The George W. Bush Presidential Center opened at Dallas’ Southern Methodist University this week, with the five living presidents and a crowd of dignitaries on hand to mark the opening of the state’s third presidential library. It’s there to tell Bush’s side of the story, as noted by former President Bill Clinton, who has a library of his own and called this one “the latest, grandest example of the eternal struggle of former presidents to rewrite history.”
Texas senators hammered out a sweeping deal to increase state funding for water and transportation projects and schools, tackling some of the thorniest issues of the legislative session all at once. The senators voted 31-0 to put SJR1 on the ballot, asking Texas voters to approve taking $5.7 billion out of the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Of that amount, $2.9 billion would go to transportation, $2 billion to water infrastructure projects and $800 million to public education. Its prospects in the House are uncertain.
The Texas House killed the state lottery this week, broke for lunch, talked a while, and came back and revived it a couple of hours later. The surprising vote came on the lottery’s Sunset legislation and saw conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats banding together to mark their disapproval of state-run gaming. Putting it back in business will keep the lottery’s $2.2 billion contribution to the state budget flowing.
When Texas promised to protect a threatened lizard in the oil-rich Permian Basin, state officials entrusted the day-to-day oversight to a nonprofit that sounds like an environmental group: the Texas Habitat Conservation Foundation. What’s not advertised is the occupation of the board members who created it. They are all registered lobbyists for the powerful Texas Oil and Gas Association, also known as TXOGA.
Dozens of lawyers signed court filings in support of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, saying she deserves to serve out her full term in spite of going to jail after she was arrested driving drunk earlier this month. At least one of those attorneys suggested Lehmberg would retire at the end of the term, but Lehmberg is serving a 45-day sentence and her lawyer didn’t confirm that to the Austin American-Statesman.