Vol 30, Issue 7 Print Issue

Governor Rick Perry offers words of advice to new and veteran House members during a speech on the opening of the 83rd Legislative Session on January 8, 2013
Governor Rick Perry offers words of advice to new and veteran House members during a speech on the opening of the 83rd Legislative Session on January 8, 2013

Could Texas Follow in Florida's Footsteps?

When Florida Gov. Rick Scott reversed his stance on Medicaid expansion this week, many Texans were left wondering: If Florida can reach a compromise with the feds, could Texas?

Jail officials across Texas are worried that state budget cuts to community-based mental health care services will mean more mentally ill inmates in their facilities.
Jail officials across Texas are worried that state budget cuts to community-based mental health care services will mean more mentally ill inmates in their facilities.

Police Want Power to Take Weapons From Mentally Ill

The mental health code doesn't give police the right to take a gun from someone who is having a mental health crisis. Mental health advocates, judges and law enforcement officials are urging state lawmakers to address gaps like that one.

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

With no opposition, the Texas House passed its first supplemental appropriations bill (they expect one or two more) and sent it along to the Senate. It would spend $4.8 billion in general revenue (state funds) and pull down another $6.6 billion in federal funds. What might have become a debate over 2011's budget cuts was instead a yes-fest, with representatives pulling down all of their proposed amendments and then suspending the constitutional rules to send the legislation forward. This bill covers the cost of the current Medicaid system for the rest of the current budget cycle. To come: Another supplemental for wildfires, prison health care, and probably, a number of amendments that weren't added to this first bill. 

In the midst of ongoing turbulence between the University of Texas System regents and the leadership of its flagship institution, the Texas Senate and House honored University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers this week with resolutions acknowledging his accomplishments and his years of service. The resolutions passed in both chambers, an honor coming at a time of strain between the university and the board of regents whose members have all been appointed by Gov. Rick Perry. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst became emotional when he addressed the Senate and Powers, criticizing the regents for undermining Powers and “cases allegedly of character assassination.”

Houston’s Senate runoff is underway, with early voting running through next Tuesday and the actual runoff election set for Saturday, March 6. Two Democrats — Rep. Carol Alvarado and former Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia — are competing to replace the late Mario Gallegos, also a Democrat, in SD-6. An Alvarado win would trigger another special election to fill her House seat.

More than 100 witnesses signed up to testify before the House Public Education Committee this week in a hearing on student testing and graduation requirements that lasted into the evening and proved the unpopularity of those tests in the Texas Legislature. Students, parents and educators overwhelmingly spoke in support of state Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock's House Bill 5, arguing that the current system forces teachers to teach to the test and stifles flexibility to provide career-orientated courses.

Just four months after winning re-election, state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, announced he won't seek another term in 2014. He's considering a run for mayor and said he wants to clear the way for other candidates who have shown interest in his spot. The early announcement gives them room, but makes him a lame duck with most of the session still in front of him.

Political People and their Moves

Vistasp M. Karbhari, the provost at the University of Alabama, remains the sole candidate for the presidency of the University of Texas at Arlington following a meeting of the UT System Board of Regents that was hastily called to revisit his prospective employment.

Karen Johnson is going part-time at United Way of Texas and picking up another job at Power Across Texas, and will stay with the first one through the session and the year while United Way looks for a new CEO. She’s been with them for 13 years. 

Matt Hirsch moved to the building next door, leaving the Capitol media offices of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for the nearby media offices of Attorney General Greg Abbott. Before the government gig, he worked in Dewhurst’s campaign office.

Matthew Ladner is joining the Texas Public Policy Foundation for the legislative session to help them with school choice issues. He worked on education issues in Florida for then-Gov. Jeb Bush.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed:

  • Jeff Hildebrand of Houston, Ernest Aliseda of McAllen and Paul Foster of El Paso to the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Hildebrand is chairman and CEO of Hilcorp Energy Company, Aliseda is the managing attorney of Loya Insurance group and a municipal judge for the city of McAllen, and Foster, a reappointee, is the executive chairman of Western Refining Company.
  • Three regents to the Texas State University System, including two reappointments in Charlie Amato of San Antonio and Bill Scott of Nederland. The new regent is Vernon Reaser III of Bellaire, president of the Texas Teachers Alternative Certification and Texas Educators Association. Amato is chairman of SWBC. Scott is chairman and CEO of Trans-Global Solutions.
  • Andres Alcantar to another term on the Texas Workforce Commission. He current chairs that panel; before joining TWC, he worked on the governor’s policy staff. 
  • William “Barry” James, and orthodontist from Palestine, to the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority’s board. That’s a reappointment.
  • Douglas Wilson to another term as inspector general of the state’s Health and Human Services Commission.
  • Charles Bacarisse of Houston and Cynthia Villa of El Paso to the Texas Department of Information Resources. Bacarisse is a veep at Houston Baptist University and a former Harris County Clerk. Villa, a CPA, is a veep at UT-El Paso.
  • Chris Crouch Graham, owner of Hondo’s in Fredericksburg, to the State Preservation Board.
  • Joe Ward, a rancher and retired businessman from Telephone, to another term on the Soil and Water Conservation Board.