The state's original prepaid college tuition program is in financial trouble. That's not really news, but there are new numbers attached to the problem. Comptroller Susan Combs sent state leaders some reports from the Texas Tomorrow Fund's advisors saying that program will need $65 million in state funds in 2016 and $434 million in the 2016-17 biennium. Those numbers, she said in the forwarding letter, are conservative.

Combs and her advisors spell out the trouble. The prepaid plan was underpriced. Deregulation of college tuition raised prices higher than the originators expected. The market crash last year cut into the investments that were supposed to pay for all of this. And the original financial advisors didn't properly account for early payouts to the first Texans in the program to go to college. "The most important finding of the report is that the Plan is likely to run out of money to pay contract benefits to the universities," Combs wrote in her letter to Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and Speaker Joe Straus.

The state's on the hook for this one. Lawmakers approved the program and then came back and sent a constitutional amendment to voters giving the Tomorrow Fund the state's full faith and credit. Voters approved that, and the state has to make good on the contracts. The long-term cost: According to the latest report from the actuaries, it'll fall between $1.7 billion and $2.1 billion by 2030.

Like water balloons filled with shaving cream, bloggers are bursting with opinions on how to win the state's big-time election contests. They're also sorting through other people's finances, localizing national politics and trying real hard to be more open. The finale features appearances by Texas TV anchors and more news.

* * * * *

Democracy Now

Saying that Houston Mayor Bill White couldn't beat either Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst or Attorney General Greg Abbott in a special election, BurkaBlog makes the case for White to drop out of the U.S. Senate race. "If White wants to win, he should run for governor," he says.

Rick vs. Kay goes out on a limb and suggests that politics may have something to do with Gov. Rick Perry's support of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and vice versa. Perry's reliance on the right and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's "incompetent, tin-eared campaigning" could encourage more Democrats to jump into the race for governor, Off the Kuff says. And Blogabear has a post on the GOP gubernatorial primary featuring a black-and-white photo of a youthful Hutchison.

Burnt Orange Report argues that Debra Medina should be taken seriously as a gubernatorial candidate, because of: the power of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, the backing of libertarian newspapers, her stance against term limits and the conflict between the GOP and Libertarians. Meanwhile, Empower Texans exploits Sen. Kirk Watson's Scanners moment on MSNBC in a commercial starring a guy dressed like Michael Williams, via Blue Dot Blues. And Greg's Opinion takes a gander at election results in the state's five biggest counties, comparing 2002 to 2006 and 2004 to 2008. Long story short, Republicans aren't doing as well as they used to in the big cities.

Whosplayin looks at who's running for the North Texas congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess. The GOP incumbent has drawn challenges from a Democrat, an independent and a Republican, Earle Davis II of Keller. According to his MySpace page, the mustachioed Davis' campaign slogan is "Restore Our Constitution, Liberty & Freedom." He's a Libra and includes "The Alamo" among his favorite books, movies and heroes.

* * * * *

Cash Considerations

Burnt Orange checks out the bank accounts of 10 incumbent Democrats in the House after the recent release of ethics reports. El Paso legislators didn't have a whole lot of money to write about, reports Vaqueros & Wonkeros, the El Paso Times' blog. (Rep. Norma Chavez only brought in $699, about one-fifth the cost of her college graduation party.)

Bay Area Houston finds some interesting expenses incurred by Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole, who drew a record $75,000 fine by the Texas Ethics Commission for spending "$162,044.87 of his donor's money on cattle, western guns, western art, western clothing, western books, golf, art, and an unknown amount on food and coffee," according to the blogger.

The Public Safety Commission isn't pleased with the company responsible for collecting "Driver Responsibility" surcharges for the Department of Public Safety, Grits for Breakfast says. And a federal judge dismissed charges of insider trading against Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the man behind blog maverick, according to Tex Parte Blog.

* * * * *

Under Fed

A complicated chart depicting the Democrats' healthcare reform plan thrust U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady into the mass media spotlight, reports the Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac, linking to a website that offers Brady's chart on more than 50 kinds of t-shirts, in addition to tote bags, teddy bears, pet bowls, coffee mugs, beer steins and baby clothes. (No word on who owns the rights to the image or who will profit from the sale of merchandise.)

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson attracted a crowd of near 200 in Missouri City, by Lone Star Times' reckoning. Olson rapped about the economy, cap-and-trade and health care. Apparently the Dems are steamrolling the GOP on all counts. Lone Star Times says the Harris County GOP needs to follow RNC chair Michael Steele's lead and welcome minority groups and non-social conservatives into the big tent, if the party's going to survive.

Potomac covered the confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court and put all the posts in one convenient location. And Texas "Off the Record" talks U.S. Presidents with longtime Associated Press shooter Harry Cabluck.

* * * * *

Informatics

Five out of six bills Texas Watchdog was paying attention to this past session failed to become law. The Houston airport's nonprofit doesn't want Watchdog or Mayor Bill White to know what it's been up to, says Watchdog. And Defending People is no longer publishing anonymous comments.

Some state school board members are suspicious of their colleagues' decision to fire the board's investment counselor. "There were cryptic references to conflicts of interest and inadequate disclosure," according to the Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics.

* * * * *

News Items

Watchdog was interviewed by a reporter from PBS' the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. And Potomac puts together a Best of Walter Cronkite video tribute in honor of the former CBS newscaster.

The governor's office is still on the lookout for the right person to succeed Albert Hawkins as Health and Human Services Commissioner, reports the Dallas Morning News' Trail Blazers. (Their best guess: Austin lawyer Lowell Keig.) And if the man in the photo is who mean rachel says he is, then she snapped a photo of GOP strategist Karl Rove loading cardboard boxes into an SUV.

By March 2010, the appeals process in Texas will be paperless, reports Tex Parte Blog. Meanwhile, Walker Report hit the half-a-million page views mark on Saturday, and Dos Centavos reports on the opening of a district office by his favorite freshman Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston.

If you see one documentary about the border fence this summer, make it The Wall, says Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, in his A Capitol Blog.

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.

The Texas Tribune, a new non-profit news organization that will cover Texas politics and government, is buying Texas Weekly and naming Ross Ramsey its managing editor.

A Note to Texas Weekly Readers

The Texas Tribune is buying Texas Weekly and naming me the managing editor of the new enterprise.

The Tribune is a newly created nonprofit, nonpartisan public media organization whose mission is to promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide interest.

One of the things they'll be doing — we'll be doing — is publishing the newsletter a few of you have been receiving every week since 1984 — and that all of you see every Friday morning.

We don't expect any more disruption than in 1998, when founding editor Sam Kinch Jr. sold his share of the newsletter to me, or when George Phenix, our publisher and the last of the three founders (the late John Rogers was the third), retired in 2006.

You will see some changes by the end of the year. But frankly, the biggest of them is probably this note. We'll continue to do what Sam and George and John set out to do in the first place — to give you honest, entertaining, and insightful reporting and analysis, every week, on what's going on in Texas politics and government.

We remain devoted to you, and will continue to strive to deserve the loyalty you've shown us for all these years.

—Ross Ramsey, Editor

For Immediate Release

TEXAS TRIBUNE ACQUIRES TEXAS WEEKLY, APPOINTS ROSS RAMSEY MANAGING EDITOR

FIVE NEWSROOM HIRES ALSO ANNOUNCED

Austin, TX – July 23, 2009 – Incoming Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith announced today that the non-profit public media organization has acquired Texas Weekly, the premier newsletter for government and politics in Texas, and has hired longtime Texas Weekly editor and owner Ross Ramsey as its managing editor. Smith also formally announced the hiring of the first five reporters on the Tribune's newsroom team: Brandi Grissom, Elise Hu, Emily Ramshaw, Abby Rapoport, and Matt Stiles.

"I'm thrilled that we were able to attract journalists of such high caliber," says Smith, "as each one brings incredible experience and perspective on matters of statewide interest, along with a high level of energy and passion and ambition. I couldn't imagine a better foundation for the kind of work we intend to produce."

Before taking over Texas Weekly in September 1998, Ramsey spent twenty-eight months as associate deputy comptroller for policy and director of communications in the office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. From 1991 to 1996, the West Texas native reported on state politics and policy from the Houston Chronicle's Austin bureau. From 1986-1991, he was a reporter on the business desk and in the Capitol bureau of the Dallas Times Herald, eventually serving as the paper's Austin bureau chief. He has also been a radio reporter in Dallas and Denton.

"Ross is one of the two or three best-respected reporters at the Capitol," Smith says. "He's fair, scrupulously nonpartisan, whip-smart, and crafty in the way he pries information out of sources. He's also funny as hell, which makes him a great story-teller. That's why we've asked him to write and report as well as lead our newsroom."

In acquiring Texas Weekly, the Tribune will give its readers access to the venerable publication's vast archives—a searchable electronic trove of stories dating back to the early 1990s that amounts to a modern history of Texas politics. Upon the Tribune's launch this fall, current Texas Weekly subscribers will receive, for the duration of their subscriptions, a new weekly publication featuring premium content not available to regular readers of the Tribune.

Grissom joins the Tribune after four years at the El Paso Times, where she has been a one-woman Capitol bureau during the last two legislative sessions. Grissom won the Associated Press Managing Editors 1st place award in 2007 for using the Freedom of Information Act to report stories on a variety of government programs and entities. She previously worked for the daily paper in her hometown of Alliance, Nebraska, the Alliance Times-Herald, and has reported for the Taylor Daily Press, the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, and the Associated Press. She has a degree in history from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was managing editor of the student-run Daily Texan.

Hu has been the state political reporter for Austin's ABC affiliate, KVUE-TV, since 2006. She has been recognized by the Associated Press' Texas bureau three years in a row for her beat reporting on state politics and has been cited by the Austin Chronicle as "The Best TV Reporter Who Can Write" Her "Political Junkie" blog was listed as one of WashingtonPost.com's top Texas political blogs. A native of Plano, she has a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri.

Ramshaw spent the last six years as a reporter at The Dallas Morning News, first as a city hall reporter, then as the state investigative reporter. In April, she was named Star Reporter of the Year by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors and the Headliners Foundation of Texas. Before working for the News, Ramshaw interned at the Boston Globe, Costa Rico's Tico Times, and the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. A native of Washington, D.C., Ramshaw has a B.A. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Rapoport, a Williamsburg, Virginia, native, interned for TEXAS MONTHLY during the 2009 legislative session, covering the House under the tutelage of Paul Burka, the magazine's senior executive editor and the co-author of its Best and Worst Legislators feature. She previously served as a writing fellow at the Economic Policy Institute, in Washington, D.C, and wrote for Glamour magazine's Glamocracy blog during the Iowa caucus in the 2008 presidential election cycle. She has a degree in history from Grinnell College, where she was editor-in-chief of the student-run Scarlet and Black newspaper.

Stiles spent the last four years at the Houston Chronicle, where he wrote about government and politics with a focus on computer-assisted reporting. While there, he won the newspaper's Jesse Award for service journalism and beat reporting and was its reporter of the year in 2007. Before joining the Chronicle's staff, Stiles worked as a reporter for nearly four years at The Dallas Morning News. A native of Tallahassee, Florida, he has a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Arlington.

About The Texas Tribune

Scheduled to launch in the fall of 2009, the Texas Tribune is a non-profit, nonpartisan public media organization whose mission is to promote civic engagement and discourse on the public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide interest. Based in the Texas capital, the Tribune will publish original news reporting online and host conferences and similar on-the-record, open-to-the-public events. Individual, corporate and foundation philanthropy will provide much of its operating budget; other revenue sources will include content syndication and multi-platform brand extensions.

The Texas Tribune's web site is www.texastribune.org. You can also follow the Tribune on Twitter or become a fan of the Tribune on its Facebook page.

For more information on the Texas Tribune, contact Elaine Garza (512.382.9017; elaine@giantnoise.com) or Dave Cirilli (646.454.9740; dave@giantnoise.com).

August could be a big political month, and the conversations are picking up. The state's blogosphere bubbled with the emergence of the Texas Tribune (which affected us, too) and other media events. Bloggers are also chatting about things related to The Law, political jockeying and goings on in Washington, D.C. Closing the curtain is a showdown between arch-liberal and ultra-conservative activists, plus more news.

* * * * *

Racing Starts

Rumor has it that U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will make her official announcement for governor on Aug. 17, according to the Dallas Morning Trail Blazers. To prepare for the showdown, Gov. Rick Perry's spending five nights in California to raise money and court business folk, Trail Blazers says.

Texans for Rick Perry is pushing an online, viral, word-of-mouth strategy to build a campaign network. It's called "Home Headquarters," and it works kind of like a chain letter, but different. Watch the video for details.

Burnt Orange Report ran Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer through their liberal detecting machine, concluding that the blood running through Schieffer's veins is, indeed, dark blue. "After an hour conversation, we are confident that Schieffer will be a champion of core Democratic issues," the bloggers say.

Potential U.S. Senate candidate and Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams had Panhandle's Perspective cooing like a turtledove in Amarillo with his talk about proposed "cap-and-trade" legislation on carbon dioxide emissions. ("I like the way he referred to it as the bill that would "cap our economy and send trade somewhere else,"" the blogger says.)

In a Watson Wire report, plausible statewide contender Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, takes a shot at Perry for his handling of state unemployment insurance. Meanwhile, vanquished Perry opponent Chris Bell is the subject of Texas on the Potomac's weekly "Where Are They Now?" feature. Bell tells the blogger that his political future will be "on the sidelines."

Lone Star Times attended a voter education meeting for Republicans in Houston. The main presenter argued that the GOP needs to focus on pulling in urban voters. The blogger's got more information and some photos, too. Meanwhile, Off the Kuff has put together "A tour of the July campaign finance reports," organizing the data according to what kind of contest the incumbents are likely looking at in 2010. And Burnt Orange checks out financial reports for the Austin area's State Board of Education District 10. There's not a lot of cash in there, with Democrat Judy Jennings claiming about $10,000 on hand and Republican incumbent Cynthia Dunbar reporting $672.66.

Texas Politics links to the Texas Lyceum's 2009 journal of ideas, featuring essays by Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, and Houston Mayor Bill White, among others. And the El Paso County Democratic Party chair Danny Anchondo tells Vaqueros that he's not planning on challenging Chavez in next year's primary.

* * * * *

Legal Briefs

BurkaBlog posts on the indictment of Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, for ethics law violations. The comments section is the best part of the post, with Burka saying Flores is the most flagrant at omitting things from ethics reports ("except maybe [Lt. Gov. David] Dewhurst") and commenters broaching topics such as HillCo, racehorses, Flores' potential opponent and his future successor.

Judge Manuel Bañales has been taken off the Maurico Celis case due to a possible conflict of interest involving fundraising and such. After being convicted of falsely impersonating a lawyer, prominent Democratic moneyman Celis was given 10 years' probation by Bañales. Tex Parte Blog says Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson will pick the new judge if there's another trial.

A lobbyist who said she felt obligated to chip in for El Paso Rep. Norma Chavez's college graduation party has retracted her earlier assertion, according to NewspaperTree.com Blog. "The lobbyist, Claudia Russell, broke the number one rule of lobbying — YOU NEVER TALK ABOUT LOBBYING TO OUTSIDERS!" says Refuse the Juice.

Here's the latest from Texas Watchdog in its continuing scrutiny of the Houston airport's nonprofit affiliate. Meanwhile, Tex Parte Blog wraps up coverage of the "ugly spectacle" of the imprisonment and near-impeachment of former Judge Samuel Kent. And Grits for Breakfast looks at stats on inmates serving life sentences in Texas and other states.

Grits (and Mrs. Grits) are proposing the creation of an indigency program for folks paying "Driver Responsibility" surcharges on traffic violations. The blogger posts a call for support here. Erstwhile, Friends of Justice observes the 10th anniversary of the Tulia drug sting.

* * * * *

Inside I-495

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess is not the author of a bogus email circulating the Internets that's filled with fraudulent claims about Pres. Barack Obama's health care proposals, says Whosplayin after checking with Burgess' staff.

After taking into account U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's reasoning for his rejection of Sandra Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court, Tex Parte says, "Cornyn's vote is why the Republican Party should worry about keeping its stronghold in Texas in the future -- a state that has an enormous Hispanic voting population that grows larger and larger each year." But Panhandle's Perspective is happy about Cornyn's recent appointment to the Senate Agriculture committee, at least.

According to a Zogby poll, 80 percent of Americans oppose U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's proposed congressional resolution to honor singer Michael Jackson, says the Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac. Ouch.

* * * * *

Five Bits

Outside Cornyn's Houston office, Texas Kaos and other MoveOn.org activists got into a West Side Story type confrontation with North Texas TEA Party members (only without the singing). They weren't all that tough, Kaos says afterward.

The Statesman's Public Capital blog is paying attention to a question posed to the Attorney General -- Is a proposed $500 supplemental payment from the General Fund to members of the Employees Retirement System unconstitutional?

NewspaperTree.com Blog flicked on the TV and spotted El Paso Rep. Chavez and a couple of political staffers ringside for a boxing match. And the Austin Chronicle's newsdesk reports that Texas firm Ford Powell Carson has been picked to lead the restoration of the burned out Governor's Mansion.

* * * * *

Tribune & Co.

Brazosport News isn't convinced that the Tribune's nonprofit model is going to work, since major donors might not like the spotlight they're helping to keep shining. The blogger links to an interview by Reflections of a Newsosaur with the Tribune's founding chair John Thornton.

KVUE's Political Junkie bids adieu to television journalism as she prepares to move on to the Tribune. In the interim, fans can keep current on all things Elise Hu at new blog Hey Elise. Another Tribune staffer, the El Paso Times' Vaqueros & Wonkeros, also says adios, but doesn't leave a personal forwarding address.

Texas Watchdog reports on a state appeals court decision granting an online reporter the same legal protections as traditional journalists. That could come in handy someday for recent college graduate Andrew Strong, who's the newest blogger for Texas Prison Bid'ness.

Bay Area Houston is taking care of musings while the blogger is on vacation in Hawaii. And the Austin American-Statesman's First Reading blog has a podcast with KXAN's Jenny Hoff, wherein they discuss her Sunday morning Texas political news show and other stuff.

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.

An allegedly underhanded online tactic gets bloggers to talking about the 2010 gubernatorial contest. There's discussion of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and everybody else in their wake. The City of Houston was big enough to get its own sub-head, and news that will strike fear in Texans' bleeding hearts leads off the last section of miscellaneous posts.

* * * * *

How to Whisper... Online

A day after the Austin American-Statesman's Postcards discovered the phrase "Rick Perry gay" in the Hutchison campaign's StandByKay.com source code (which no casual user would ever see), the campaign dismissed the consultants who told them it was a good idea in the first place. The StandByKay site now redirects to texans.forkay.com. We assume Texans for Rick Perry would say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Here's a response from Rick vs. Kay (which has tended to support the incumbent): "Kay may have just earned that distinction... dirty trick Kay, although I am waiting for all the facts before jumping to conclusions," the blogger says.

In the Pink writes about the money situation in the governor's race. Somehow, some way, a commenter brings up an old (and completely unverified) story involving Hutchison and shampoo salvaged from a neighbor's trashcan.

Hutchison shouldn't have told everyone that she was going to resign in hopes that Perry would step down, Prof13 says.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Hutchison included language in a federal transportation bill that would prohibit tolls on existing Texas interstates through September 2010, says the Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac.

* * * * *

Shoe Closet

Like shoes? Support Perry? Like supporting Perry on your shoes? Well, send 'em on in to Texans for Rick Perry's "Kicks for Rick" campaign. Hair Balls thinks it would be funny to flood the Flickr account with photos of masculine feet in ladies' pumps. And the Dallas Morning News' Trail Blazers thinks it's appropriate to illustrate a story on campaign funding with a picture of a younger Perry in senior boots and Midnight uniform.

The Guv named Fox News talker Sean Hannity an "Honorary Texan" at a freedom-themed event in Houston. That prompted Brazosport News to issue an angry tweet: "Honorary Texanhood shouldn't be given out lightly, sir. And not to curry political favor. I'm disappointed."

Here are some other Honorary Texans designated by Perry, according to various places on the Internet: GOP pundit Rush Limbaugh, San Antonio Spur Sean Elliott, tennis players Anna Kournikova and Pete Sampras, musician Chris Knight and Indian Member of Parliament Sunil Dutt. (Then-Gov. George W. Bush made musician Bob Dylan a Texan a few days before becoming President. And former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed honorary Texanhood at a Lone Star State fundraiser in D.C., but we don't know if Perry had anything to do with that. Also, Perry once sent late night comic Craig Ferguson a list of requirements to become a Texan, but it's unclear if Ferguson followed through.)

In other news, Perry admitted that he watches HBO vampire show True Blood, according to Trail Blazers. No word on his opinion of the Twilight series.

* * * * *

Wing Waiters

The Statesman's First Reading has a podcast with SMU Prof. Cal Jillson. According to Jillson, Perry doesn't have deep roots with Texas voters outside of the GOP's conservative wing. (Perry's benefited from "fortunate" circumstances in his election bids, Jillson says.) Meanwhile, people "feel good" about Hutchison, but wonder how she'll fare in a mano a mano with the incumbent Guv. On a related note, First Reading summarizes the effects on some key politicos if Hutchison does indeed step down from the U.S. Senate this fall.

Capitol Annex says the logical choice for a Perry appointment is Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, because he's rich, and his appointment would clear the rest of the GOP primary field. And McBlogger says Travis County will be contested territory should Democrats John Sharp and Bill White do battle for Hutchison's seat, judging by two important supporters he ran into.

Rick vs. Kay relays info on Hutchison's new campaign manager from the Palmetto Scoop, a South Carolina website. The blogger calls Terry Sullivan one of the state's "most despicable political operatives." And Rhetoric & Rhythm dubs the third Republican contender for governor, Wharton County GOP chair Debra Medina, "The Sarah Palin of South Texas."

* * * * *

Houston's Chronicles

The Democratic Lone Star Project links Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, Harris County Associate Voter Registrar Ed Johnson and Tax Assessor-Collector Leo Vasquez under the headline "Dwayne Bohac's Corrupt Enterprise." Allegedly, Bohac used Johnson to obtain drivers license records to enhance his consultant firm's voter data file. (The blogger also reports that Vasquez has taken Johnson off voter registration duties and reassigned him to communications; here's the Houston Chronicle's take on that.)

BurkaBlog jumped a flight to Washington, D.C., and spoke to Democratic U.S. Reps. Gene Green of Houston and Chet Edwards of Waco about their opposition to CO2 cap-and-trade plans. And Lone Star Times lets readers know about Green's town hall meetings in Houston this coming week. The blogger mentions a GOP challenger to Green, Frank Mazzapica, who assures everyone that he's a serious contender, even if he doesn't have any money yet.

It wasn't a good week for imprisoned Houston financier R. Allen Stanford, according to Tex Parte Blog. Stanford's lawyer quit because of paycheck worries, and his air-conditioning isn't working. (Plus the whole being in prison thing.) And BlogHOUSTON notes that the Chron has gone with a bunch of different reporters to cover the political beat vacated by Alan Bernstein, and says that the newspaper seems to be running a lot more on local Republicans than Dems.

* * * * *

Roving Eye

He's ba-aack... Or, he will be soon, Karl Rove that is, in Texas, according to Potomac.

Nearly 90 percent of all new college students from now until 2015 will have to be Hispanic if the state is to reach the diversity goal it adopted in 2000, according to the Statesman's The Low Down on Higher Education. En todo, Texas lawmakers created 40 new laws this past session, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Poli-Tex. That's down from about 50 each in the couple of sessions prior.

Here's a full list of the Dallas Morning News' blogs. And Phillip Martin is leaving Burnt Orange Report to go earn a paycheck somewhere.

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.

This stuff is going to be on the ballot in November, and Secretary of State Hope Andrade says it'll be in the following order:

Proposition 1 (HJR 132)

"The constitutional amendment authorizing the financing, including through tax increment financing, of the acquisition by municipalities and counties of buffer areas or open spaces adjacent to a military installation for the prevention of encroachment or for the construction of roadways, utilities, or other infrastructure to protect or promote the mission of the military installation."

Proposition 2 (HJR 36-1)

"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the ad valorem taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the property's value as a residence homestead."

Proposition 3 (HRJ 36-3)

"The constitutional amendment providing for uniform standards and procedures for the appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes."

Proposition 4 (HJR 14-2)

"The constitutional amendment establishing the national research university fund to enable emerging research universities in this state to achieve national prominence as major research universities and transferring the balance of the higher education fund to the national research university fund."

Proposition 5 (HJR 36-2)

"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to authorize a single board of equalization for two or more adjoining appraisal entities that elect to provide for consolidated equalizations."

Proposition 6 (HJR 116)

"The constitutional amendment authorizing the Veterans' Land Board to issue general obligation bonds in amounts equal to or less than amounts previously authorized."

Proposition 7 (HJR 127)

"The constitutional amendment to allow an officer or enlisted member of the Texas State Guard or other state militia or military force to hold other civil offices."

Proposition 8 (HJR 7)

"The constitutional amendment authorizing the state to contribute money, property, and other resources for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of veterans hospitals in this state."

Proposition 9 (HJR 102)

"The constitutional amendment to protect the right of the public, individually and collectively, to access and use the public beaches bordering the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico."

Proposition 10 (HJR 85)

"The constitutional amendment to provide that elected members of the governing boards of emergency services districts may serve terms not to exceed four years."

Proposition 11 (HJR 14-1)

"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."

If U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison really does step down in October or November, as she said recently on WBAP-AM, the election to replace her could land anytime between December and May.

It'd be in May unless Gov. Rick Perry — the guy Hutchison hopes to unseat — declares an emergency and sets an earlier date.

If she were to quit, Perry would appoint someone fairly quickly.

But what makes sense for the election date depends on the appointee (and how much political money he or she has), on what effect the date might have on the gubernatorial primary election and the Republican electorate, and on the competition for political money.

A politically rich Republican candidate like David Dewhurst could benefit from a quick election, since it would take place before most of the rest of the pack could pull together funding for a statewide race. The bugs in that soup are two Democrats, Houston Mayor Bill White and former Comptroller John Sharp, who have already banked $3.3 million and $2.9 million, respectively. Dewhurst doesn't have a federal account, but the widely held assumption is that he could write a personal check to finance a statewide campaign.

Other Texans with fat federal bank accounts at mid-year include U.S. Reps. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, $2.2 million; Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, $2.9 million; Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas $1.7 million; and Joe Barton, R-Ennis, $1.4 million. Nobody in that quartet has publicly expressed any interest in Hutchison's job. Barton lost to her in the special election in 1993. Paul, who has a national following (think fundraising) and an ardent base of supporters in Texas (think TEA parties and votes), would be an instant contender.

Most of those who have expressed an interest aren't in the million-plus club: Dr. Alma Aguado, a San Antonio Democrat who has never held public office, has no money on hand, according to reports she filed with the Federal Election Commission. Four Republicans have varying amounts: Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, $443,211; Sen. Florence Shapiro, $296,361; Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, $168,144; and former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, $727,597.

Perry has kept his poker face, leaving the speculation about who'd get the appointment to everybody else.

A May election means voters would have no distractions from what promises to be the most competitive primary race since the 1990 Democratic demolition derby featuring Jim Mattox, Ann Richards, and Mark White. The governor's race (and all the other primaries) would be saved from competing for attention with a special election for Senate. And the Senate candidates would be rescued from trying to buy advertising time that not already been scooped up by Kay and Rick.

Maybe that's good for Perry, maybe not.

If the Democrats don't have any ballot-top battles, the Republican primary could attract independent voters drawn to the conflict, and maybe some Democrats who cross over to spoil the elephants' party. "Conventional wisdom" sounds like an oxymoron in this context, so put it like this: You can find Republican political consultants who think that a bigger-than-normal primary will be more moderate than a normal one and that that will be good for the more moderate candidate. They think that candidate is Hutchison. (The Hutchison campaign, meanwhile, is telling reporters that she's just as conservative as Perry but isn't confrontational about it — a sign they'll be positioning her to the right to appeal to GOP voters.)

Say, on the other hand, that Perry called a January special election. Voters would go to the polls that month. They'd probably go to the polls a month later for a runoff (the last open Senate election in Texas, in 1993, drew 24 candidates). And then they'd go to the polls on March 2 to vote in the primaries. That could produce some burned-out voters. That could lower turnout. And a lower turnout (again with the conventional wisdom) would concentrate die-hard Republicans — the kind of people who vote no matter what — and that would favor the more conservative candidate. They think that's Perry.

The money hunt is probably a wash. The Senate wanna-bes are already raising money and in virtually every scenario, they'll be raising money before, during and after the primaries. Hutchison and Perry have to compete with them and with everyone else who'll be dragging sacks for the March elections. The Republican gubernatorial candidates will almost certainly have all the money they need (at mid-year, she had a balance of $12.5 million; his was $9.4 million.) Down the ballot is where the money will get thin.

It's possible Perry could call a special election as early as December. But that would give current officeholders a risk-free run. A loser in a December special election for U.S. Senate would be able to run for a different office in the 2010 regular election. Eyes here generally turn to Bill White, who has consistently said he wants to run for Senate. A loss in an early election would give him time to regroup and file for a state office — governor, say — in the first week of January. If Perry puts the special election in January, White and others wouldn't have that safety net.

Florence Shapiro, who'd like to move from the state Senate to the U.S. Senate (if Hutchison moves on, etc., etc., etc.), won endorsements from former U.S. Secretaries of Education Bill Bennett and Margaret Spellings.Spellings, who went to Washington with George W. Bush, is a former legislative staffer in Texas and worked on education matters there. Shapiro heads the state Senate Education Committee.

• Democrat Jack McDonald, the tech exec putting together a challenge to U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Austin, is giving up his job as CEO of Austin-based Perficient. He'll remain chairman of the board. McDonald had $557,557 in the bank at mid-year to McCaul's $359,088. That district stretches from Austin to Houston.

• Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Democrat running for state attorney general, says she's won endorsements from 52 Democratic county chairmen.

• Put Cedar Park City Councilman Stephen Thomas on the list of candidates looking at Dan Gattis' seat in the state Legislature. This is an "if, then if" situation: If Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, gives up his seat in the state Senate, Gattis, R-Georgetown, wants to run. And if he's not in place, Thomas is one of two candidates (so far) telling Williamson County Republicans he's interested. The other is Milton Rister, a former political consultant and former head of the Texas Legislative Council. Thomas is a state employee — a deputy executive director at the Texas Facilities Commission.

While we're there, at least three Republicans are knocking around the idea of a challenge to freshman Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, including one of the losers in the 2008 GOP primary for that HD-52 seat. Maldonado wrested the seat away from the Republicans after Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Austin, decided not to seek reelection. John Gordon, who finished third in the GOP primary, is telling people he's interested, as is Stephen Casey, who works for the Texas Supreme Court, and Ralph Pina, the veep at Fumée, a cigar retailer.

• Rep. Bill Callegari, R-Katy, says he will seek reelection to a sixth term in the Texas House in HD-132.

It's illegal for a corporation or labor union to reimburse a state officeholder for transportation, food, and lodging expenses that arise from making a speech or presentation to a group, according to the Texas Ethics Commission.

"An elected officeholder may not accept transportation, meals, and lodging from a corporation or labor organization in return for addressing an audience or participating in a seminar if the officeholder's services are in connection with his or her duties or activities as an officeholder," the commission says in a new opinion approved 5-1 by the TEC board.

The ruling (it's opinion #547) could affect reimbursements dating back two years, according to lawyers who've looked it over. Since many trade groups are organized as corporations, reimbursements they've made to state officeholders for speaking to their groups could be in question.

Officeholders already know they can't accept honoraria for such appearances. And the reimbursements are legal under the penal code and the state's lobby laws. It's the campaign finance statutes that cause the problem. Texas doesn't allow corporations and unions to give to campaigns and candidates.

Even, as it turns out, to reimburse expenses like these.

Their lobbyists can make those contributions, so unions and corporations with non-staff lobbyists can run the money back through those folks.

One more twist: An elected official who makes an appearance during a legislative session can't be reimbursed during a legislative session. It's illegal to accept campaign contributions while the Lege is in regular session, for a month before, and for three weeks after the session ends. That taboo applies to everyone — not just corporations and unions.