It's Raining, soon to Storm in Texas

Governor’s aides no-show, Appropriations delays vote again and Perry cites Japan disaster as a reason not to spend rainy day fund. Ha! Ha!, Mr. Governor, move to your own property and save us Texans 10,000.00 a month that we as Texans have been paying for almost 3 years. The Mansion fire is not our fault. If fingers are to be pointed, my finger would put the blame on your personal life. How can it be that with all the video and evidence present this case is unsolved. Is someome covering the truth to protect the little integrity you have left, which is not much. Texans, wake up and see things for what they are. Perry, cares nothing of the thousands of jobs that will be lost if he keeps fighting to keep the Rainy day fund intact.

Mr. Perry, it is raining all over Texas....Now is the time to tap into this fund to save the livelyhood of many Texans.

How about if we Played " It's Raining Men " by the Weather Girls, outside the Capitol. I am sure it would grab your attention, and maybe than you will save the thousands of jobs that at the mercy of your greed.

Tensions among the Republicans who lead state government continued to rise Monday as Gov. Rick Perry’s aides refused to appear before the most powerful committee in the Texas House.

The fact that Perry’s aides did not go to the Appropriations Committee as requested, and the fact that Appropriations has once again canceled this morning’s scheduled vote on taking money out of the rainy day fund, shows that we’re in something of a standoff over the rainy day fund. In fact, Appropriations has canceled its 7 a.m. meeting and its 8 a.m. meeting.

Perry continues to maintain publicly that a vote to use the fund in the current biennium should be a last alternative for lawmakers. So if House members vote now to use it, they are exposing themselves to the perception among voters that Perry’s is the more ideologically pure position.

But House leaders feel like they need to vote on using the fund now in order to keep the budget-writing process on track. And they really don’t seem to like that Perry has criticized their move toward using the fund, yet given them very few suggestions for actually cutting government in a way that would prevent them from accessing the fund to close the $4 billion shortfall in the biennium that ends in five and a half months.

“Unless we get agreement on (the rainy day fund bill) pretty soon, I think we effectively ensure a special session,” Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen , said in this morning’s story by the Statesman’s Kate Alexander.

Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said that the governor’s aides had testified for several hours last week and that Monday’s request was “last minute” and vague.

She added that Perry’s office remains “very engaged in the budget balancing process and will continue to work with lawmakers” on closing the current deficit.

Still, it probably didn’t help matters much that, while his aides were shunning Appropriations, Perry spoke directly to thousands of voters last night via a Texans for Fiscal Responsibility teleconference.

Perry wasn’t directly critical of lawmakers during the call. Still, he reiterated his position that using the rainy day fund for the current biennium should be a last resort (which is a shift from his earlier position that it should not be used at all). He called using the fund in the next biennium a “nonstarter.”

And, interestingly, he said lawmakers should protect the rainy day fund for a natural disaster. He twice mentioned the fund in connection with the devastation in Japan. “It is our insurance policy against a major natural disaster,” he said.

This natural-disaster argument against spending the rainy day fund is a rather new development. First time I heard it was when the Tea Party Advisory Committee came out against using any of the fund several weeks ago.

If the questioners on Perry’s call were any indication, his position is pretty popular among the Republican grass roots. One caller asked him to “not give into the education industry and let them have access to the rainy day fund.” Another thanked Perry for “holding the line on the budget.” Several callers expressed frustration with administrative bloat in school districts.

And when one caller asked about the economic impact of losing potentially 100,000 teachers (it’s actually 100,000 school employees), Perry said, “That is a wild and out of even close to proportion number,” and he reiterated his suggestion that school districts should cut back on administrators, not teachers.

Callers also asked about voter ID, replacing the property tax with a higher sales tax and the state’s stand on the Obama health care law (turns out Texas is against it).

• In my print column this morning, I talk about the practice of using most of the System Benefit Fund for something other than the System Benefit Fund: “Lawmakers set up the fund in the late 1990s as they deregulated the electric market. Texans in deregulated markets would pay a fee on their electric bills to give low-income Texans in those markets an electricity discount. The fee, about a dollar per month for customers, is still going strong. The discount? Not so much. Lawmakers have in recent years spent only some of the money on the electric discount, with the rest of it used to help balance the state budget. The fund is projected to have more than $750 million by the end of the current budget year, with only about $135 million going toward electric discounts.”

• From the Statesman’s Kate Alexander: “Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said legislators should consider a constitutional amendment that would clarify that an income tax could be assessed on corporations but not individuals. The objective would be to use the corporate income tax to replace the current franchise tax that is considered unfair by many businesses. … But House Ways and Means Chairman Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, has said he does not intend to look at a major revision of the business tax until the interim. Since all revenue bills must originate in the House, Hilderbran’s objection might kill the idea in its infancy.”

• From the Statesman’s Ben Wermund: “The group of senators tasked with finding $9.9 billion in Medicaid savings had an expanded workload dropped in their laps Monday. The Senate Finance Subcommittee for Medicaid is now in charge of cost-cutting all of the state’s Health and Human Services budget, said state Sen. Jane Nelson, the Flower Mound Republican who chairs the subcommittee. State Sen. Steve Ogden, the Bryan Republican who chairs the overall Senate Finance Committee, assigned the new responsibility. Nelson said the committee will meet all day every day this week — including Friday, if necessary — to ‘put something in the chairman’s hands by the end of the week.’”

• San Antonio Express-News: “The head of the Texas Democratic Party is demanding the resignation of Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Dan Ramos, accusing him of bigotry and creating chaos since his election a year ago. Citing complaints from local partisans, state Chairman Boyd Richie said Ramos should step aside so the party can ‘move forward with new, more unifying leadership.’ Richie rescinded a request to meet with Ramos, saying that would not be useful. Richie issued his statement Saturday, the day after a news blog posted comments by Ramos that disparaged gay and black Democrats.

• Wayne Slater: “California has had just about enough of Rick Perry and Texas triumphalism. … When Perry pokes fun at California, as he has done with some relish, it’s good politics in Texas. But the only thing that would be harder for him than winning California’s 55 electoral votes in the next presidential race would be actually selling the virtues of Texas to folks on the West Coast.”

• Dallas Morning News: “Texas has long lagged behind other states in its regulations to prevent harm to animals, advocates say, but that may be changing as lawmakers are considering dozens of proposals to strengthen protections. At least 30 bills have been offered, ranging from crackdowns on puppy mills and cockfighting to requiring the addition of a bitter agent to antifreeze. And most are nonpartisan issues that have united unlikely bedfellows on opposite sides of the political spectrum. … One of the highest-profile measures, an attempt to regulate large-scale commercial breeders, will be discussed by a House committee Tuesday.”

• Dallas Morning News: “Texas cities would face penalties for prohibiting police from asking people they stop about their immigration status, under a bill approved Monday by the House State Affairs Committee. Proponents, including Gov. Rick Perry, have struggled to name a ‘sanctuary city’ in Texas, but many lawmakers frustrated over illegal immigration have said that they want to send a message that the state will seek to deport those here illegally.”

• Texas Tribune: “Lobbyists spent more than $1.2 million in the first two months of 2011 trying to influence lawmakers and other officials, according to the latest ethics filings, which are now accessible in our new lobbying data application.”

“Vote on rainy day fund again delayed” Using the rainy-day fund to balance the current budget will do absolutely nothing to solve problems for the upcoming 2-year budget. Using the rainy-day fund now will result in claims it will be too small during the next 2 years and pleas for tax increases to replenish the fund. Reduce the redistribution of income / wealth in Texas … support individual freedom … cut spending … starting with the current budget. www.newsandopinions.net

Well Embry you managed to smear Perry once again in almost your entire blog. Your daily smear campaign gets a little boring. You are supposed to an political analyst yet you cannot see what Perry is really doing. Forcing the establishment to make cuts since he knows there is no political will to do so. He is bluffing in order to force futher cuts. You leftists under estimate the guy.

By the way instead of smearing Perry why dont you do some serious investigating into state spending yourself. I will just make it simple for you. For example how many assistant principals did your high school have when you went to high school? Mine had one. Now the same school has 4 assistant principals and the student enrollment is 1/3 less!!! Get the picture?

Community colleges have whole couselors doing little or nothing and secretaries doing little or nothing but since they have always had secretaries we just keep them. Ever heard of the computer and typing for yourself? “. When was the last time you had someone type for you down at the Austin American?

You have universities like the University of Texas paying teachers to teach classes with 5 students in them. Yes 5 students in an undergraduate class!!! Seems to me if you dont have enough student interest in the classes they should not be offered. You can no longer afford fluff. You put your university money where the students are not what academics think you should offer. If you dont give them any money they will have to cut. You cannot make local political leaders do the politically unpopular thing unless you force them.

Even in Austin faced with record deficits the Austin School board does not have the political will and refuses to close schools that have declining enrollment and whole wings of at one high school vacant. So what is Perry is doing is “tough love.” So Perry says. Dont give them any money then let the pig squeal until he is willing to fix the situation. .

I find it interesting that you finally dealt only today with the Ritchie story and the Bexar County Democratic party even though it has been all over leftist blogs all weekend. Trying to hide that story because it does not fit your agenda?

Perry’s lack of leadership is obvious! Let’s recall him, as California did with their governor not long ago.

Texans in deregulated electricity markets pay a fee on their bills to give low-income people in those markets a subsidy. The fund is projected to have more than $750 million by the end of the current budget year. This redistribution of income / wealth should be repealed. www.newsandopinions.net


“So if House members vote now to use it, they are exposing themselves to the perception among voters that Perry’s is the more ideologically pure position.”
“Ideologically pure”? Sounds like what we hear about how the communist party ran…

Oh wait, we’re talking about Perry and the republiCons, right? Never mind…

Just like the republiCons, putting their special interests over what’s good for the state. RepubliCons can not govern. They proved it with HalliBush, Inc. and with themselves for the past 13+ years in Texas…

The current legislative session is like the Black Friday sale after Thanksgiving… everybody (lobbyiest), running in to get what they can while the session, I mean, the sale is going on. Equally disorganized, too.


When the Republicans come up with numbers and actual decisions, I guess we’ll stand by it. Until you come up with something other than “greedy Democrats” and “wasteful spending” and “welfare parasites,” shut up. You and Perry aren’t saying anything, and that’s what everyone’s mad about, not that there are cuts. We KNOW there will be cuts. Where? How much? How will we minimize the damage. Grow some freakin’ cojones and make a decision, and stop trying to politically shove it on someone else’s shoulders so that Republicans can just point and squeal. You’ve made no decisions, just accusations, and until you do, don’t get mad that people expect decisions and not vitriol.


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