The House has its rules in place after a long day of warbling and negotiating, and the one that sticks out is the rule that lets the House depose a speaker with only 76 votes — a simple majority. The speaker no longer has the power to ignore privileged motions, including motions to "vacate the chair." And an effort to raise the bar — to require 90 votes, or 100, to unseat a speaker fell short. It's 76: If it were a rear-view mirror on the Speaker's dais, it'd have words on it: "Warning! Hostile representatives in mirror are closer than they appear."

And now to the mundane. The members know what the committees are. They'll tell Speaker Joe Straus where they want to be placed. He'll process all of that and try to make committee assignments that disappoint the fewest possible number of people. There are 149 chairmen in the House today — the number of members who think, with some seriousness, they ought to head one of the 35 panels in the House. There are enough plums left to make it work — spots on powerful committees, intriguing double assignments, subcommittees and vice chairmanships. But this part of the session always seems slow.

Across the way, on the East End of the building, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is, we're told, "pretty close" to naming his committees. He's not new, and the Senate had less turnover in the elections; that should make for an easier bit of politics than what's going on in the House.

Guv's Goals, and Grades

Gov. Rick Perry asked lawmakers to freeze college tuition rates, sort-of, to increase tax exemptions from the state's primary business tax, and to create incentives for people to buy hybrid vehicles in areas where pollution is high.

He ladled in a fair number of the sorts of things that turn on voters in a Republican primary — there's an important one in 13 months, if you hadn't heard — and decided, uncharacteristically, to start with the same draft budget the Legislature is using, saying they and he need to work together this year.

In the governor's State of the State speech, Perry called on lawmakers to fully fund incentive pay for public school teachers, to encourage the development of more nuclear plants in Texas, and to reward colleges for graduating students.

The tuition freeze would apply to students as they enter college; their tuition would remain frozen for four years while they're in school — an incentive to minimize their time in college. It wouldn't freeze for anyone else, so schools could keep raising rates for newcomers while holding the line for students in years two, three and four.

He promoted several issues dear to cultural conservatives, who'll be important to him in his bid for reelection next year. Perry said he'd back legislation requiring women seeking abortions to first view their fetuses through ultrasound imaging. He repeated his recent call for a constitutional amendment limiting governments' eminent domain powers. And for ramped up security along the Texas-Mexico border, and for issuing different driver licenses to illegal immigrants. He supports the Voter ID legislation proposed in the Texas Senate, which would require photo IDs from anyone trying to vote.

Perry said he would support efforts to put limits on state spending growth into the Texas Constitution. He asked lawmakers to stop diverting money from gasoline taxes away from road construction and into other things. He'd increase funding for Texas Grants and community colleges, but would get the money by cutting so-called "special items" in four-year schools.

Reactions varied. NFIB/Texas lauded the business tax deduction proposal, as did the Texas Motor Transportation Association, whose members find some parts of the state's franchise tax especially burdensome; they're hoping the Legislature will revise the tax beyond just increasing the deductions. The Wind Coalition liked what he said about renewable energy sources in general and wind in particular, and about the need to build more transmission lines to get power from where it's generated to where it's used. The Texas Competitive Power Advocates liked that transmission stuff, too, and the governor's call for more electric generating capacity. The Texas Association of Business liked what he said about incentive pay for teachers and increased funding for Texas Grants that help pay for college.

Democrats said Perry should have said something about high insurance premiums and utility rates, health insurance, something stronger about controlling college tuition rates. His call for hybrid vehicle subsidies was music to utility companies that would provide the charge, which mostly kept quiet about it, and to Environment Texas, which liked the idea on green grounds. The Texas Association of Realtors liked Perry's call for property tax and appraisal reforms, and his plans to revisit eminent domain legislation.

The Texas State Teachers Association, and lawmakers like Rep. Chris Turner, D-Burleson, was hoping Perry would call for revisions to the state's school funding formulas and in TSTA's case, for higher pay for teachers. He didn't. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, put some of the problems at Perry's feet, saying property owners haven't seen the tax savings they were promised and that too many children are uninsured. Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, praised the Guv for wanting to put more money into Texas Grants.

The Texas Finish Line campaign urged Perry to spend state money on CHIP and Medicaid — programs that draw millions of federal matching dollars.

The most pointed critique came from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which said it would be a mistake to cut the state budget in a recession, saying public spending now would stimulate the economy. They're hoping the state will use money in the Rainy Day Fund and money from the federal stimulus program to increase funding for public education and health and human services. Perry didn't mention the deficit in the state's Unemployment Insurance fund — a hole that automatically triggers a payroll tax increase on businesses; CPPP wants him to use federal funds to revamp that program and cover that deficit.

The List and the Rally

The governor's State of the State speech came after a week of talk about next year's Republican primary, featuring Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Perry headlined an anti-abortion rally on the Capitol steps on Saturday. Hutchison was across town, talking to a large group of supporters about her exploratory campaign. And for your reading pleasure, a list of 500+ people she says are supporting her efforts. The two have risen through Republican Party politics in parallel for the last 18 years — both were first elected to statewide office in 1990. And they've got loads of supporters in common. Now they're forcing those people to choose between them; The Dallas Morning News found 59 people on Hutchison's supporter list who've previously been serious financial backers of the incumbent.

Hutchison's full list can be found alphabetically here and geographically here . But some names leapt off the page: former Rep. Dianne White Delisi, whose son has worked for Perry and whose daughter-in-law was the governor's chief of staff; U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, who greased the skids when Perry switched to the GOP from the Democratic Party in the late 1980s; John Nau III, a Houston beer distributor, Perry appointee and contributor; Dallas billionaire Robert Rowling, another Perry backer and a member of the Governor's Business Council; Ned Holmes of Houston, one of Perry's appointees at the Texas Department of Transportation... it goes on.

Perry hasn't yet released a list of supporters. The mid-year campaign finance reports will be the first real head-to-head showings of support. And Hutchison has an advantage. State law bars Perry and other state officeholders from raising money during the legislative session, but not federal officeholders like her.

If, Then...

"Texans for Ted Cruz" is among the latest filings at the Texas Ethics Commission.

The state's former solicitor general (under Attorney General Greg Abbott) wants to run for attorney general in 2010, assuming his former boss isn't running for reelection. He did a "soft" announcement, letting the story break in Texas Lawyer and then giving details to anyone who asked. Former Texas Secretary of State George Strake Jr. signed on as his campaign manager.

That adds another car to the political traffic jam forming behind Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who hasn't announced his plans for the 2010 election year. If Dewhurst runs for U.S. Senate (which would hinge, in turn, on the resignation of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison), Abbott has indicated an interest in that job. And if he clears out, Cruz is interested. So is Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, and probably a mess of people we don't even know about yet, from both parties.

Abbott has also said he might be interested in running for the U.S. Senate himself if Hutchison bails. The incumbent — who's "exploring" a bid for governor in 2010 — has said she won't quit any earlier than the end of this year, if she quits at all. Other names in that hat include Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, former Comptroller John Sharp, now an Austin Democrat, Railroad Commissioners Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams, both Republicans, Houston Mayor Bill White, a Democrat, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, R-Weatherford, and probably others. (Roger Williams, by the way, fired up his campaign website this week.)

Hutchison has a cork in it, for now, but contenders there are looking at an open seat and not a run against her, so they can raise money for the future without offense. Dewhurst, meanwhile, has no reason to hurry. By most accounts, he's got the personal money to run for U.S. Senate if that's what he decides to do. So he doesn't have to tip his hand and start raising money now. He's got a legislative session underway and it would do him no good to tell everyone he's a lame duck, trying for the Senate. And because potential contenders for his seat have goodies at stake in that legislative session, they're not likely to do anything serious to challenge him during the first half of this year.

The critical piece of timing there? Candidates for state offices have to file by January 2 of next year (filing starts on December 3 of this year). Whether or not they also want to run for the Senate seat, that's the date by which Dewhurst, and Abbott, and Branch, Cruz, McCaul et al have to stop talking and actually put down their filing fees.

The answer to the next question is Yes, a candidate can run for state office in the general election at the same time they're running in a special election for U.S. Senate. But it's safe to say everyone in the game wants to limit the number of serious competitors they face. And here's one more thing: The budding contest between Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry is already forcing Republican Royalty to choose sides. Candidates for races down ballot from that one don't want to get caught in those currents by forcing choices between, say, Dewhurst and Abbott for Lite Guv.

Red and Blue See Green

State lawmakers from both chambers and both parties want to keep energy efficiency and the environment at the top of the Legislature's to-do list.

This session may be weighed down with a tight budget and other tough issues, but at this stage of the game, legislators are confident their green bills won't get buried. The focus is mainly on renewable energy because of its potential to boost the state's economy.

House members introducing renewable energy legislation have a good starting point. They've got Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, who introduced and passed major renewable energy legislation during the last session (before he won the top job). "We have a friend in the speaker's chair for sure," says Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin.

Plus, the House, prompted by Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, moved renewable energy and energy efficiency jurisdiction from the state affairs committee and to the energy resources committee. Strama says that move will significantly prioritize these bills, even if the energy resources committee is used to dealing with oil and gas legislation. It might have been bottled up in the State Affairs committee, where there's historically a heavier workload.

"I guarantee there will be five times as many bills relating to renewables than oil and gas," he says.

Lots of energy efficiency legislation already been filed in the House and Senate, and more is on the way. A common theme for this session is expanding the state's renewable portfolio standard, or RPS. They think of it like a stock portfolio of renewable energy sources — and want to diversify. Currently, wind is dominating the discussion. Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, says he's "technology agnostic" when it comes to diversifying the RPS. He doesn't care if it comes from solar or biomass, as long as another technology can compete with wind.

Anchia has two energy efficiency proposals. One, HB 278, would mandate that by 2020, 2,000 megawatts of energy will come from renewables. You would potentially see a $12 fee tacked onto your energy bill — but only once a year. Anchia says that surcharge could raise $140 million for the state and go right back to consumers for purchasing solar rooftops and other energy efficient products. The second, HB 280, would offer incentives to consumers choosing energy efficient alternatives for home or commercial utilities. Anchia is hoping Straus will put him on the energy resources committee.

Rodriguez has three bills filed and more in the works. They include HB 237, which would offer a deduction in the franchise tax for some renewable energy devices; HB 238, which would give commercial or residential consumers of any renewable energy devices an exemption from the sales tax; and HB 239, which would instruct the state's energy conservation office to figure out a way Texas could get 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. He says the second may be the toughest to pass, considering it would reduce some sales tax revenue.

Strama filed HB 776, with a companion from Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, to create a statewide low-emission vehicle program similar to one currently in the works in California. (Memory Lane: Strama first wrote that bill when he was a staffer for Ellis in 1991, a time when most automakers couldn't imagine building cars to the low-emission standards they've reached today.) Strama and Ellis also have a green jobs bill they hope will attract federal stimulus money to the state to train workers to install solar panels and other renewable energy devices.

Senate Republicans have similar goals. Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, is working with Anchia. Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, filed SB 545, which would create consumer incentives for solar powered products. He also wants to maximize wind energy resources by creating more demand to use it at night — the most energy from all sources is used during the daytime hours (If someone could find a way to store wind energy produced at night to use during the day... well, let's just say that person would become very rich). Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, has clean-air legislation in the works to raise current air quality standards and establish energy efficient building codes.

It's early, and lawmakers don't see too many hurdles to their bills. But Anchia admits the obstacle is convincing the Lege that this is the time to invest in energy efficiency.

— by Karie Meltzer

The Mother's Milk of Politics

What has $138,921,797 and 2,407 different agendas?

A clue: The year-end cash-on-hand reports for the state's candidates and political committees are now online.

The Texas Ethics Commission compiles reports from candidates and PACs that file semi-annual reports, and also from PACs that, under different laws, file monthly. We've mashed the reports together to see where the money was at the end of 2008.

The biggest single pot was in the hands of your attorney general: Republican Greg Abbott, who had $8.6 million in his state campaign account at the end of the year.

His is one of a dozen-and-a-half accounts holding more than $1 million. The More-Than-$500,000 Club has 44 members. The More-Than-$100,000 Gang numbers 223. Having more than $50,000 is almost commonplace — 379 committees met that standard. And 213 of the candidates and PACs in the listing had nothing in the till. Zero. Zip. Zed.

Several candidates lost races and had significant money left. Would it have helped? Some of them are probably wondering that. Some of their supporters, too, maybe. Some names from that list: Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, who lost in November and ended the year with $247,379 in his campaign account; Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, $101,730; Chris Bell, D-Houston, $95,692; Joel Redmond, D-Pasadena, $66,991; Mike Anderson, R-Mesquite, $61,132 (he also had $3,500 in loans outstanding); and Rep. Pat Haggerty, R-El Paso, $58,186.

Here's the top 100 (which hold $94.1 million, or 68 percent of all of the money in the 2,407 listed accounts); click on the chart below to download the top 500 in printable form, or here to download the Excel spreadsheet with all 2,407 committees.

Bounce per Ounce

In which we apply the idea of unit pricing to political campaigns...

We totaled the spending from the mid-2008 reports forward to show what candidates in 37 selected races spent on the general election, and divided by the number of votes they got to figure up what each candidate spent per vote. The answers?

• As little as almost nothing and as much as $46.26 per vote. Both of those candidates, Mark Thompson and Juan Garcia III, lost.

• As little as nearly nothing and as much as $31.49. Both of those candidates, Tom Price and Todd Hunter, won.

• The most expensive race on the sheet — the contest in Senate District 10 — cost the two candidates $4,357,137. Second was the SD-11 race, where the final tab was $2,492,240. Another Senate race cost $1.4 million, with Sen. John Carona spending all but $101,212 of that. One House race broke the $2 million barrier; that was the Corpus Christi race between Rep. Garcia and former Rep. Hunter. Four more — in districts 52,78,96, and 102, cost more than $1 million.

• The candidates on this list spent $33.4 million on the general election, or an average of 71 cents per vote. If you count only the 31 legislative races on the list, spending totaled $28.4 million, or $11.63 per vote. Want the breakdown? Democratic legislative candidates (on this list, which includes the closest races) spent $12.3 million, or $10.37 per vote. Their Republican opponents spent $16.1 million, or $12.83 per vote. Democrats won 20 of the 31 legislative contests here. Oh, and losers outspent winners in 11 of 31 of the legislative races, and in two of six of the statewide races on this list.

The details:

Flotsam & Jetsam

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, got kudos from the Texas Association of Business and the Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas for his vote against the Lilly Ledbetter Act — a federal law that holds employers financially responsible for all wage discrimination against employees and not just the last 180 days of it. Not mentioned in that Kudos Report: U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who voted for the bill and who's (probably) running for governor next year. TAB's political action committee has supported all three — Cornyn, Hutchison, and Perry — in the past. The Texas AFL-CIO praised the new federal law and took at swipe at the business groups: "... it looks like TAB and ABC are already on the campaign trail... Hutchison had it right when she voted for the final version of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, but she tried and failed to obtain a version that employers like those in TAB and ABC would have preferred. The selective nature of the TAB-ABC news release is interesting."

• Most Texans favor a statewide ban on smoking "in indoor workplaces and public facilities including public buildings, offices, restaurants, and bars," according to a poll done for Smoke-Free Texas. That group is back — with bicyclist Lance Armstrong in front — to try to win a smoking ban from the Texas Legislature. The pollster for the group — Austin-based Baselice & Associates — found 68 percent of Texans favor a ban, while 28 percent oppose one. Non-smokers and former smokers were for a ban; smokers were split 46-49 against one. Texas is one of 26 states without a ban, according to the group. They've got one opponent already: The Libertarian Party of Texas. The folks there say they'll fight a state law banning smoking on private property. They contend the decision should be left to the property owner.

• Cintra US, the Spanish highway firm that sparked a debate about foreign ownership of Texas highways, won a second major contract — this one to build and operate a toll road in north Texas. They'll work on I-820 and State Highway 121/183, putting up all but $600 million of the $2 billion price and collecting tolls on some lanes of those roads for the next 52 years. One of their partners: the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System. If the deal goes as expected, construction will start next year, and the road they're working on gets a new name: North Tarrant Express.

• The Young Conservatives of Texas want college tuition regulated to cut rising prices and also say they're in favor of free markets. They like the idea — touted by the governor in his State of the State speech — of shrinking "special items" funding to individual universities and funneling that money instead into the Texas Grants program. They want the Top 10 rule repealed, want the comptroller to have the power to audit public universities, and think those schools should come up for Sunset review every 12 years like most state agencies. They'd like to submit university regents, appointed by the governor, to recall elections. The rest of that agenda is on their website .

• A top Texas judge is appealing a ruling that he violated state ethics laws by accepting a discount on legal representation. Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht wants a state district court to overturn the Texas Ethics Commission, which said the discount amount to a campaign contribution. Hecht says the fee paid to the Jackson Walker law firm was reasonable. And he points out that the state considers the discount a campaign contribution but would have considered it legal for the firm to perform the work for free, a distinction that, he says in his appeal, "makes no sense."

Political People and Their Moves

Kay Bailey Hutchison hired Rick Wiley, a former exec with the Wisconsin Republican Party and a veteran of Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign, to run her campaign for governor, according to Roll Call.

Charles Sorber takes over as interim president at the University of Texas Pan American; they're looking for a permanent replacement for Blandina "Bambi" Cardenas, who resigned. Sorber was president of UT Permian Basin and is a professor emeritus in the engineering school at UT Austin.

Retired Admiral Bobby Ray Inman will be interim dean at the UT Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs wile they look for a replacement for James Steinberg, who left for a nomination as Deputy U.S. Secretary of State. The school also signed San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley as a part-time professor.

Former state Rep. Carter Casteel, R-New Braunfels, joins the Texas Civil Justice League as legislative counsel. And with the departure of Lisa Kaufman, now Speaker Joe Straus' chief policy wonk, George Christian is back at TCJL as general counsel.

Scott Armey, a former Denton County judge and commissioner and the son of former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, is out of the General Services Administration (with the rest of the Bushies), where he was a regional administrator, and is opening a consulting shop. He's bringing along Tye DeBerry, his number two at GSA.

Freshman Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, staffed up: Jim Sheer, formerly in Attorney General Greg Abbott's legislative office, is chief of staff; Jonathan Stinson, most recently with former Sen. Kim Brimer, will be legislative director. And Ryan Hutchison, Kyle Kamrath, and Drew Lawson signed on as legislative aides. Lawson and Hutchison worked in the private sector; Kamrath worked in the Texas House before leaving to run a congressional campaign in Tennessee.

Kathryn Freeman signs on as a media specialist with Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. She'll replace Tiffany Champion, a new mom who's going to spend time with the baby.

Titles, titles. We over-promoted Max Jones last week. He's the coordinator for legislative and regulatory stuff at the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association. Jim Reaves remains the director of same. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Deaths : Texas Parks & Wildlife Commissioner John Parker, a former homebuilder from Lufkin. He was 73.

Quotes of the Week

Rod Blagojevich, speaking to the Illinois Senate before a unanimous vote to throw him out of office and bar him from holding any public office in the future, quoted in the Chicago Tribune: "There hasn't been a single piece of information that proves any wrongdoing. How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?"

Illinois Sen. Matt Murphy, reacting to that speech, in the same paper: "He reminded us today in real detail that he is an unusually good liar."

Gov. Rick Perry, talking about gasoline tax increases with The Dallas Morning News: "Here is my problem with the gas tax, just a flat gas tax increase: Does the guy in Van Horn need to be paying for the roads in Dallas? No. That's the reason, the political reason, that you are not going to see some big gas tax increase."

Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of Public Citizen of Texas, quoted in a Houston Chronicle story on the $12.8 million spent by lobbyists on lawmakers over the last four years: "Legislators aren't going to bite the hands that feed them. The biggest lobbyists and the biggest industries are feeding your legislators richly every night here in Austin."

Lance Armstrong, at an anti-smoking rally at the Capitol, quoted by KVUE-TV: "Well, I have decided to retire from racing and run for governor in 2010. Kidding. Kidding. Kidding!"

San Antonio's Henry Cisneros, asked by KERA-FM in Dallas whether he's running for governor: " Well, I could say no. But, um, obviously one has to think about it. I think the answer is no. But who knows."

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Texas Weekly: Volume 26, Issue 4, 2 February 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.

Gov. Rick Perry asked lawmakers to freeze college tuition rates, to increase tax exemptions from the state's primary business tax, and to create incentives for people to buy hybrid vehicles in areas where pollution is high.

In the governor's State of the State speech, he also called on lawmakers to fully fund incentive pay for public school teachers, to encourage the development of more nuclear plants in Texas, and to reward colleges for graduating students. The tuition freeze would apply to students as they enter college; their tuition would remain frozen for four years while they're in school — an incentive to minimize their time in college. He said he'd back legislation requiring women seeking abortions to first view their fetuses through ultrasound imaging. He repeated his recent call for a constitutional amendment limiting governments' eminent domain powers. And for ramped up security along the Texas-Mexico border, and for issuing different driver licenses to illegal immigrants. He supports the Voter ID legislation proposed in the Texas Senate, which would require photo IDs from anyone trying to vote. Perry said he would support efforts to put limits on state spending growth into the Texas Constitution. He asked lawmakers to stop diverting money from gasoline taxes away from road construction and into other things.

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The prepared text of the governor's State of the State speech:

It is truly an honor for me to be here with you today. Lt. Governor Dewhurst, it is a pleasure to share this stage with you as we begin another session together. Speaker Straus, congratulations on your new role and the affirmation of your peers it implies. Like we have in the past, I look forward to working with you in the months to come. Julie, you may have thought your life was busy before, but it’s about to go to a whole new level…just ask Nadine. Speaking of which, I want to take a minute to recognize my good friend, Tom Craddick. He and Nadine are stuck at home in an ice storm, but they deserve our heartfelt thanks for their faithful service to the state. I also want to thank my parents for joining us today. Thank you for giving me life and for teaching me the value of hard work, public service and compassion for others. Finally, I want to acknowledge my inspiration, my counsel, my best friend, and the love of my life. She’s also your First Lady, Anita Perry. Anita, I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. Thank you for your support and love. As I look out across this historic chamber, I see the faces and recall the memories of so many leaders, past and present, who devoted their lives to serving our beloved state. Together, we have made Texas a better place. Here in this room, we sit side by side, Democrat with Republican, from urban districts and rural, different in so many ways, but united by a common goal: doing good for Texas. We are blessed that the state of our state is strong. However, during this session, we can do the most good by working to minimize the impact of the global economic crisis on the people of Texas. Over the course of this session’s remaining 126 days, we might define the word “good” a little differently or diverge on how to get it done, but I have no doubt that each of us is committed to doing what’s best for a state we love. We must never forget that we were put INSIDE this building to serve those OUTSIDE this building. May we never lose touch with these flesh and blood Texans, people who are focused on working hard, stretching a paycheck, and raising their children. As we work on their behalf, we may disagree, and sometimes disagree vigorously, but when the day is done, we’ll hammer out the details and we’ll make things happen, Texas-style, by putting the people first. We saw that mindset portrayed in our state’s remarkable response to three hurricanes this past year. Those catastrophic storms affected millions of Texans, including people sitting here today, like Senator Mike Jackson and Representative Craig Eiland, whose homes were damaged by Ike, and their peers from the Valley who have worked so hard to help their districts recover. Once the storms passed, we saw neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers with chainsaws clearing debris, and charitable organizations working ‘round the clock to help their fellow Texans. One of those groups was Somebody Cares America, a Houston-based group whose volunteers worked tirelessly to bring thousands of meals and even hot showers to Texans whose lives were turned upside down by Hurricane Ike. Joining us today is the leader of this organization, Dr. Doug Stringer. Please join me in recognizing his leadership. Doug’s group and countless others like them showed the world how Texans respond to a crisis: we roll up our sleeves; we make tough choices, and put people first. As leaders and Texans, it’s our turn to demonstrate those same qualities as we confront the greatest challenge facing our state, the national economic crisis, a situation unlike anything most of us have ever seen in our lifetimes. Every day, we hear more stories from across the country of jobs lost, plants closed, and homes on the auction block. As shockwaves of this crisis begin to resonate in Texas, we’re reminded that we’re not immune to these forces, yet we’re still in better shape than most other states. I credit our relatively strong economic condition to tough, principled, decisions made in this building over the past three legislative sessions. It was only six years ago when the 78th Legislature kicked off with a $10 billion budget shortfall. To our shared credit, we didn’t raise taxes like so many other states did then…and are again contemplating today. Instead, we tightened our belt, made spending cuts where we could and focused on key priorities, never forgetting that it’s not OUR money we spend here; it’s the taxpayers’. Many of you remember those fiery spending debates of years past, so you’ll be ready for some equally challenging conversations in the days to come. All across the country, states are hiking sales taxes, they’re slashing education spending, preparing to pay state employees with IOUs, and begging Washington DC for a bailout. Because we took a different approach back then, we know it’s better to control spending to make government less burdensome, as a way to free up the economic power of our citizens. We know the benefit of legal reforms that stem the tide of frivolous lawsuits, while attracting an army of skilled doctors to Texas, and improving access to healthcare across our state. We continually fine-tune our regulatory climate, increasing predictability and fairness for employers, while protecting our citizens and our natural resources. We also invest in proven economic development efforts like our Enterprise Fund, our Emerging Technology Fund, and Film Incentives which target an industry that has brought more than $1.2 billion to our economy over the past ten years. In short, our refusal to continue business-as-usual has made life better for Texans, like those working in the 1.2 million net new jobs created since 2003, the vast majority of them in the private sector. Considering the fact that Texas had only added about 300,000 jobs in the five years prior to 2003, our efforts clearly strengthened our economy. As it stands, our state now leads the nation in exports, Fortune 500 companies, and job creation. From November 2007 to November 2008, roughly 70% of the jobs created in the U.S. were in Texas. Think about that for a moment. Our state is home to one out of ten Americans, but seven out of ten new American jobs were created here in the Lone Star State. Even in these tough times, more jobs are heading our way. Cooper Tire is bringing 250 new positions to Texarkana, into Senator Eltife and Representative Frost’s district. Martifer Energy has pledged 225 jobs in San Angelo, which will help things in Senator Duncan and Representative Darby’s neck of the woods. Caterpillar is moving 1,400 new jobs to Seguin, to energize the economy represented by Senator Wentworth and Representative Kuempel. I would like to recognize Mike Coolidge, a generator technician for Caterpillar here in Texas, who is up here with me today. Mike, would you stand and be recognized? Mike represents the 1,400 other Texans who will have the chance to work hard and feed their families in the coming months as a result of our state’s economic development success. I’m confident CAT won’t be the last employer to identify Texas as the best place to grow a business, invest capital and create new jobs. As we celebrate our relative strength and welcome these new jobs to Texas, we cannot lose sight of the global financial situation and what it may mean for us in the months to come. As we wrestle with lowered revenue estimates, we must stay committed to the proven policies that have brought us so far, and resist any calls to panic. There are those who say we should crack open the Rainy Day Fund and pour it out on every need that presents itself. Others say we should just hunker down, save every penny we have, and stay curled up in the fetal position ‘til this one blows over. Now, I’m a big believer in conservative fiscal approaches… but that doesn’t mean it’s time to play defense. Texas is strong because we aggressively play offense. In tough times, others see threats; Texans see opportunity. For example, the nationwide struggles are creating a buyer’s market for economic development, so let’s be bold and win even more jobs for Texans. When other states are raising taxes, their businesses will be looking elsewhere for tax relief. Let’s make sure they find it in Texas. When other states are driving companies away with suffocating layers of regulation, let’s welcome them with fewer obstacles. When other states are bonding additional debt for daily operations, let’s invest wisely to create even more jobs and opportunity. We should start by replenishing the Emerging Technology Fund, our Film Incentives and the Enterprise Fund, to keep drawing ideas, investment and jobs to Texas. Together, we’ve invested $377 million with the Enterprise Fund since 2003, creating nearly 54,000 jobs for Texans while drawing $14 billion in direct capital investment to our state. These jobs have gone to both urban and rural areas, from the Metroplex to the border, from the Piney Woods of East Texas to El Paso, providing for families and strengthening communities. As we work to enhance our economy, we also need to take a close look at the reformed business tax we implemented a few years ago. With one collection cycle under our belts and plenty of feedback from both the Comptroller and business owners, we know enough now to improve it. The question is how. I would support raising the small business exemption to $1 million, and I’m looking forward to hearing from folks like the House’s Jim Keffer and John Otto as well as Chairman Ogden about the best way to protect small businesses. Our guiding priority must be shrinking, not expanding, the burden on the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy. Let’s free up our entrepreneurs to keep doing what they do best, creating wealth, drawing investment and generating the jobs needed by our growing population, one the Census Bureau tells us is averaging 1,000 new Texans per day. As more people move here, will our economy continue to grow? Or will we let taxes and regulatory encroachments creep upward to choke off innovation? I say we hold the line. Will they find their property taxes spiraling continually upwards because of a broken appraisal system? I say we give that system a dose of accountability, transparency and restraint. Will they find themselves stuck in traffic and paying too much for dwindling supplies of power and water? Not if we act to upgrade our state’s overburdened infrastructure. Will they be left behind by the demands of an increasingly high-tech economy? Let’s improve education in our state at every level to help them compete in any arena. To reach our goal of ensuring every student graduates from Texas high schools with a strong foundation in math, science and English, we owe them three things. First, they deserve the best teachers. Nothing matters more to student success than having an excellent teacher in every classroom. That is why we worked so hard to create the largest teacher incentive pay program in the country, one that will pay out more than $147 million to teachers and staff by the end of this school year. This is a program we must continue. Second, we must hold our schools accountable for student performance. As you consider changes to the accountability system, make sure it keeps moving students along the path to graduating “college and career ready” while keeping parents and taxpayers informed on their district’s performance. Third, let’s keep improving our math and science education, and continue preparing our young people, especially low-income and minority students, for a productive life after high school Since we first created the Texas High School Project to improve graduation rates of disadvantaged students, this program has created 32 academies that focus on science, math and technology, along with several early college high schools on community college campuses, whose best practices are being shared across the state. Our ongoing commitment to supporting teachers, holding schools accountable and improving outcomes for minority and underprivileged students has made a huge difference. Let’s continue that momentum and give our children the gift of even stronger educational outcomes. One approach is to update our laws and regulations to help schools benefit from evolving educational technologies. For example, we should allow school districts to purchase electronic versions of the text books that have been approved by the State Board of Education. This will allow flexibility as educators move our children along the path to graduation and the next step in their lives. For many young Texans, that next step is college. Let’s work together to make college accessible and affordable for more qualified, motivated students than ever before. I propose increased funding for the Texas Grant Program, an initiative I pressed for as Lt. Governor, that has opened the door for traditionally underserved Texans. I like this approach because it not only knocks down a barrier between hard working students and the success they desire, it also keeps our college classrooms supplied with students who are motivated and prepared to succeed. I also propose freezing a student’s college tuition rates for four years at the level they pay as an entering freshman. This will help Texas families plan while giving students another incentive to finish on time. We must continue removing roadblocks for young Texans wanting to pursue higher education, whether they enroll straight out of high school, or choose to serve their country in the military first. I’m talking about service members like the ones joining us here today in the front of the chamber, visiting from Brooke Army Medical Center. Please help me recognize our wounded warriors here today. They represent the countless young Americans who have gone in harm’s way in defense of freedom throughout our nation’s history. These veterans, who now spend their days recovering from injuries sustained while serving our country, deserve the best our state has to offer, as do all veterans who have served our country. In appreciation for their service, I share Senator Van de Putte’s belief that we should extend in-state tuition rates to all veterans, regardless of their home of record. This approach would not only express our heartfelt gratitude for their selfless service, it would also enrich our colleges and our workforce with the leadership, motivation and experience gained during military service. Any discussion of higher education must include our community colleges and proprietary schools. Every year, these institutions turn out students who are prepared to succeed in the completion of their four-year college degree, as well as folks ready to work in the trades that contribute so much to our quality of life. I agree with Comptroller Combs that we should significantly increase our investment in community colleges. Besides being anchors to their local communities, these schools are ideally positioned to educate a growing population of workers that have either been displaced by the current economic turmoil, or have job skills that have been outpaced by rapidly-evolving technology. I suggest we tackle this challenge with an expansion of the Workforce Commission’s Skills Development Fund and its training partnerships. Since its creation in 1996, the Skills Development Fund has helped 3,000-plus employers train more than 200,000 workers in essential workplace skills. Given the rapidly growing need for this type of retraining, I strongly urge you to increase the Skills Development Fund, and invest in the Texas worker of tomorrow. At the same time we strengthen our community colleges, we can also champion changes that will improve our four-year universities. Let’s apply the power of incentives by rewarding universities that increase the number of students they graduate. This is just one way to continue improving higher education in Texas as we work to achieve and maintain a competitive edge in the global marketplace well into the future. As we turn our eyes toward that shared future, we must continue focusing on the things that government is supposed to do, provide for the additional transportation, electricity and water infrastructure and resources our state needs to grow and prosper. Ask yourself, will the decisions we make in this session ensure your children and grandchildren have the resources they need to thrive in Texas? When they turn on the faucet, will clean, affordable water flow? Let’s answer that question before this session ends and make it a resounding yes. Make this 81st Session memorable as the moment when Texas finally invested in your water plan that is well-researched and locally-developed…but not-yet-funded. Let’s ensure that our citizens, our children and grandchildren, have access to this most vital of resources for the next fifty years. Let’s also make sure that, when they flip a light switch, the lights will come on and stay on. Let’s not leave a legacy of rolling blackouts because we didn’t keep pace with our power infrastructure. The best long-term method for controlling utility costs is not to centralize control of rates, but to diversify the supply of energy…and keep taxes lower. Fortunately, we’ve been successful in lowering the taxes our citizens pay on some utilities. By modifying the universal service fund in ’05, we are saving telephone ratepayers millions, and Texans have saved $600 million on telephone charges because we listened to Speaker Straus and eliminated the TIF tax. When we combine lower utility taxes with increased, diversified production, we will preserve our role as the nation’s energy leader. Unfortunately, our strength in petrochemical production and refining makes us a big target on the radar of an increasingly activist EPA, whose one-size-fits-all approaches could severely harm our energy sector; an agency whose potential to harm our state with punitive actions will only increase in the months and years to come. Rather than wait for more mandates and punishments for environmental non-attainment, let’s continue encouraging innovation. I support giving Texans in the non-attainment areas of our state a $5,000 incentive towards a purchase of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles, using the funds Texans have already paid to reduce emissions, while providing a unique way to store wind energy. This will keep Texas competitive in an emerging technology and take advantage of an energy portfolio that grows deeper and more diverse every day. Texas has been taking an all-of-the-above approach to energy, increasing our affordable supplies of traditional energy sources, as well as wind, solar, bio-fuels, and nuclear, as a way to bolster our economy and move us closer to energy independence. Texas is leading a national renaissance in nuclear power. With six potential new reactors on the drawing board, we need to encourage the production of this clean and reliable form of energy. Texas has a huge opportunity in bio-fuels if we’ll continue leveraging our state’s energy expertise while avoiding use of food crops for energy, a practice that harms our farmers and ranchers, and drives up the family grocery bill. Of all the renewable energy sectors, our biggest success story is in wind. Texas not only leads the nation in installed capacity, we have more wind-generated megawatts than all but three countries. As with all electricity, however, one of our biggest challenges is getting the power from the source to homes and businesses where it is needed. So whether it’s West Texas wind or nuclear power from South Texas, we need to build out the transmission and distribution lines, streamline the regulations, and cut the red tape, so we can move this power to where it’s needed. As is the case with most infrastructure needs, eminent domain will play a role in this effort. Let’s resolve the eminent domain issue once and for all in this session, so that Texans will not only have clarity, but also a strong defense of the private property rights we all hold so dear. While we’re at it, let’s provide an added measure of security for our landowners by putting it into the Constitution. Senator Duncan and Representative Orr, I appreciate your willingness to run point on this important issue. In these times of global unrest and porous borders, security remains a top priority, especially in light of Washington’s ongoing failure to provide the resources necessary to secure our border, or implement a sensible immigration policy. I’m hopeful that my fellow border governor from Arizona will bring a better approach in her new role as Secretary of Homeland Security. However, until we see results, Texas will continue filling the leadership void created by Washington DC and investing in the safety of our citizens with our own border security effort. From 2005 until September 2007, my office cobbled together roughly $38 million which we used to ramp up security along our border. Based on the success of these efforts, you invested $110 million in Operation Border Star in 2007. In doing so, you not only funded more personnel, but also provided assets like aircraft and patrol boats, as well as better technology for communications, data management and coordinated efforts. Joining us today are representatives of the team protecting our border. Will you please stand and be recognized? They represent the hardworking men and women who work together to fight crime, including the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition, the Brownsville Police Department, the Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Military Forces, and the U.S. Border Patrol Thank you for working so hard to keep Texas safer. As a result of your efforts and their deterrent effect, illegal alien apprehensions in Texas have dropped 47% since 2005. Crime has also fallen as much as 65% in areas that smuggling cartels previously treated as their personal playground. Those are signs of great improvement, but we need to keep the heat on by renewing funds for our border efforts, especially in light of the growing drug and gang-related violence in Mexico. It is already spilling into communities across the state in the form of increasingly brazen transnational gangs. Because we have seriously hindered the Mexican drug cartels’ ability to move contraband across the border, they are relying with increasing frequency on these unprincipled gangs to do their dirty work. Originating in foreign countries and taking shape in our prisons, these gangs have been radiating outward into our towns, schools and neighborhoods, applying terror tactics to build their influence. Joining us here today are State Troopers John Cox and Chad Foster, who were recently on the receiving end of gunfire while protecting our state from those threats, including gang members. Would you please stand and be recognized? Gentlemen, thank you for standing between the law-abiding citizens of our state and those who would do them harm. I also want to thank Senator Carona for his efforts to bring attention to the serious threat these gangs pose to our state. I agree it is time to act and believe we should devote the necessary resources, just under $32 million, to properly address this gang threat head-on, in communities across the state. These funds would be used to pay more officers, provide better coordination of multi-force efforts and fund prosecutions for gang-related offenses. As we continue to strengthen our border, we must also consider the essential role that federal immigration policy, or the lack thereof, plays in the safety of our citizens and integrity of our state. After revelations that a Dallas man had set up a cottage industry procuring Texas driver licenses for illegal aliens hailing from countries around the world, I am an even stronger supporter of the DPS initiative to issue specialized, vertical driver licenses, to identify those who have overstayed their visa. I also support an end to the notion of sanctuary cities. Local government sends the wrong message when they pick and choose what laws they want their peace officers to enforce. I believe we should also require the same identification procedure for voting that we require for voter registration. I commend Lt. Governor Dewhurst for his longstanding leadership on this issue. A democracy without proper protections against voter fraud cannot preserve the public trust. We should also track the citizenship status of those receiving state-funded services so we can get our hands around the financial impact of Washington’s failure to handle the immigration challenge. Some may oppose these efforts, but they are commonsense approaches to protecting our citizens’ lives and resources, as well as our state’s integrity. Although we are maintaining a more secure border and preparing to combat the growing gang threat in our cities, there is nothing we can do to divert the storms that hammer our coast. The financial impact of the 2008 storm season was unprecedented in Texas history. Our experience in the aftermath is a reminder that we cannot rely solely on the federal government and the good intentions of FEMA, but we know we can move a whole lot faster than they can. We simply cannot, in good conscience, allow our citizens to shiver in a tent or sweat in the sun as Washington drags its heels on housing and reimbursements. To that end, let’s create and fund a disaster contingency and relief account, that gets locals the resources they need when they need them, so they can respond immediately to storms, wildfires and other disasters. This fund could also pay for other approaches we have pioneered, like the buses we hire to move thousands of Texans out of the path of approaching storms. As we consider ways to protect our citizens, I would ask you to consider if we’re doing enough to improve their lives. For example, Texas obesity rates are well above the national average and the negative effects are spreading. Comptroller Combs and Commissioner Staples are right. If we don’t tackle this problem, not only will this generation of children be the first to have a shorter average lifespan than their parents, we will never get a handle on the costs of preventable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and even some forms of cancer. Let’s address obesity where it will make the most difference, most quickly: with our schoolchildren. Texas should take the lead on testing an incentive-based fitness program like those gaining popularity in the workplace. As we consider detriments to our quality of life, let’s not forget the looming specter of cancer, a disease that still takes the lives of more than 34,000 Texans every year. We did a good thing in the last session when we authorized the referendum championed by Representative Rose and Senator Nelson. Texans agreed with you when they approved the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas in a statewide vote. Now it’s time to take the next step by covering the Institute’s startup costs so researchers can get to work , move us closer to a cure, and accelerate our state’s ascendance as a leader in biotechnology. This rapidly-growing field is of particular interest to Texans, both economically and in terms of discoveries that improve and save lives. Biotech innovations in our state include discoveries in the area of adult stem cell research that are showing great promise. For example, the folks at the Texas A&M Health Science Center will begin trials on diabetes treatments later this year in Waco. Let’s get Texas in on the ground floor and invest in adult stem cell research, the one area of that field that is actually proven to expedite cures. Expertise in this emerging and increasingly promising field will not only bring healing to the suffering and create jobs for Texans, it will also establish an appropriate firewall protecting the unborn from exploitation. I am grateful to Senator Nelson for stepping to the front on this issue. As we consider the growing threats to our nation’s unborn, I believe it’s time to add another layer of protection for the most vulnerable Texans. I hope you will join me in supporting Senator Patrick and Representative Corte’s effort to require those wanting to terminate a pregnancy to review their ultrasound before proceeding. Issues of this complexity and moral weight are the sort of thing that we are sent here to address. As we wrestle with such issues in the 126 days left ‘til Sine Die, I know that our values, patience and resolve will be tested, but I’m confident in our prospects for success, because I am confident in the people who elected us. As we serve them, let’s not forget the principles that have brought our state this far. I am convinced that the fiscal discipline we exercised together over the past few sessions has left us in much better shape than other states. Let’s build on our shared record of success and press on to do even more to protect our citizens’ families, jobs and rights. For example, the time has come for a frank conversation about spending limits that should culminate in a constitutional amendment. I’m a firm believer that limiting the growth of our budget to the combined growth of inflation and our population is appropriate. I also hope we can build on the success of our transparency efforts by calling for more of it, including from our institutions of higher education and municipalities all across the state. Judge Self and the folks in Collin County showed it’s possible when they took it upon themselves to put their books online. The companion to transparency is truth-in-budgeting, so let’s work together to further reduce the number of diversions in our budget. We should only spend tax dollars on the express purpose for which they were collected. That’s what Texans expect and that’s what they should get. Let’s show it can be done in this session by shifting funding for the Department of Public Safety back into general revenue. This will free up existing gasoline tax dollars to fulfill their original purpose: the construction and maintenance of our state’s roads. As you go about your business in the next few months, you may be tempted to dip into our rainy day fund. If you do, let’s limit our use of those funds to significant one-time expenditures, not recurring items. That approach will preserve the gains that underlie our economic health, and enable us to keep doing the good I discussed as I began my time with you today. To me, good is giving Texans access to a quality education, good-paying jobs and the chance to keep more of what they’ve earned for their own families. Good is a community safe from crime, blessed with clean air and water, where families spend time together at the dinner table or the sports field, not stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Good is a state where people are free to worship their god in the manner of their choosing, passing to their children an inheritance of sound values and living out their life in peace. As we work in this historic place and serve the people who sent us here, I hope we will continually strive for the good, take part in passionate yet civilized debate, and never let the flame of our passion dwindle. For we still live in what I consider the greatest state, a land settled by visionary risk-takers, replenished in every generation by individuals who carry our state’s heritage of selfless service as their charge. I speak of individuals like Regan Hunt, an Eagle Scout from Austin who risked his own life to save five others from drowning in an Idaho canal. Regan, please stand for a moment and let these folks join me in thanking you for being with us here today. You are a shining example of the courageous, selfless spirit that makes Texas great. As we are told in Scripture, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” And reap that harvest we shall…and we shall reap it together. Because, ladies and gentlemen, the State of our State is good. Her character is strong and her people are great, and I believe now, more than ever before, that our best days are yet to come. May God bless you and, through you, may He continue to bless the great state of Texas. ###

Legislative leaders are asking most state agencies to trim 2.5 percent from their budgets — about $500 million — for the last year of the current two-year budget. That's the year we're in now.

In their letter, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus asked state agencies to cut the general revenue parts of their budget requests for fiscal 2009. Some programs won't be part of the cuts, including public education, acute care Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and debt service on outstanding debts. Dewhurst told reporters that budgeteers are only concerned, at the moment, about spending in the fiscal year that ends in September. The budget after that — the same two-year budget — isn't in the mix. And agencies have the option, he said, of pushing spending planned for 2009 into the 2010 fiscal year and beyond. They hope to hear from the agencies within the next two or three weeks. The Senate Finance Committee is already working on the next budget; the members of the House Appropriations Committee have not yet been named. This is the second round of letters from state leaders about the budget. Gov. Rick Perry and others asked the agencies last year (look here and here) to show where they'd make cuts if asked to do so. Those earlier efforts were directed at the next budget. The cuts they're talking about now would fall in the current fiscal year. In addition to cutting spending, that would lower the numbers used to figure spending limits for the next two years, which are based on current spending and an agreed-to growth rate. Lower current spending, and you lower the limit for next time.

[An earlier version of this story got the year of the requested cuts wrong. That's now fixed, above. Sorry, sorry, sorry.]

Gov. Rick Perry's State of the State speech last week set the blogosphere ablaze with flames of indignation! Bloggers raced to their computers to be the first to file a rebuttal (assuming they had left their PCs at all), while some of the M$M folks sounded off about an unwelcome interloper. Bloggers also took issue with the company the mayor of Houston claims to keep, looking at political contests and peeking under the dome of the Other Capitol in DC. Finishing it off, a pasticcio of posts.

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Perry, Eh?

Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, had the briefest summary of Perry's speech: "Governor Rick Perry delivered his State of the State address this morning. He touched on freezing tuition rates for college students."

Trail Blazers, the Dallas Morning News' blog, live-blogged the speech from the House Chamber. The Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics made multiple entries about it. And Bay Area Houston lampooned it.

Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, webcasted a video response on Burnt Orange Report. And here's the response from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, via the houston conservative.

After hearing the speech, BurkaBlog went with, "I told you so," then clarified something written earlier about the state's unemployment tax. Another Burka blogger clicked in with why she thinks the ultrasounds-before-abortions idea is a bad one.

The New York Times's Green Inc. blog focused on Perry's dissing of the Environmental Protection Agency. And Texas Watchdog ran Perry's speech through some visualization software, gleaning that the word of the day was "Texas."

If the conventional wisdom is correct that free media is better than paid media, consultant-turned-new media broadcaster Chuck McDonald struck oil when his presence on the House floor during Perry's speech caught the attention (and raised the ire) of Texas Politics, the Houston Chronicle's blog.

The newsman's concern: "Whether other public relations and lobby firms would try to form news operations that might cover legislative news from their clients' point of view."

McDonald defends himself in the comments section, asking folks to put away their torches until they at least check out his website, TexasNewsPost.com . He's got a video defense posted there.

How did McDonald get press credentials in the first place? Well, Quorum Report paid for McDonald's team to film the State of the State address, expecting McDonald's partner, former reporter Rickey Dailey, to be doing the shooting. Dailey couldn't make it, so McDonald showed up instead, sparking the controversy.

Elsewhere, Perry hearted Brint Ryan , according to Trail Blazers, claiming that's news because the Dallas tax consultant backed Carole Keeton Strayhorn for Guv last time around. The same Texas Association of Business event inspired our editor to fire up the ol' Photoshop. (Great job, boss!)

From Texans for Rick Perry, pictures, audio and such of his talk at the anti-abortion Texas Rally for Life in front of the Pink Dome. RightWingSparkle made her own home movie of the event. Photos here.

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The White Stuff

The Insite, a FOX-Houston reporter's blog, has a story about a newspaper ad depicting a Martin Luther King Jr.-Bill White-Barack Obama sandwich with the Anglo, White, in the middle. The flak people for Houston Mayor White (who's running for U.S. Senate) say the rationale behind the ad, which they claim they didn't design, is chronological.

"No matter what happened, it didn't look good. In fact, it's one of those oh-so-preventable mistakes that will now float around in cyberspace for Mayor-white-nixon some time to come," says ABC13's Political Blog.

The incident sparked an impromptu game of "Let's Inappropriately Photoshop Bill White Into a Famous Photo," at Letters From Texas. Here are the entries. And Capitol Annex chips in the tidbit that White was "the only Democratic mayor of a major American city I'm aware of who didn't" endorse Obama.

In other news, White's also in very warm water for a letter written on city stationery — reported by the Houston Chronicle, here — touting a new development built by a donor. Annex says it's not the first time White has approached an ethical line.

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Put on Your Boogie Shoes

Tex Parte Blog looks at potential Attorney General candidates: former Republican solicitor general Ted Cruz, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, and Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas. If incumbent Greg Abbott wants to stay in office, though, those three will stay out of the race, they're saying. Add Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, and former Rep. Steve Wolens, D-Dallas, to that list of maybe-so's, according to Postcards. Where in Texas would Abbott want to go, without running into a Dewhurst, Hutchison or Perry? wonders Blue Dot Blues.

The two nominees for State Bar of Texas president are Rhonda Hunter of Dallas and Terry Tottenham of Austin, Tex Parte reports. The election will take place in the spring. And Williamson Republic analyzes campaign donations to new Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock. Here's more of the same.

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D.C. Doings

While U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has been in the doghouse of the mainstream media for his challenges to Pres. Barack Obama's appointees, Pondering Penguin, for one, welcomes it. And Lone Star Times applauds Cornyn's moves as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

We've long maintained that the best part of the newspaper is the Comics Section. Catering to that sensibility, Potomac added Pulitzer-winning cartoonist David Horsey to their staff. Meanwhile, Rep. Aaron Peña's cousin Moises "Moe" Vela Jr. is the new director of administration for Vice Pres. Joe Biden , Peña, D-Edinburg, says on his Capitol Blog.

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Gallimaufry

For people keeping stats at home, then-House Speaker Tom Craddick announced committee assignments on the Day 25 of the 2007 session. This coming Friday, Feb. 26, is the 25th day of the '09 session, notes Postcards. And in case you were wondering what the heck a committee assignment preference card looks like anyway, Rep. Peña took a picture of (a blank) one for his A Capitol Blog.

Muckraker may have left Texas, but he still has a presence in the blogosphere, at his househouse blog, he informs readers back in the Lone Star State. And Texas Tech University law students have started an estate planning journal, the first of its kind in the U.S., says Tex Parte. It's not a BCS trophy, but it's something.

Letters marks the second anniversary of Molly Ivins' death Saturday with memories from her Big Bend hideout. Meanwhile, Texas Observer Blog has a tribute entry titled, "What Would Molly Think?" (winning our Headline of the Week award).

Rep. Guillen advertises the new Top Ten Percent Scholarship, arising from a bill he wrote in '07. Meanwhile, the Texas GOP's new digs at 1108 Lavaca St. has a sweet deck, says Postcards. The Republicans plan to relocate by early August, apparently. And a Houston Democrat argues in favor of the Fairness Doctrine on Potomac.

North Texas Conservative is incensed that a fellow GOPer, Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, proposed instituting a statewide smoking ban. Junkie has a database of Governor's Mansion restoration donors and gives a few observations on who's in it. More from Postcards here.

According to reputable flowers, Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, is "dramatic," says Newspaper Tree.com Blog. Meanwhile, freshman Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, got scoffed by Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, for the way he wields his gavel. And Annex was on Bill patrol this week. Read all about them here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Finally, Burnt Orange Report gets to the Main Topic in the Texas House, opening a Guess at the Committee Assignments contest that features actual prizes for the winner.

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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.

The governor's list of items that should be considered in the next six weeks includes budget issues, hurricane aid, wind insurance, state school problems, and security equipment.The Legislature can't vote on bills during the first 60 days of a legislative session unless the governor declares an emergency. Gov. Rick Perry's emergency list is out:

• Legislation to provide supplemental appropriations to state agencies and institutions related to hurricane response and recovery associated with the hurricanes of 2008; • Legislation to assist public and private entities with recovery from the hurricanes of 2008; • Legislation to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and legislation to fund the Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund related to TWIA; • Legislation to improve state schools and centers operated by the state of Texas; and • Legislation to appropriate funds to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the purchase and use of screening and detection devices for contraband and personnel, as well as comprehensive security equipment.

Gov. Rick Perry touts an endorsement from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a flyer sent to members of the Texas Federation of Republican Women.Palin doesn't vote here, and Perry can't raise political money while the Legislature is in session. But the TFRW has been particularly fond of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison during his career, and Perry's campaign wants to stay in contention for those votes. The mailer asks recipients to sign up as a Perry supporter and included a bumper sticker along with Palin's Pitch:

Here's the text:

Dear Texas Republican Women, After traveling all over this great country of ours, I have seldom found more endearing and inspiring women than Texas Republican women. You are independent, confident, and know how to make an impact in your state — much like the women of Alaska. Because of your work, Texas is the largest red state in the nation, and it has a strong, conservative governor. While a bunch of politicians have gone to Washington, hat in hand, seeking a bailout, Governor Perry has said we should stimulate the economy with tax cuts and maintain spending discipline. Rick Perry is true to conservative principles even when others think the party needs to go a different direction. I like that about him: he doesn't care which way the wind blows, he acts on his beliefs. That's why I am supporting Governor Rick Perry for re-election. He does what is right regardless of whether it is popular. He walks the walk of a true conservative. And he sticks to his guns — and you know how I feel about guns! With our current economic crisis, and working families worried about their pensions, jobs, credit card debt and rising home foreclosures, we need strong conservative leadership in trend-setting states like Texas. Rick Perry is a leader. While the nation lost half a million jobs in the last year, Texas gained 250,000 net new jobs. He improved the job climate in Texas by refusing to raise taxes in the face of the largest budget deficit in Texas history. He had the foresight to join legislators in saving for a rainy day. And he has consistently asked agency heads to cut their budgets even when surpluses were rolling in. My fellow Republicans, that's consistent leadership. That's Rick Perry. Governor Perry has also advocated for greater domestic drilling for energy, and a diversified energy mix — including greater development of renewable sources — so America is not held hostage by Middle East ayatollahs and foreign dictators. But in order to overcome extremist opposition to responsible exploration, we need proven leaders in energy states like Texas who will not back down when it up comes to expanding the energy supply. Let me say one more thing about my friend and your governor: he knows all human life is precious. Rick Perry believes in protecting the most vulnerable in society, and who is more vulnerable than an unborn child? Our value as human beings in the eyes of Our Creator is not diminished by any circumstance. Not every child is born into ideal circumstances, but every life is sacred. Rick Perry knows this – it is at the core of his being. Will you join me in supporting a true conservative for governor – Rick Perry? We need Texas' diverse and strong economy to help pull us out of our economic troubles. That requires a proven CEO as the head of state government. Rick Perry is proven and principled. And we need that in the governor of our nation's second largest state and most prosperous economy. Sincerely, Sarah Palin P.S. I have included a new bumper sticker for your vehicle. I hope you will put a lot of miles on it, and join me in supporting a true conservative for four more years as Texas governor — Rick Perry.

After a spokesman for "racinos" said the industry was coming off a good election cycle in Texas, we took a look at their contributions.

Texans for Economic Development — a political action committee started by horsetrack owners who want lawmakers to legalize slot machines at their tracks — gave $1.4 million to 133 candidates over the last two cycles (2006 and 2008). Most of that — $1.2 million — was in 2008. And much of that — $674,600 — was spent in the primaries and runoffs last spring.

Big recipients include Reps. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels, $91,505; Joe Moody, D-El Paso, $50,000; Charlie Geren, D-Fort Worth, $45,000; Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, $40,000; Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, $25,000; Kino Flores, D-Palmview, $21,000; Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, $20,000; Chris Turner, D-Burleson, $20,000; Allen Vaught, D-Dallas, $20,000; Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, $20,000; Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, $20,000; and the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, $25,000.

They bet on some losers, too, notably former Reps. Juan Escobar, D-Kingsville, $40,000; Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, $30,000; and Dan Barrett, D-Fort Worth, $20,000.

And their biggest splash? Last spring, the PAC spent $249,363 to Fero Hewitt Global, a political consulting firm, to pepper Reps. Betty Brown of Terrell, Phil King Weatherford, and Nathan Macias of Bulverde with opposition ads in the Republican primaries. Brown and King prevailed; Macias lost to Doug Miller, who went on to win the seat in November.

House Speaker Joe Straus' father, Joe Straus Jr., has contributed to TED, but his donations total less than $10,000 since 2006, when the PAC was formed. Retama affiliates, on the other hand, put $84,000 into the PAC in 2007 — money TED spent on candidates and campaigns in 2008.

The conversation in the halls is mostly about House committee assignments and who'll get what. The underlying political tension is between Democrats who think Speaker Joe Straus should reward them for making up 80 percent of the vote that put him in the corner office, and Republicans who think he needs to consolidate power within his own party in the closely divided chamber to have any chance of hanging on to the controls.

It's a dance: Straus has 76 Republicans, including himself, and 74 Democrats. He was elected by acclamation, but you're nuts if you're using that list to keep score: The first list, the one that put him over the top and turned out former Speaker Tom Craddick, was the one with 15 Republicans and 70 Democrats on it.

Democrats are relying on the "dance with who brung ya" maxim. Republicans are telling anyone and everyone that the Democrats really want control of the House and will push to get a majority and unseat Straus and put one of their own in the corner office. They hope Straus will put Republicans in the most powerful positions to secure GOP support he'll need to keep the gavel for more than one legislative session.

No pressure, right?

The kids in the House have to watch out for blasting caps laying around.

One in particular is the new rule for knocking off a speaker: It only takes 76 signatures to reboot. That was symbolically important to Democrats, in particular, who bridled at Craddick's control of the House and who wanted to put the institution back in the hands of the members — to move the power from the dais to the floor (that's also reflected in the makeup of the committees and in rules, for instance, that prevent a member from serving both on appropriations and on a "substantive" committee). A calmer contingent wanted to put that power on the floor but to cool things off by requiring, say, 90 votes or 100 to depose a speaker. They didn't have the votes.

Another blasting cap is cultural. Half of the 150 state representatives don't have any experience outside the contentious Craddick years, when partisan fighting was the normal state of affairs and conversations about power and control were as common as talk of policy and governance.

What did they learn from that war? That it's a competitive place where fighting and backbiting is the norm? Or that they want to try something different?

With a new regime in place, what's the culture going to be? Were the last six years instructive, telling members How Things Work and setting the tone for this session? Or were they a cautionary tale, moving the House along to something different?

Setting committees the first time is a daunting piece of politics. It tells each politician where she or he stands in the order of things. It tells them who outranks them and who they outrank. And it's damned hard to change, once a speaker has set down the names in the first round. Two years from now, if he's still speaker, Straus will be doing this again. But he'll be bound — like David Dewhurst was in the Senate — by what he's done before.

Aides to the speaker think the committee list will come out next week. If they follow tradition, they'll wait until members are on the way out of town — the better to cool off after they see the new order of things. Then the session can really get started.

The head of UTIMCO resigned during a contentious Senate Finance Committee hearing, later ending his appearance by telling the assembled senators that his successor would probably be happy to meet with them next month. Robert Rowling, a Dallas billionaire serving as appointed chairman of UTIMCO — the University of Texas Investment Management Co. — was, along with the fund's president, taking populist salvos from the senators for bonuses paid to investment managers at a time when the fund's investments were losing money. Bruce Zimmerman, the CEO, got a $1 million bonus in November — part of a bonus package given to him and other execs there. Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst fired off a letter this week to show their displeasure; the Senate committee followed with an excoriating hearing. "You can have my job," said Rowling, who's also on UT's Board of Regents, in reponse. Rowling said the bonuses were awarded on the basis of UTIMCO's performance through the end of June — when its investments were performing well. While that deal was made in the summer, the actual bonuses were awarded, however, two or three months after the stock market and the economy tanked. He also said UTIMCO had managed to lose less money in the market fall than comparable funds. But the state's political leaders had no stomach for that. "There are not three people in the state who think that was a smart thing to do," said Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan. Senators softened up later, asking Rowling if he really intends to resign. He said that he does. Asked if he would come back next month to talk about it, he told the committee his successor — whomever that is — would probably be happy to do that. • Addendum: Rowling is a big Republican donor, giving almost $1.5 million to state candidates since 2000. The list includes $157,934 to Dewhurst, $282,262 to Perry, $275,000 to Attorney General Greg Abbott, and a total of $27,000 to four members of the committee that chewed his tail: Bob Deuell of Greenville, Kevin Eltife of Tyler (whose questions prompted the resignation during the hearing), Jane Nelson of Lewisville, Tommy Williams of The Woodlands, and a Democrat, Judith Zaffirini of Laredo. Rowling has recently moved from insider to outcast in the governor's political world. He's been a major donor, was part of the Governor's Business Council, and was one of the people Perry picked for the committee that revised the state's business taxes before a special session in 2006. But he recently showed up, prominently, as a supporter of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's bid for governor in 2010. And he was one of several UT regents who supported Dr. Francisco Cigarroa over former state Sen. John Montford for chancellor of the UT System. Montford was Perry's favorite.

The migratory pattern has changed in a small way, with a band of policy wonks leaving the Senate to work for new House Speaker Joe Straus. They'll announce a full list of hires in the next few days, but some names are out: Andrea Sheridan (education), Jana Burleson (criminal justice), and Shelly Botkin (environment), all from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's staff, will join a team that's headed by Lisa Kaufman, who worked in the Senate before working for a tort reform group, and Denise Davis, who worked on the east side of the Pink Building before becoming House Parliamentarian. Straus also hired Craig Chick from the Texas Association of Realtors (former House and Senate aide), and Andrew Blifford, a budget analyst, from Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie. Jesse Ancira, who'll be general counsel, was a House creature before working for the State Auditor and then the Comptroller.

Kurt Meachum and Jerry Philips, late of the Texas Progress Council and the House Democratic Campaign Committee, respectively, are hanging out a lobby shingle. They're both House rats, working for Democrats there for the last half-dozen sessions.

Bryan Eppstein is busting his Fort Worth-based The Eppstein Group into four parts — each with a principal who's not named Bryan Eppstein. Michael Grimes is the new president and will head Capitol Alliance, which will do public affairs, public relations and lobbying. Keats Norfleet will run the Election Group, also based in Austin, working on political campaigns for candidates and causes. John Shults will head the Fort Worth-based Lighthouse Opinion Polling and Research, taking over the firm's survey business. Jonathan Rice is the lead name at the newly created RADAR Agency — a Fort Worth-based advertising firm. Eppstein says he'll be an advisor and strategist to all four companies, focusing on growth of the ad firm at first. He'll also stay involved with "select state officeholders" and work as a pollster and lobbyist for a couple of current clients. All four principals already work for the firm; Eppstein and Grimes say the new setup will let the units work together or separately, depending on the client.