the understanding that they'll leave the fold if Democrats win the majority in the next election cycle. "Most just signed the pledge card," he said.

Straus hasn't presented the members with a set of ideas about what he'd do with a second term — that'll come later, he said. But he wants to "play a role in setting the agenda" in his second session — something he didn't have time to develop in his sudden rise from sophomore member to speaker in January.

The full lists follow.

SIGNED:

Democrats (55): Roberto Alonzo, Carol Alvarado, Rafael Anchia, Valinda Bolton, Joaquin Castro, Norma Chavez, Ellen Cohen, Garnet Coleman, Joseph "Joe" Deshotel, Dawnna Dukes, Craig Eiland, Kirk England, David Farabee, Jessica Farrar, Stephen Frost, Pete Gallego, Veronica Gonzales, Ryan Guillen, Roland Gutierrez, Ana Hernandez, Abel Herrero, Scott Hochberg, Mark Homer, Chuck Hopson, Donna Howard, Carol Kent, Tracy King, Eddie Lucio III, Diana Maldonado, Marisa Marquez, Armando "Mando" Martinez, Ruth Jones McClendon, Jim McReynolds, Jose Menendez, Robert Miklos, Joseph Moody, Rene Oliveira, Solomon Ortiz Jr., Aaron Peña, Joseph "Joe" Pickett, Paula Pierson, Chente Quintanilla, Richard Peña Raymond, Allan Ritter, Eddie Rodriguez, Patrick Rose, Mark Strama, Kristi Thibaut, Senfronia Thompson, Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, Chris Turner, Allen Vaught, Marc Veasey, Michael "Mike" Villarreal, and Tara Rios Ybarra.

Republicans (56): Charles "Doc" Anderson, Jimmie Don Aycock, Dwayne Bohac, Dennis Bonnen, Dan Branch, Betty Brown, Angie Chen Button, Byron Cook, Frank Corte Jr., Brandon Creighton, Drew Darby, John Davis, Joe Driver, Rob Eissler, Gary Elkins, Charlie Geren, Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, Richard "Rick" Hardcastle, Patricia Harless, Linda Harper-Brown, Bryan Hughes, Todd Hunter, Carl Isett, Jim Jackson, Delwin Jones, James "Jim" Keffer, Susan King, Tim Kleinschmidt, Lois Kolkhorst, Edmund Kuempel, Jodie Laubenberg, Ken Legler, Jerry Madden, Brian McCall, Thomas "Tommy" Merritt, Doug Miller, Sid Miller, Rob Orr, John Otto, Tan Parker, Diane Patrick, Ken Paxton, Larry Phillips, Jim Pitts, Debbie Riddle, Ralph Sheffield, Mark Shelton, Todd Smith, John Smithee, Burt Solomons, Joe Straus, David Swinford, Larry Taylor, Vicki Truitt, Randy Weber, and John Zerwas.

UNSIGNED

Democrats (19): Alma Allen, Lon Burnam, Yvonne Davis, Jim Dunnam, Harold Dutton, Al Edwards, Joe Farias, Kino Flores, Helen Giddings, Joe Heflin, Terri Hodge, David Leibowitz, Barbara Mallory Caraway, Trey Martinez Fischer, Elliot Naishtat, Dora Olivo, Sylvester Turner, Hubert Vo, and Armando Walle.

Republicans (20): Leo Berman, Fred Brown, Bill Callegari, Warren Chisum, Wayne Christian, Joe Crabb, Tom Craddick, Myra Crownover, Allen Fletcher, Dan Flynn, Dan Gattis, Kelly Hancock, Will Hartnett, Harvey Hilderbran, Charlie Howard, Phil King, Tryon Lewis, Geanie Morrison, Wayne Smith, and Beverly Woolley.

Fund Drive

While the governor is frozen out of fundraising by state law, his primary challenger is not, and says her finance committee will match contributions to her campaign from now until the end of the month.

In her latest pitch to potential supporters, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says her finance committee will match contributions. But that comes after she takes some jabs at Gov. Rick Perry, a fellow Republican, for what she calls mismanagement and a failure of leadership.

"As I travel the state, people have expressed frustration with the current leadership in Austin. They tell me the Governor is putting his personal political agenda in front of an agenda that will move the state forward. And you know what, I agree with them," she wrote.

"We find ourselves at a crossroads. People from all parts of Texas feel it is time for a change in Austin.

"After nearly a decade in office, our Governor is not offering a clear vision of how we can solve the issues facing a changing state. And there is a real sense that our leadership in Austin is getting distracted and consumed attempting to clean up the mismanagement problems caused at the Governor's agencies. Picking a fight with the federal government is not a long-term strategy to move Texas forward... ," the letter said

Elected state officials can't raise money during a legislative session or during the 20-day veto period that follows. That blocks Perry and other Texas pols from trying to fill their treasuries before the end of the current reporting period, which ends June 30. But federally elected officials like Hutchison aren't bound by that law, so she gets to work the circuit while he can't. And it's one reason why she should be able to show bigger numbers when those reports are unveiled July 15.

"Once again the only thing the Senator has to offer is negative Washington rhetoric," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner after seeing Hutchison's pitch. "The thousands of people moving to Texas she mentions in the letter are the result of a fiscally responsible government, jobs, good schools and roads and low taxes, all a result of the work by Governor Perry and the Legislature. If the Senator's idea of success is what's going on in Washington, all Texans should be concerned."

Hutchison's entire letter is available online.

Rister's Next Thing

Milton Rister, who resigned last week as executive director of the Texas Legislative Council, is exploring a run for the Texas House.

Rister, a Georgetown Republican, is looking at the HD-20 seat currently held by Republican Dan Gattis.

There's a string here that starts with speculation that Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, will leave the Legislature; he told the Austin American-Statesman last week that he'll make a decision in the fall. Gattis is a possible candidate for that Senate seat and has told supporters he'd be interested. That would leave his spot open.

Gattis says he talked with Rister and thinks it's a conditional thing. Gattis says he will definitely run for Senate if Ogden does retire. In that case, Rister would run for the Gattis seat. Rister, reached later, confirmed that, saying he'll support Ogden and Gattis if they seek reelection to the jobs they've got now.

Rister, a former political consultant for former House Speaker Tom Craddick and others, held staff positions with Sen. Jane Nelson, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and was executive director of the Republican Party of Texas before signing on as head of the TLC three years ago.

He announced his resignation from that job last week.

He's run for office twice before: In 1986, for Midland County Commissioner, and in 1994 for Williamson County Judge. He got 14 percent in the first race, and 42 percent in the second. "I'm shooting for 51 percent this time," he says.

Certifiable

As expected, Comptroller Susan Combs says the state has all the money it needs for the budget lawmakers approved during the legislative session.

Combs didn't comment on the economy or offer any reservations in her letter to state leaders. She just said there's enough in the till to cover the bills.

Keeping Score

Texas lawmakers filed 12,226 bills and resolutions during the regular session, or nearly 2,000 more than they filed in 2007 — the previous record year.

If you throw out resolutions — including the 190 proposed constitutional amendments, the 372 non-binding "concurrent resolutions" whose main purpose is to display the Legislature's opinions, and the 4,245 plain resolutions mostly used for commemoration, memorials and such — they filed 7,419 House and Senate bills. That's more than ever — a 19.9 percent increase over the 2007 total.

Take solace: They passed 1,459 bills — 23 fewer than two years ago.

The statistics from the last ten sessions (courtesy of the Texas Legislative Reference Library) show the latest one was busier than average, if down a bit from the last. They were busier than average both in terms of bills filed and bills passed. They set the record for filings, but fell well short of the 1999 high-water mark of 1,622 for bills passed.

They were off the charts with all their resolving stuff.

One number is still missing. At this posting, Gov. Rick Perry had vetoed only one bill and was still going through the stacks sent by legislators. This is his fifth legislative session as governor and he's vetoed 200 bills — an average of 50 per session. His biggest total was in 2001, when he zapped 82 bills; his low was in 2005, when he let all but 19 become law.

Political Notes

Tom Schieffer announced chairs for his Democratic bid for governor. The co-chairs for his campaign are former Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa and political activist and lobbyist Susan Longley. There's a "senior advisory committee" co-chaired by former Texas House Speaker Pete Laney, D-Hale Center, and Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston. Schieffer's finance committee will be co-chaired by former state representative and U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Lyndon Olson Jr. of Waco and Fort Worth philanthropist Alann Sampson. Schieffer, a former state rep and U.S. Ambassador (to Australia and Japan), plans to kick off his campaign later this summer. Schieffer also picked up an endorsement from the Texas Association of Hispanic County Judges and County Commissioners, notable mainly because that's his first statewide endorsement. Schieffer is pulling together a run for governor next year.

• Former Tyler Mayor Joey Seeber will run for Rep. Leo Berman's seat in the Texas House next year. Berman, a Republican, plans to run for governor in 2010. Seeber, who served on the city council for three terms and then as mayor for three terms, plans to run in the Republican primary for that HB-6 seat.

• Dallas attorney Eric "EJ" Johnson plans to run for the House seat currently held by Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas. Johnson has degrees from Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and says he'll focus on education and health care issues.

• Bill and Rita Clements — the former governor and first lady — signed on as honorary chairs for Elizabeth Ames Jones' exploratory run for the U.S. Senate. Jones, a Texas Railroad Commissioner, has her eye on the seat Kay Bailey Hutchison is expected to yield on her way to a run for governor next year. Jones also launched a new website for her Senate campaign.

Perry Takes a Spill

Gov. Rick Perry broke his collarbone in a mountain biking accident. Here's the official statement: "At approximately 7:30 pm tonight Gov. Perry broke his right collarbone and received a minor abrasion to his right elbow due to a mountain biking accident near his residence. He was taken to the emergency room at Seton Medical Center Austin..."

The governor's own statement at a bill signing a couple of days later was more colorful: "Down a hill that looked substantially less steep than it was. Back wheel over helmet. Shoulder on ground. And I feel fine... I'm back at work, and veto pen is ready."

Texas Monthly's Best and Worst

The magazine's biennial argument has begun — and it has definitely begun, if you look at the comments on the link to their article. Their lists:

Best Legislators: Sens. John Carona, 53, R-Dallas, Robert Duncan, 55, R-Lubbock, and Kirk Watson, 51, D-Austin, and Reps. Craig Eiland, 47, D-Galveston, Rob Eissler, 58, R-The Woodlands, Brian McCall, 50, R-Plano, John Otto, 60, R-Dayton, Jim Pitts, 62, R-Waxahachie, Senfronia Thompson, 70, D-Houston, and John Zerwas, 54, R-Richmond.

Worst Legislators: Sen. Troy Fraser, 59, R-Horseshoe Bay, Mario Gallegos Jr., 58, D-Houston, and Tommy Williams, 52, R-The Woodlands, and Reps. Wayne Christian, 58, R-Center, Yvonne Davis, 54, D-Dallas, Jim Dunnam, 54, D-Waco, Allen Fletcher, 54, R-Tomball, Kino Flores, 50, D-Palmview, Richard Peña Raymond, 48, D-Laredo, and Debbie Riddle, 59, R-Tomball.

Political People and Their Moves

Ed Whitacre Jr., retired chairman of Dallas-based AT&T Corp., will take the reins at General Motors after a bailout transition there. He's a longtime player in Texas public affairs and headed the board of regents at the Texas Tech University System.

Judge Lawrence Meyers will run for reelection to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, a post he's held since the 1992 elections. A win next year would mean a fourth term for Meyer, who's the longest serving member of that court.

Angela Olige is the new assistant commissioner over the Texas Department of Agriculture's food and nutrition division. She had been a deputy assistant in that division.

Joe DaSilva is the new executive director at the Texas Pharmacy Association. CEO Jim Martin is leaving that association at the end of the month and DaSilva will take his spot. DaSilva has most recently been running his own lobby shop; he was at the Texas Hospital Association for 28 years before that.

Matt Mackowiak, formerly the spokesman for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, is opening his own politics and public affairs shop. The Potomac Strategy Group will have offices in Austin and Washington, D.C.

Indicted: Former county attorney, county judge, and state Rep. Luther Jones of El Paso, on federal charges of bribery and mail fraud stemming from a long-running public corruption investigation in that city.

Deaths: Former Rep. Frank Eikenburg, R-Plano, of complications from liver cancer. He was 64.

Quotes of the Week

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, telling The Dallas Morning News that a special session wouldn't be necessary if she were governor: "I would hope not. Because I would be hands-on, working hard through the session and I would be working with the Legislature, which is what I think the governor should do."

State Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, talking about a possible mayoral bid in the Houston Chronicle: "I'm not trying to dance on the stage or have people speculating... I will take a look at how this race has unfolded, whether people are looking for another option and whether or not people think that I would be a good fit for where the city is at this time."

Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Caperton v. Massey that campaign donations can be grounds to remove a judge from a case: "Caperton decision challenges us to do more to remove the perception that judicial campaign contributions influence decisions in Texas courts. Caperton identified a core problem that exists in Texas even with expenditure limits. Judges and judicial candidates now must raise hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars to support their election efforts."

House Speaker Joe Straus, in the San Antonio Express-News: "I'm pro-business, so my position is that we don't need to go back on tort reform. But I'm also not Tom Craddick, so I'm trying to figure out how to be fair — and what's really driving this is that the Democrats are wholly owned by the trial lawyers."

House Parliamentarian Denise Davis, quoted in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on the prospect of a special session: "I haven't checked to see if I'm still married. I'm scared to call home."

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Texas Weekly: Volume 26, Issue 23, 15 June 2009. Ross Ramsey, Editor. Copyright 2009 by Printing Production Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. One-year online subscription: $250. For information about your subscription, call (512) 302-5703 or email biz@texasweekly.com. For news, email ramsey@texasweekly.com, or call (512) 288-6598.

We're entering the last days available to the governor to consider bills. Anything not vetoed by midnight on Father's Day will become law, with or without Rick Perry's signature.

Political fundraising season begins in full force next week, and it'll be fast and furious until July 1 — the deadline for the current reporting period. Incumbents want to show impressive totals when their numbers become public July 15 — the better to keep challengers away. Some candidates should be ahead of the opposition; U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, for instance, is a federal official and could raise money for a governor's race while Perry was frozen out by the law barring state officials from raising money while the Legislature is in town.

And when the fund drive is over, it'll be about time for a special session.

Leading up to the sign or veto deadline, Perry signed several "headline" bills from the session:

• Increasing the deduction on the state franchise tax to $1 million, freeing around 39,000 taxpayers from that tax at a cost to the state of about $172 million.

• Increasing the tax on smokeless tobacco, with the money being used to pay for that business tax cut, in part, and in part to repay student loans of doctors who agree to practice for a period of time in underserved communities in Texas.

• Setting up a system so that the state's second-tier universities can compete to become Tier 1 schools on a par with the University of Texas, Texas A&M and Rice. That same bill has tuition revenue bonds to rebuild university properties lost to Hurricane Ike.

• Perry is scheduled to sign reforms of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association in Galveston. Back before the session went off track, that was the only piece of legislation he had pointed to as special session material. And the threat worked: Lawmakers got after the legislation right away.

State officials can't raise money until the governor's veto period is over on Sunday, but the lieutenant governor got the wheels turning early.

Inquiring bloggers want to know: Will Gov. Rick Perry include voter photo identification in a special session? They're also expressing interest in people throwing stones at a certain monthly magazine of statewide interest, contenders for elected positions and the state's maintenance of law and order. Check out the last section for info on social media and other cool stuff.

* * * * *

Special ID

Fort Worth-area lawmakers from both parties want a special session to be quick and painless and hold the ID — at least that's what they're telling PoliTex, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's blog. Perry calling voter photo ID into play during the special would be a good political move for him and for Democrats, Pollabear says. And Eye on Williamson says Perry'll include voter ID if he wants to bolster his support among the hard right, but will play it straight — sunset, no chaser — if he's shooting for the middle-right types.

Forget voter ID, the first special item should be eyewitness ID to prevent wrongful convictions, Grits for Breakfast says. Meanwhile, Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, wants clean energy on the agenda, according to the Dallas Morning News's Energy and Environment Blog. And Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, is pushing for further discussion about children's health insurance, according to NewspaperTree.com Blog.

Between July 4 and 20 would be a good time for a special, BurkaBlog says. Those aren't the best dates for KUT's Notes from the Lege, who's got a vacation planned then. And the Austin Chronicle's newsdesk goes over why a special session became inevitable.

* * * * *

Exception Takers

Empower Texans' Michael Quinn Sullivan alleges that the Texas Monthly Best/Worst "lists are little more than a front for a left-wing ideological agendas." Hackles raised, Burka responds, "You write for people who think like you do. We write for people who think." On a related note, Sullivan's group has released its own "Fiscally Conservative Index" for the session, with Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, and Reps. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco, Wayne Christian, R-Center, Jodie Laubenberg, R-Rockwall, and Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, taking home the organization's top honors for their respective chambers. (Finishing at the bottom of the list are Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Rep. Mike Villarreal, R-San Antonio.)

Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi, doesn't think he should have landed on the "furniture" list and iterates some of his legislative accomplishments to Burka. "I was sitting at my desk (not a flashy piece of furniture, but it does its job well)," Ortiz writes. Meanwhile, Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, takes issue with being named one of the "worst," and Burka takes issue with her response. In other news, Letters from Texas posts a photo of Burka resting his eyes in a legislative chamber, it appears.

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And In These Corners...

Mean rachel labels Democratic gubernatorial candidates Tom Schieffer and Kinky Friedman "political snowbirds" who "go Democratic when the weather gets good." She suggests Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, as a preferable alternative [eds. note: m.r.'s significant other, Harold Cook of Letters from Texas, works for Van de Putte and the Senate Democrats]. Off the Kuff thinks Democrats should be tossing pennies in wishing wells on Perry's behalf, saying, "any reasonably well-funded Dem will have a fighter's chance in the Governor's race if Rick Perry survives the primary." Kuff also says that Democrats have a good chance of making hay in 2010 statewide judicial races, given the political sunshine cast by Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon "9 to 5" Keller.

Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, isn't committed to running for governor, a "friend in Tyler" tells McBlogger, but former Tyler Mayor Joey Seeber is apparently 100 percent serious about challenging Berman for his current office.

Prohibited from raising money for himself during the session, Perry's been helping Americans for Tax Reform, the Morning News's Trail Blazers says, while Letters from Texas imagines a dialogue between Berman and Perry and fictionalizes an incident report about Perry's recent collarbone injury.

WhosPlayin? has information on a Collin/Denton County Democrats fish fry June 19 featuring top-ballot candidates including Schieffer and Mark Thompson (governor), John Sharp (U.S. Senate) and Denton attorney Neil Durrance (U.S. Congress). The next day, Perry supporters will attend a June 20 Volunteer Leadership Summit in Austin, memoirs from a young conservative says. And Dos Centavos attended a Harris County Democrats event featuring freshmen Reps. Carol Alvarado, Kristi Thibaut and Armando Walle.

Democrat Eric Roberson, whom you may remember from his 2008 bid against U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, is happy to announce on Burnt Orange Report that attorney Grier Raggio, a Democrat, is exploring a run against Republican Sessions in 2010. Elsewhere, Burnt Orange plays the "if" game in HD-91, currently represented by Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, who's won two elections with an average vote total of 60 percent. If Schieffer's on the ballot, and if the district attorney's race is competitive, then a strong Democratic challenge could set up a close race in 2012, they say.

The Statesman's Postcards blog looks at two possible challengers to Texas GOP chair Tina Benkiser. And Ellis County's Paul Perry (no relation to the Guv) is aiming to succeed gubernatorial aspirer Debra Medina as head of the U.S. Rep. Ron Paul-inspired Texas Campaign For Liberty, according to the Ellis County Observer.

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Justice League

After peeping at federal drug stats for Texas, Grits for Breakfast notices "adult admissions to publicly funded drug treatment facilities declined between 2006 and 2008, especially for harder drugs." He doubts the accuracy of the numbers, since the state has spent more than $200 million since fall 2007 for new treatment centers and prison diversion programs.

Tex Parte Blog follows the impeachment proceedings of retired U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent, who is supposed to arrive at prison this week. The same blog notes that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court "is going all electronic" soon, meaning that folks filing documents with the court will save a bunch on printer toner.

The Statesman's Public Capital blog has details on the Teacher Retirement System board's hiring of a fiduciary counsel. The members went with a Wisconsin attorney, opting not to rehire their Washington, D.C., lawyer.

The lefty Lone Star Project is targeting Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, for his firm's involvement in a brewing Harris County voter registration controversy. Meanwhile, fans of Defending People can now find the blogger under the name The View From the Far Table. The Department of Justice says the Harris County Jail isn't up to snuff, constitutionally, according to Grits. And the Houston Press's Hair Balls has details on a former Houston Chronicle reporter's golden parachute jump into the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

* * * * *

Combo Pack

The Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics counts tweeting politicos and their tweeple. Meanwhile, social networkers can find political-types online at the Chron's Texas on the Potomac. Also on Potomac, U.S. Rep. Pete Olson tells readers why NASA's worth the money; U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison endorses Charles Bolden Jr. to head the administration; and, U.S. Rep. Gene Green live-chats about things like energy, global warming and cap-and-trade rules.

The budget's fine print is hard to make out, Notes from the Lege reports. With the phasing out of the Texas Residential Construction Commission, Bay Area Houston's advice is to consider buying used. 123beta has a new home (virtual), and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin dropped in to say howdy to her sister somewhere in "Central Texas," PoliTex says.

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This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria but is semi-settled in Austin. 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.

U.S. Senate candidate John Sharp talked to a group of Austin Democrats at Scholz Garten.Sharp was introduced by at a Texans for Obama gathering by Fort Bend County Commissioner Richard Morrison, who unsuccessfully challenged then-U.S. Majority Leader Tom DeLay in 2004. Morrison's introduction. Sharp's talk. Sharp answers audience questions (caveat: it's hard to make out some of the questions). The other prominent Democrat in the race, Houston Mayor Bill White, spoke to the same group last month.

At the Alamo with his right arm in a sling, Gov. Rick Perry signed a constitutional amendment that would put some limits on government eminent domain into the state constitution. Governors sign bills into law, but Perry's signature on the constitutional amendment is purely symbolic. Amendments approved by the House and Senate go straight to voters without a required stop in the Guv's office, and this one will be on the ballot in November. This isn't a first. Four years ago, the governor went to Fort Worth to sign a constitutional amendment defining marriage as "the union of one man and one woman." Both signings came after a legislative session and a few months before the governor planned to seek reelection from voters. The eminent domain amendment would prevent governments from using their powers to force land sales and to then give the land to private developers. Voters will see this: "The constitutional amendment to prohibit the taking, damaging, or destroying of private property for public use unless the action is for the ownership, use, and enjoyment of the property by the State, a political subdivision of the State, the public at large, or entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or for the elimination of urban blight on a particular parcel of property, but not for certain economic development or enhancement of tax revenue purposes, and to limit the legislature's authority to grant the power of eminent domain to an entity." Perry vetoed an eminent domain bill two years ago — one of 49 he shot down. He said it would have required governments to pay for economic damage to property they didn't acquire if the damage was a result of the acquisition itself. Some of his fellow conservatives — and some groups like the Texas Farm Bureau — didn't like that a bit. And in fact, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Farm Bureau want Perry to add eminent domain to the summer special session he's promised. They contend the constitutional amendment doesn't go far enough.

The rumor mill still has the Guv calling a special in the early days of July and the probable list of issues hasn't changed: sunset dates, road bonds, public-private partnerships for roads, a revolving fund for roads, and getouttatownfast.

Keep an eye on the schedule of items that'll be left for the Sunset Advisory Commission to do in 2011 and what will be postponed until 2013. The commission staff and some lawmakers don't think sunset could handle what's already on their plate plus transportation, insurance, racing and two other agencies that didn't get done this year. And it's not as simple as moving any agency back two years. There's a squeak or a squawk for every delay, and Perry and Co. have to find the right combination to manage the workload, keep enough people politically happy, and prevent the scheduling issues from wrecking plans for a short special session.

But advocates for things that died at the end of the regular session want some attention for their issues, and they're clamoring. We're not rating the probabilities that you'll see any of this stuff, but from that line of supplicants come these requests:

• Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers and the Texas Farm Bureau want more than the constitutional amendment limiting eminent domain, which is already destined for the November ballot. They want to add provisions that compensate landowners when a government condemnation affects the value of the remaining property, and that allow landowners to buy back condemned property the government doesn't use.

• Add expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program (which expansion the governor has said he doesn't support). That bill passed in one form or another in both the House and Senate but didn't make it out of the Pink Building. The expansion would allow families making up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level to qualify for CHIP so long as they pay premiums for those benefits.

• Put Voter ID on the agenda so that photo identification will be required of anyone who wants to cast a ballot in the 2010 elections. That was the most partisan issue of the session and one reason it started and ended badly.

Most of the swing districts in the Texas House are held by Democrats, meaning they're more likely to be defending battleground seats than trying to wrest them away from the other party. A look at the political climate in each district, based on statewide results in the last two election cycles (click on the graphics to download a printable version).

Only one senator — Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth — holds a Texas Senate seat where the other party dominates in statewide elections. There just aren't many opportunities for either party to gain ground (or lose it) in the upper chamber.

With the glaring exception of the Democratic congressman from Waco, most everyone in the state's congressional delegation is from a district that votes in congressional elections just like it does in statewide elections. U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, a popular Democrat in a very Republican district, is the blueberry in the tomato soup — a blue dot in a red zone. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, occupies a true swing district. By the numbers, it's about evenly split between the two parties.

Unemployment in Texas hit 7.1 percent in May, up from 6.6 percent in April and 4.5 percent in May 2008, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.TWC said the number of unemployed Texans rose by 24,700 in May, and said the state has lost 222,600 jobs over the last 12 months. Still, that's better than the national numbers. U.S. unemployment was 9.1 percent in May, up from 8.6 percent in April and 5.2 percent in May 2008. The state had a total of 822,000 people out of work in May, compared with 519,100 a year ago. The worst spots were in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, at 9.4 percent unemployment; Beaumont-Port Arthur, at 9.1 percent; and Brownsville-Harlingen, at 9 percent. The lowest rates: Lubbock, at 4.6 percent; Amarillo, at 4.7 percent; and College Station-Bryan, at 4.9 percent.

Without signing it, the governor approved a law that would allow rebuilding of some beachfront homes, including one owned by an East Texas lawmaker. One of the beneficiaries would be Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, and that initially prompted Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson to ask the governor for a veto. But after talking with Rick Perry and his staff, Patterson now says Christian's provision is unconstitutional. He says Perry did the right thing by allowing the bill to become law and that the governor did so only after he was convinced the provision would wither and the rest of the bill is worth keeping. Patterson's statement:

“When I first became aware of the amendment to HB 770 suspending the Texas Open Beaches Act on Bolivar peninsula, I asked Governor Perry to veto the bill. At that time I would have been disappointed if the bill was not vetoed. With what I known now, namely that the Christian amendment to HB 770 clearly violates the Texas constitutions prohibition on local bills, the Governor has made the correct choice in allowing the bill to become law without his signature. The good provisions of HB 770 will become law, and the Christian amendment will change nothing. Texas beaches will remain as they have always been, open to all Texans, not just a few. Over the last two weeks I have had many conversations with the Governor and his staff. It is the consensus that the amendment is so poorly drafted that, even if it were constitutional, it would change nothing. It will be the policy of the Texas General Land Office that notwithstanding the Christian amendment, no structure will be rebuilt if it will interfere with the public right to access Texas beaches."

Gov. Rick Perry vetoed three dozen bills Friday and used his line-item vetoes to cut $288.9 million from the state budget, including $97.2 million in general revenue spending.The vetoes included: • Allowing child protective services to remove children from their homes in abuse investigations with the approval of an associate judge — without waiting for another judge's approval. That became a hot cause among social conservatives and the list of people asking for that veto eventually included Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Richardson — the author House sponsor of the bill to which that provision was added. • An expansion of the pre-kindergarten program in public schools that began the session as an ambitious $300 million proposal and passed at 1/12th that size. • Allowing public hospitals in small counties to hire doctors directly, and would have held them legally responsible for the doctors' work. That bill had a lot of stuff that doesn't seem related, like establishing fines for people making disclosures of secret grand jury proceedings, and regulating the cremation of unidentified human remains. • Barring the Texas Department of Transportation from using state funds to advertise and promote toll road projects. • Lessened the influence of the State Board of Education in pre-screening members of the Teacher Retirement System (the governor currently chooses two from a list created by the SBOE), replacing one of those with a retired educator chosen by his or her peers. • Removing teens convicted of consensual sex with other teens from the list of registered sex offenders. Perry's budget veto proclamation is available here. His messages on vetoes and on signatures are here. And his executive order on textbooks — saying the State Board of Education should be among the decision-makers — is here. APPROVED WITHOUT THE GOVERNOR'S SIGNATURE • HB 770 by Howard, Donna / Sponsor: Jackson, Mike Relating to ad valorem tax relief for an owner of certain property, including a residence homestead that is rendered uninhabitable or unusable by a casualty or by wind or water damage, and to a restriction on the authority to bring an action to remove a house that is partially located on a public beach as a result of a meteorological event. • HB 1275 by Kohlkorst / Sponsor: Hegar Relating to the authority to impose a county hotel occupancy tax. • HB 3076 by Deshotel / Sponsor: West Relating to a parenting and paternity awareness program used in the health curriculum for public schools. • SB 575 by Davis, Wendy / Sponsor: Shelton Relating to the time for dissolution of crime control and prevention districts and to certain taxes imposed by such districts or by fire control, prevention, and emergency medical services districts. • SB 1219 by Averitt / Sponsor: Deshotel Relating to a parenting and paternity awareness component of the health curriculum used in public high schools. • SB 1681 by Hinojosa / Sponsor: Gallego Relating to requiring the corroboration of certain testimony to support a criminal conviction. • SB 1717 by West / Sponsor: Davis, Yvonne Relating to regulation of owners of developments supported with low income housing tax credit allocations and of housing/ Sponsors of certain multifamily housing developments. • HCR 237 by Hilderbran / Sponsor: Fraser Designating the Brady World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-off as the official Texas State Goat Barbecue Championship Cook-off. • HCR 282 by Coleman Instructing the enrolling clerk of the house to make corrections in H.B. 3485. VETOED • HB 103 by Brown, Fred / Sponsor: Patrick, Dan Relating to health benefit plans for students at institutions of higher education and the operation of certain health benefit plans through student health centers at certain institutions of higher education. • HB 130 by Patrick / Sponsor: Zaffirini Relating to an enhanced quality full-day prekindergarten program provided by public school districts in conjunction with community providers. • HB 518 by Kohlkorst / Sponsor: Van de Putte Relating to programs to provide student loan repayment assistance for certain correctional officers, for certain speech-language pathologists and audiologists, and for certain mathematics and science teachers. • HB 821 by Leibowitz / Sponsor: Watson Relating to the sale, recovery, and recycling of certain television equipment; providing administrative penalties. • HB 1293 by Eiland / Sponsor: Ellis Relating to the sale and marketing of life insurance and annuities. • HB 1457 by Hochberg / Sponsor: Duncan Relating to procedures concerning verification of certain information submitted in a voter registration application. • HB 2142 by McClendon / Sponsor: Carona Relating to the promotion of toll projects by the Texas Department of Transportation. • HB 2656 by Miller, Doug / Sponsor: Duncan Relating to the composition of the board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. • HB 2692 by Rodriguez / Sponsor: Watson Relating to certain municipal requirements regarding sales of residential properties in certain areas. • HB 2820 by Chisum / Sponsor: Wentworth Relating to contracts by governmental entities for professional services relating to geoscience and landscape architecture. • HB 2888 by Martinez / Sponsor: West Relating to financial assistance administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. • HB 3148 by Smith, Todd / Sponsor: West Relating to exempting certain young persons who are convicted of an offense involving consensual sex from the requirement of registering as a sex offender in this state. • HB 3202 by Bonnen / Sponsor: Jackson Relating to authorizing the transfer of certain real property held by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. • HB 3346 by Farabee / Sponsor: Averitt Relating to gas utilities and gas storage facilities. • HB 3481 by Veasey / Sponsor: Harris Relating to the expunction of records and files relating to a person's arrest. • HB 3485 by Coleman / Sponsor: West Relating to certain county, municipal, district, and other governmental functions, procedures, powers, duties, and services, including certain criminal procedures. • HB 3515 by Dunnam / Sponsor: Carona Relating to the creation of the offense of failure to report barratry and solicitation of employment. • HB 3983 by Rodriguez / Sponsor: Watson Relating to the imposition of property taxes on the residential homesteads of low-income and moderate-income persons. • HB 4068 by Gonzales / Sponsor: Hinojosa Relating to the conduct of judicial proceedings and transaction of other essential judicial functions in the event of a disaster. • HB 4685 by Homer / Sponsor: Eltife Relating to the County Court of Titus County. • SB 223 by West / Sponsor: Thompson Relating to allowing a person who successfully completes a term of deferred adjudication community supervision to be eligible for a pardon. • SB 434 by Wentworth / Sponsor: Bolton Relating to the establishment and operation of a public transit motor-bus-only lane pilot program in certain counties. • SB 488 by Ellis / Sponsor: Harper-Brown Relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in the vicinity of a vulnerable road user; providing penalties. • SB 686 by Davis, Wendy / Sponsor: Orr Relating to the installation, maintenance, or operation of natural gas pipelines on state highways and highway and county road rights-of-way. • SB 978 by West / Sponsor: Elkins, Coleman Relating to the creation and financing of public improvement districts. • SB 1206 by Hinojosa / Sponsor: Edwards Relating to the release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of certain inmates who complete a rehabilitation program. • SB 1343 by Hinojosa / Sponsor: Gonzales Relating to the formula funding for public institutions of higher education for certain credit hours that do not count toward a degree. • SB 1440 by Watson / Sponsor: Madden Relating to orders and judgments rendered by associate judges in child support and child protection cases and to the investigation of child abuse and neglect. • SB 1760 by Watson / Sponsor: Branch Relating to the administration of the Texas Save and Match Program to assist qualifying beneficiaries under the state's prepaid tuition plans and college savings plans and to the treatment of a beneficiary's assets under prepaid tuition plans and college savings plans in determining eligibility for student financial assistance and other assistance programs. • SB 2141 by Wentworth / Sponsor: Hughes Relating to the statute of repose for engineers and architects. • SB 2169 by Ellis / Sponsor: Alvarado Relating to the establishment of a smart growth policy work group and the development of a smart growth policy for this state. • SB 2325 by Hinojosa / Sponsor: Madden Relating to the confidentiality of certain information pertaining to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. • SB 2468 by Gallegos / Sponsor: Coleman Relating to the postemployment activities of certain local government officers in certain counties; providing a penalty. • SB 2558 by Gallegos / Sponsor: Thompson Relating to the promotion and marketing of alcoholic beverages. • HCR 161 by Burnam / Sponsor: Davis, Wendy Granting John Cook permission to sue the Benbrook Water Authority. • HCR 252 by Thompson / Sponsor: Averitt Requesting the governor to appoint a Governor's Task Force on Horse and Greyhound Racing. • SCR 59 by Jackson / Sponsor: Taylor Granting MBP Corporation permission to sue the Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves.

Houston Mayor and U.S. Senate candidate Bill White was in Austin to talk to a group of 75-100 Democrats at Scholz Garten.White was introduced by Austin Rep. Mark Strama. Here's a listen: His speech (21:15)

Elizabeth Ames Jones "is staying in the U.S. Senate race until the last vote is counted," her spokeswoman says, trying to spike Internet rumors that the Republican will drop out.Alicia Collins says the rumors have been dinging around the Internet and around the lobby, but there's nothing to it. Jones, a Texas Railroad Commissioner, is one of several Republicans hoping to win Kay Bailey Hutchison's spot in the Senate after Hutchison leaves. Last week, Jones announced endorsements from former Gov. and First Lady Bill and Rita Clements.

Elsa Murano quit as president of Texas A&M University in College Station under considerable pressure from Chancellor Mike McKinney, and agreed to a severance package that will return her to her tenured professorship after a paid year off, and pay her $295,000 not to sue the school. That, after a very public back-and-forth that included the release of McKinney's harsh evaluation of her work and her harsh rebuttal. She was the first woman and the first Hispanic to head the state's second-largest state university.

R. Bowen Loftin, the chief exec at Texas A&M-Galveston and an engineering professor, will take over as interim president of the main campus in College Station while the regents search for a permanent replacement for Murano.

State District Judge Bill Moody of El Paso might run a third time for the Texas Supreme Court. He got more votes than any other Democrat on the statewide ballot in 2006 but lost to Republican Don Willett. Moody told the El Paso Times he's probably going to run, but didn't say for which seat. Three justices — Scott Brister, Paul Green, and Harriet O'Neill — are up for reelection next year to the nine-member court.

Former Gov. Bill Clements gave $100 million to the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, to be delivered over four years. "... my single goal is to help encourage and advance scientific discovery and innovation, prepare the next generation of physicians for Texas and the nation, and ensure the delivery of world-class medical care, which I believe uniquely happens at this academic medical center, already recognized as one of the top institutions in this country," he said.

The 62,000-member Texas Federation of Teachers reelected Linda Bridges and John O'Sullivan as president and secretary-treasurer, respectively. Those are two-year terms.

Ray Sullivan returns to Gov. Rick Perry's office, this time as chief of staff. Sullivan will replace Jay Kimbrough, who's staying on as a senior advisor. Sullivan was the spokesman for Perry's 1998 campaign for lieutenant governor, and worked for him in that office and then when Perry became governor. He was also a spokesman for then-Gov. George W. Bush. Sullivan left government in 2002 to run a public relations outfit. His wife, Leslie Rawl Sullivan, is Perry's campaign fundraiser.