Politex

Bush at Super Bowl

So President Obama won't be attending the Super Bowl in Arlington, since his Chicago Bears didn't make it there.

But that doesn't mean the event will be presidentless.

Former President George W. Bush -- and former First Lady Laura Bush -- will be at the big game on Sunday.

When asked recently whether he'd be rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Green Bay Packers, the former president told the media: "Don't care."

A Bush spokesman said the president doesn't plan on commenting during the Super Bowl.

-- Anna M. Tinsley

TCEQ to EPA: Could you handle that? Thanks!

Last year, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality proposed new regulations for natural gas drilling. The rules had the agency taking a tougher stance in several areas of drilling including toxic emissions.

Over the past six months, after taking comments from industry, environmental groups and the public, some of the proposed rules were weakened including the agency's approach to formaldehyde, a byproduct of the combustion engines used by the compressor stations that pump gas from wells to transmission lines.

The original proposal had the agency beefing up its monitoring of how much formaldehyde drilling facilities emitted. The rules TCEQ passed this week make no change to the agency's approach to formaldehyde.

The agency's explanation might come as a surprise to those who have been following the state's protracted effort to keep tougher federal environmental regulations out of the state. TCEQ decided that the state didn't need a tougher formaldehyde policy because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of implementing one that's strong enough, according to Richard Hyde, the deputy director of permitting and registration.

"We felt like the addition of [formaldehyde regulations] was a little unnecessary because the federal government is taking care of that piece of it," Hyde said.

The new regulations go into effect for the Barnett Shale region starting April 1, with plans to expand it to the rest of the state early next year.  

Environmental scientists believe formaldehyde in the air accelerates the formation of ozone, the main ingredient of smog, and can become a direct health risk at higher levels. Though some critics have expressed concern about how much formaldehyde natural gas drilling operations are emitting, Hyde said the agency's own test results haven't backed up those fears.

"If we find something that raises our concerns about formaldehyde that we need to do something more than the EPA, then we would do it," Hyde said. "We haven't really seen the data."

-Aman Batheja

Rescuing Ranger

Star-Telegram Reporter Bill Hanna took a trip to Ranger, west of Weatherford, to talk to locals about
the potential closing of Ranger Community College. 

The proposed House budget would close Ranger and three other community colleges to save money. Hanna found that Ranger is likely vulnerable because of its recent less-than-stellar track record but that critics are ignoring recent improvements:

The total number of degrees, certificates and completers in fiscal 2000 was 150 out of 847 students. That dropped to 125 in fiscal 2010 even though enrollment grew rapidly over the last two years, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. As the college opened campuses in Brownwood and Stephenville, its enrollment grew from 890 students in 2008 to 1,613 in 2010.

Several high-profile crimes in the late 1990s and early 2000s put a black mark on the school. At one point, 31 percent of Ranger's students were athletes, attracted to the rural campus by its reputation as a place where any student could play sports and live in a dorm.But an on-campus killing and allegations of a gang rape brought unwanted attention to the school. Four years ago, Ranger dropped its football program. Now 163 students, or 10 percent, are involved in athletics.

The college's low pay scale also makes it hard to attract faculty as many longtime instructors approach retirement. The coordinating board reported that Ranger's 24 faculty members in fiscal 2010 had the third-lowest average salaries in the state, at $30,299. The lowest-paid full-time faculty member at Ranger made just $23,475.

But a change in the schools' tax system could help turn things around:

College President Bill Campion said faculty salaries are "terrible" but cannot be raised unless Ranger can widen its taxing district to include Brown and Erath counties, where the new campuses are, and Comanche County, where it also offers classes. If that were to happen, Ranger could generate an additional $3 million in revenue while dropping its tax rate of 24.88 cents per $100 valuation to 8 to 10 cents per $100 valuation.

As recently as 2008, Ranger had the lowest enrollment, appropriation and tax levy of all community college districts in the state, according to a University of Texas study.

You can read the rest of the story here.

-Aman Batheja

 

Who will the budget cuts hit hardest?

As advocacy groups around the state absorb the two draft budgets proposed in Austin, it's clear that education and services for the poor and disabled stand to take some of the biggest hits.

The Senate proposal released this week proposes spending $158.7 billion for the 2012-13 biennium, a 15.4 percent reduction over current spending.

The slightly smaller House budget calls for spending $156.4 billion, a 16.6 percent decrease from the 2010-11 biennium.

Texas budget writers divide spending into nine groups. Here's a look at how the five biggest would be affected under both plans:

Two groups -- education and health & human services -- would see the biggest declines in spending. Of course, these are also the areas that consume the majority of the current budget.

For those curious, here's how the education cuts divide between public education and higher education:

As Star-Telegram Austin Bureau Chief Dave Montgomery recently reported, the cuts to public education could have a ripple effect. Austin Analyst Lynn Moak predicts the loss of 100,000 jobs in school districts across the state if the cuts are implemented.

And as Star-Telegram Reporter Alex Branch reported this week, advocates for the poor and the disabled say that cutting key safety net programs could end up costing more in the long-run that continuing to fund them. State budget proposals would cost Tarrant County's public hospital an estimated $8.5 million in annual Medicaid payments, while possibly steering more patients to the John Peter Smith Hospital emergency room and psychiatric ward, according to hospital officials.

Take a closer look at both graphs here and here.

-Aman Batheja

Michael Williams moving toward official Senate race announcement

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams plans to officially declare his candidacy in the 2012 Senate race during a Thursday breakfast-time interview with Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, according to his political consultant Corbin Casteel. 

Williams' entry into the race surprises virtually no one after he resigned from his post on the energy-regulating Railroad Commission last week.  One of the two other commission members, Elizabeth Ames Jones, also announced her candidacy in the Senate race this week. 

Other candidates are former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams of Fort Worth and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz.   Others eyeing the race are Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington. 

The political scramble began after U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced that he will not seek another term.

-- Dave Montgomery 

Another Senate candidate

After announcing last week that he was resigning from the Texas Railroad Commission in April, Arlington's Michael Williams is expected to formally declare Thursday morning that he's running for the U.S. Senate seat Kay Bailey Hutchison will be leaving in 2013.

His announcement will come as his colleague, fellow Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, is traveling around the state announcing her own candidacy for the Senate seat.

Former Secretary of State Roger Williams of Fort Worth and former Solicitor General Ted Cruz have declared they are candidates as well. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert are potential candidates.

Hutchison said earlier this month that she will not seek re-election to the Senate. Her term ends in January 2013.

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Lawmakers pay tribute to the American League Champions

Representatives of the Texas Rangers figurately took a bow in both Houses of the Legislature on Wednesday as lawmakers paid tribute to the 2010 American League champions for bringing "joy and excitement to the citizens of the Lone Star State."

On hand for the legislative welcome were legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan, the club president; manager Ron Washington and managing partner and CEO Chuck Greenburg.

Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, wore a white Texas Rangers jersey as she introduced the Rangers trio in the House of Representatives.  Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, led a round of tributes in the Senate. "Gentlemen," Harris said in closing, "Good luck, and get us another pennant,"

Resolutions in both chambers hailed the team's contributions to the state and its athletic achievements in advancing to the world series for the first time in team history.  Greenberg, Ryan, Washington and  general manager Jon Daniels "have established the franchise as a power to be reckoned with, and fans are looking forward to the 2011 season with great anticipation," said the House resolution.

-- Dave Montgomery

 

     

 

 

It may not have matched the ear-splitting roar that thundered through Rangers Ballpark when they clinched the American League championship, but the welcome was no less affectionate

DNC considered Cowboys Stadium for 2012 convention

The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau confirmed Tuesday that the Democratic National Committee briefly considered Arlington as a location for its 2012 convention. A DNC spokesman declined to comment.

The city ultimately did not make a bid for next year's event, but city leaders are working to make sure a political convention by either national party, perhaps in 2016, remains a possibility.

"We weren't in a position to go after that" for 2012, said Jay Burress, CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We want to be in position to be able to go after that event in the future."

One of the obstacles to a 2012 bid was that national political conventions aren't on the list of events eligible to receive funding from the state's Major Events Trust Fund. The comptroller has committed $31.2 million from the fund to the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee.

State Rep. Diane Patrick and state Sen. Chris Harris, both Arlington Republicans, have each filed a bill to add the national political conventions to the fund's list. The bill also adds the Academy of County Music Awards to the list, an event that Arlington has been openly trying to steal from Las Vegas for some time.

"The purpose of this bill is to expand opportunities for Arlington and other Texas cities to receive major events funding," Patrick said.

We've got more details on this in our story in today's paper.

-Aman Batheja

Davis recalls her experiences as a single mom in Voter ID debate

Long before she was a Harvard-educated attorney and a member of the state Senate, Wendy Davis was a divorced single mom who was holding down two jobs and raising a young daughter while attending Tarrant County Community College.

Davis recalled those experiences Tuesday as the Republican-controlled state Senate debated a controversial voter ID bill.  Like other Democrats, she contended that SB14 threatens to disenfranchise the indigent, minorities and elderly by requiring voters to show a photo identification in order to vote.

"There was a time when I was indigent," the Fort Worth lawmaker told Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horsehoe Bay, as they debated the merits of the legislation.  Had the law been in effect during her earlier days, Davis told Fraser, she "would have been quite challenged" in acquiring the documentation needed to exercise her right to vote.

Acceptable documents under the bill include a drivers license or personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety, a military identification card, a U.S. citizenship certficate and an unexpired passport.  Citing her own experiences when was holding down two jobs, Davis said many low-income Texans do not have the time to leave work and stand in long lines, nor do they have the money to purchase the required documents.

"For people who have to take off at work it can be a very real problem," Davis said as she stood beside a chart illustrating the cost of supporting documents. "I'm afraid we're going to wind up disenfranchising legal citizens...who are going to be denied the right to vote."

Fraser responded by recalling times during his youth when he picked potatoes in California and cotton in West Texas.  "I appreciate the story you just gave," he said. "There are a lot of people who can give (similar) stories."  Fraser said he, like "a lot of people,"  nevertheless found time to get a drivers license.

The debate stirred comparisons to an exchange between the two lawmakers over voter ID in 2009 when Fraser asked Davis to speak up because "I have trouble hearing women's's voices."  As she began Tuesday's discussion, Davis told Fraser:  "I was going to ask if you could hear me."

Davis said later that she wove the personal anecdote into the debate because "we have to talk about the real-world impact"  of legislation.

-- Dave Montgomery 

 

   

Rahm Emanuel might have had better luck in Texas

President Obama's famously foul-mouthed former chief of staff was probably cursing up a storm yesterday when he got kicked off the Chicago mayoral ballot because of residency requirements.

Emanuel would likely have had better luck running in Texas, if recent history is any guide.

Residency issues usually come up in a handful of Texas races every election season. Last year, it posed a problem for two candidates running to replace state Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, who resigned. The case that more closely hews to Emanuel's situation is the one related to Brian Birdwell, who ultimately replaced Averitt.

Texas law says state senate candidates have to live in the state for at least five years before running (that's 2005 for a candidate running in 2010). Birdwell returned to Texas around 2007 after living in Virginia while working for the Pentagon.

Birdwell said that he was in Virginia as part of his military service and that that didn't count as being a resident of the state. The campaign of former state Sen. David Sibley, one of Birdwell's opponents last year, pointed to documents including voting records that showed Birdwell voted in Virginia as a resident of the state as recently as 2006.

Birdwell insisted that he always maintained his legal residency in North Texas. In the end, a Democratic effort to get Texas courts to remove him from the ballot failed.

Emanuel's situation has some similarities. To run for mayor of Chicago, a candidate must have lived in the city for the year prior to the election. At issue is the two years Emanuel served in the Obama administration, which Emanuel has argued was in "service of the United States," and should be exempted as if he was serving in the military. 

While working in the White House, Emanuel kept his Chicago home and paid property taxes and voted in the city. But he also rented out his home and moved his family to Washington, D.C.

In a 2-1 ruling, an Illinois appellate court said Emanuel didn't meet the residency requirement. Emanuel has appealed the decision.

[Photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast]

-Aman Batheja