Super Bowl host committee reimbursing NFL nearly $10 million for ticket tax

The North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee will spend nearly $10 million — one-quarter of its $40 million in anticipated expenses — to cover the admissions tax on game tickets, in effect allowing the NFL to keep money that would otherwise pay the tax. In its Super Bowl bid specifications, the NFL requires that it pay no sales or ticket taxes on game tickets.
...
The Dallas Morning News obtained a copy of the North Texas host committee’s agreement with the league through an open records request to the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
Jacobson: http://dallasne.ws/gfmXuD

Shapiro: 'Stars out of alignment' for schools

[Sen. Florence Shapiro] ticked off reasons why the Senate's initial budget gives public schools $9.3 billion less than they're entitled to under current funding formulas: The state has no money to replace $3.3 billion of federal stimulus money it gave the schools last session. It has no money for the $2.2 billion schools will need to cover projected growth in student enrollment. Nor does the state have $2 billion to offset school districts' loss of tax revenue from a decline in property values, though under current law it's supposed to do that. And so on. [Sen. Florence Shapiro]
http://dallasne.ws/gjpOzn

Hispanic surge, metro area growth could reshape Texas’ political future

The 2010 census shows sharp population growth in Texas from 2000 — almost 4.5 million people, the greatest increase in the nation.

But according to Murdock, 90 percent of that growth comes from just five areas: Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston, San Antonio, Austin and the Rio Grande Valley.

Over the same period, 2000 to 2010, 119 Texas counties lost population, most of them in rural West Texas and the Panhandle.
Michael Young reports:  http://dallasne.ws/gtOEMK

Canadian company’s plans for Port Arthur pipeline spark concerns among Texans

...a Canadian company, TransCanada Corp., came forward with a plan to build a 1,700-mile pipeline to carry heavy, high-pollutant oil from the tar sands under the boreal forests of northern Alberta across the American heartland, through scenic ranchlands in the piney woods of East Texas and on to refineries near Houston and Port Arthur.
http://dallasne.ws/fdAbCz

Settlement reached in lawsuit against billionaire homebuilder Bob Perry

AUSTIN — After a 10-year legal battle, a Mansfield couple who challenged billionaire homebuilder Bob Perry over a defective house have reached a settlement.

“We’re thrilled,” said homeowner Bob Cull, 73, whose case focused attention on how construction disputes can last years without resolution and raised questions about the possible influence of big-dollar campaign contributions.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Slater: http://dallasne.ws/dL0q8u

Texas slips in per-pupil education spending among states

AUSTIN — Texas has dropped sharply below the national average in per-pupil spending over the past decade, a new comparison shows, and could plummet further as lawmakers consider changes that would deprive schools of up to $5 billion a year.

The comparison by the National Education Association, a teachers group — based on figures furnished by state education agencies — indicated that in the 2009-10 school year, Texas spent $9,227 per student, a figure that’s $1,359 below the national average.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/hfGW7i

State budget cuts may mean hundreds of nursing homes close, industry warns

AUSTIN — Hundreds of nursing homes, including dozens in Dallas-Fort Worth, may close if lawmakers cut Medicaid as leaders propose, industry officials said Thursday. Since last week, GOP leaders have introduced budgets in both chambers that would reduce by one-third the state’s budget for its 56,000 nursing home residents on Medicaid. Two-year spending would sink to $2.8 billion, from $4.2 billion.

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/eHR3JU

Tea party adherents hail the 'Texas 15'

Here's a new Internet video from Women on the Wall and several other conservative and tea party groups. It thanks the 15 House members who voted against Joe Straus' re-election as House speaker on Jan. 11. Straus, R-San Antonio, won a second term, 132-15. Eight of the dissenters are from North Texas.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fGpC6K

Tea party adherents hail the 'Texas 15'

Here's a new Internet video from Women on the Wall  and several other conservative and tea party groups. It thanks the 15 House members who voted against Joe Straus' re-election as House speaker on Jan. 11. Straus, R-San Antonio, won a second term, 132-15. Eight of the dissenters are from North Texas.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fGpC6K

Rick Perry defends fast-tracking Tea Party issues

Rick Perry  today dismissed critics who've questioned why he put tea party issues on "emergency" status for fast-track consideration while the Legislature's big issue is a whopping budget shortfall. The Republican governor has made voter-id, sanctuary cities, private property rights, anti-abortion legislation and a federal balanced budget amendment to the Constitution "emergency" issues.
Slater: http://dallasne.ws/heM0N8

Senate budget chief puts Medicaid, schools on chopping block

AUSTIN — Texas must overhaul current laws on Medicaid and public schools to slash spending on health and education and avoid broad tax increases, the Senate’s chief budget writer said Wednesday. The state also must cut certain medical services now enjoyed by poor adults and hope for help from Washington to eliminate a $6 billion funding gap in Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for the poor, said Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan.
Garrett interviews Sen. Ogden, R-Bryan: http://dallasne.ws/i2fTdE

Texas Senate passes GOP-backed voter ID bill

AUSTIN — With a strong push from Republicans and over the vigorous objections of Democrats, the Senate on Wednesday approved legislation requiring all but elderly Texans to show a photo ID before voting. Most of the proposed amendments to the bill — offered by Democrats — were rejected during several hours of debate Wednesday, but one change found bipartisan support. That added a state concealed handgun license to the list of photo IDs that would meet the requirement of the legislation.
http://dallasne.ws/go2SCY

TxDOT chief executive Amadeo Saenz to resign

Texas Department of Transportation executive director Amadeo Saenz resigned today, just weeks after a hand-picked panel of advisors urged his bosses to make leadership changes at the highest levels. He will remain in his spot, however, until Aug. 31. Saenz, who has been chief executive of the 12,000-employee agency since 2007, is the first hispanic to lead the department, which is famous for its tradition of hiring from within. Saenz joined the department 33 years ago in Pharr District.
http://dallasne.ws/icLyVY

Rangers' front office hailed by House

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington , managing partner and CEO Chuck Greenberg and part owner and president Nolan Ryan  are the city of Arlington's key attraction today: It's Arlington Day at the state Capitol.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/hlbMtt

Texas Gov. Rick Perry defends fast-tracked items, says lawmakers can multitask

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry dismissed complaints Tuesday that he’s focused on the wrong subjects at the start of the new Legislature, saying lawmakers know how to multitask. Perry has listed several issues as emergency items, including an end to sanctuary cities, a resolution supporting a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution and a voter identification law. Emergency status means lawmakers can act on the items sooner.
Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/gQRbDc

Texas Senate nears approval of voter ID bill

AUSTIN — Senate Republicans moved closer Tuesday to passage of a bill that would for the first time require Texans to show a photo ID before voting, while Democrats tried to build a case to challenge the measure if it becomes law. Acting just days after Gov. Rick Perry declared the issue a state emergency, the GOP majority in the Senate gave preliminary approval to voter ID legislation, arguing that elections must be protected against fraud and that most Texans support the idea of verifying every voter’s identity.

http://dallasne.ws/h9wMIz

Democrats in Texas Senate challenge voter ID bill

AUSTIN – Senate Democrats on Tuesday attacked a GOP-backed voter ID bill as too harsh and said it will make it more difficult for many Texans to vote. While the Democrats had little hope of preventing approval of the measure, their criticism could resurface if the law is challenged under the federal Voting Rights Act. But sponsors of the legislation noted that the measure is patterned after an Indiana  law that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/eo1EBD

Senate offers deep spending cuts, proposes siphoning Perry’s jobs fund

AUSTIN — Senate GOP leaders on Monday introduced a two-year budget cutting deeply into public schools, college students’ financial aid and health care providers. In the bill’s fine print were signs of a possible jobs-program tussle between the state’s top two elected leaders. Despite minor shifts, the Senate’s $158.7 billion, two-year budget closely tracks the approach taken by House Republican leaders last week, closing a vast budget gap with cuts and no use of state rainy-day fund money. Spending of state and federal funds would decrease by $28.8 billion. The House plan reduced that spending by $31.1 billion.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fTJzne

Texas House Republicans act to avert Democrats’ stalling tactics

AUSTIN — The House’s GOP supermajority flexed its muscles Monday by passing a rule designed to prevent a talk-a-thon on members’ local bills. Last session, Democrats killed a Senate-passed voter ID bill by “chubbing,” stalling action on bills on the local and consent calendar. Keeping members tied up on those measures prevented consideration of voter ID — and other major bills — during the traditional late-May crush of business.
Garrett:  http://dallasne.ws/f0ejkK

Group: Texas stiffs kids -- and culprit is lack of will, not immigration

If you love regression analysis -- statisticians' way of testing relationships between variable factors -- you may want to check out probably the most controversial statement in a report released today on Texas youngsters' well-being, or lack thereof. "Inadequate state funding drives the state's poor outcomes for children -- immigrants do not," says a press release from Texans Care for Children, trumpeting "A Report on the Bottom Line: Conditions for Children and the Texas of Tomorrow."
Garrett reports http://dallasne.ws/fnR4xB

Amnesty offered to 650,000 Texas drivers who owe surcharges for violations

AUSTIN — Nearly 650,000 Texans who haven’t paid surcharge penalties for drunken driving, no insurance and other violations are being offered a one-time amnesty by the state. Signaling what may be the end of the troubled Driver Responsibility Program, motorists who owe surcharges of $750 to $3,000 — even more for multiple offenses — can apply to have most of the fees forgiven and their suspended licenses reinstated within a few days.
http://dallasne.ws/fHdEnc

Senate's all cuts budget very similar to House's

Senate GOP leaders have unveiled their budget, which like the House's assumes no tax increases and no use of state rainy-day money. The Senate budget cuts spending of state and federal money by $28.8 billion over the next two years -- compared with the $31.2 billion decrese in the House plan filed last week.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/eHFlEj

See a copy of their budget here: http://dallasne.ws/h496A2

Possible Texas mental health cuts raise concern after Arizona shooting

Texas already ranks 49th in the nation in spending on mental health care and now faces steep cuts because of a budget shortfall of up to $27 billion. The potential reductions come at a time of heightened concern about the mental health system nationwide after the shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., where six people were killed and 13 injured. The man accused in the attack had a history of erratic behavior and had been asked to get a mental health evaluation.
Kim Horner: http://dallasne.ws/i5yO0o

Q&A with Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst; Sen. John Carona of Dallas calls Dewhurst a 'statesman' but warns efforts may be futile

Lindenberger:

Last Tuesday, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (at right, courtesy of the AP) sat down for an interview in his grand, second-floor office in the Capitol. It was a few hours after he had taken the oath of office for a third term for what many say is at least the second most powerful office in Texas, and some argue, given its role in leading the Senate, is the first. We have a page one story for Monday's paper about his ideas, and a full transcript of the chat is available on the jump below.
http://bit.ly/gxAbma

Today's page one story:

Lt.
Gov. David Dewhurst to push Texas lawmakers to consider fee hike to pay for
roads

http://bit.ly/ebharO

Cowboys' old tormentors, Steelers, Pack, coming to Super Bowl

No, it isn’t a ruse, Cowboys fans. Old tormentors Pittsburgh  and Green Bay   are in fact coming to Cowboys Stadium to play in North Texas’ first Super Bowl. Nationally, Super Bowl XLV will be touted as a clash of traditional NFL powers that represent smaller blue-collar cities, yet have deeply devoted national followings. But older-generation Cowboys fans will have trouble viewing the Feb. 6 matchup without recalling how the Packers in the late 1960s and the Steelers in the ’70s bedeviled the Dallas franchise.
Brad Townsend http://bit.ly/hAU8TL

Three Texas lawmakers will discuss triumphs, setbacks as the congressional session unfolds

Three Texas lawmakers who illustrate the political crosscurrents have agreed
to discuss their triumphs, setbacks and efforts in depth in coming months, to
offer texture beyond the typical rhetoric emanating from the Capitol.

A series from Gillman in our DC Bureau we'll be following: http://dallasne.ws/e8L66v

What would veteran lawmakers do about Texas’ budget deficit?

AUSTIN — State GOP leaders say drastic cuts are the only way out of Texas’ unprecedented budget hole. And, they say, cries of Armageddon from dissenters are overly dramatic. But veterans who have been through the state budget trenches say that each decrease is a hill sure to be fought over and that the end of the session provides no assured victory. Four former high-ranking state officials, two Republicans and two Democrats, say this year’s fiscal mess is so severe that many treasured services and institutions will suffer.

Garrett asks 4 old pros. Hoppe assisted. http://dallasne.ws/hhIE3b

Texas Forensic Science Commission discussing Cameron Todd Willingham case today

AUSTIN, Texas — The disputed case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of the arson deaths of his three small children and executed, returns to the Texas Forensic Science Commission. The panel Friday is considering testimony it heard earlier this month from experts who differed on whether the investigation of the 1991 fire in Corsicana was botched. The commission also is to order a report written about the case.
Michael Graczyk (AP) reports. http://dallasne.ws/e0SSYv

Texas adds 20,000 jobs in December, but unemployment rate still rises

Texas employers expanded payrolls by 20,000 jobs in December, but the state unemployment rate edged up to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent the month before, the Texas
Workforce Commission said Friday.

Brendan Case has the story: http://dallasne.ws/hIfzdW

With Medicaid cuts, everyone could pay more for health care

Local hospitals facing a possible 10 percent cut in Medicaid fees plan to pressure commercial health insurers for better rates, which could drive up costs for everyone. Texas House Republicans unveiled a budget this week that takes aim at Medicaid, the state’s second-largest program, behind public education.
Jason Roberson reports: http://dallasne.ws/gp7cg1

Perry replaces technology fund adviser who was subject of Rangers investigation

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry has replaced an original member of the Emerging Technology Fund’s advisory committee who was a subject last year of a Texas Rangers investigation into a stock deal with the tech fund’s former director. Perry on Wednesday reappointed six members and released the names of four new appointees, with Austin businessman Robert S. Hicks taking the seat held by William E. Morrow on the 17-member panel. The committee makes recommendations to the governor, lieutenant governor and House Speaker on which start-up technology projects should be funded with taxpayers’ dollars.

Jim Drew reports: http://dallasne.ws/iep4vC

Fort Worth gas drilling firm denies contaminating Parker County homeowner’s drinking water

AUSTIN — A Fort Worth natural gas drilling company that the Environmental Protection Agency blames for making drinking water in southern Parker County smelly, bubbly and flammable defended itself before Texas regulators Wednesday. Lawyers and experts for Range Production Co. told two Texas Railroad Commission hearing examiners that its investigation proves that its gas wells played no role in the contamination of homeowner Steven Lipsky’s drinking water well.
Loftis reports: http://dallasne.ws/eMhXrO

House budget plan puts Texas in reverse, stalls progress, critics say

AUSTIN — Outraged groups — from doctors and health executives to teachers,
the elderly, advocates for abused children and even some Republicans — ripped
the proposed House budget Wednesday, saying it would send the state
backward.
http://dallasne.ws/f5dFFW

Legislative Study Group

Straight from the Texas House of Representatives' Legislative Study Group:
TEXAS HOUSE BUDGET PRIMER
(this is a .pdf): http://dallasne.ws/eDAY8s

Texas Longhorns to announce $300 million deal with ESPN for Longhorn TV network

Texas officials have scheduled a news conference for this afternoon in Austin to announce a 20-year, $300 million agreement with ESPN to create a 24-hour network that will carry Longhorn sports programming and some non-athletics related content. Discussions have been ongoing for months and the ability for the school to create its own programming network proved pivotal in Texas’ decision to remain in the Big 12 last June, when conference rivals Colorado  and Nebraska announced plans to join other leagues, effective in the 2011-12 school year.
By Jimmy Burch / Special Contributor  http://dallasne.ws/gQO47N

Senate GOP majority advances voter ID plan, dismisses Democrats’ criticism

AUSTIN — The Republican majority in the Texas Senate  on Wednesday pushed through a plan that would clear the way for approval of a hotly contested voter ID bill this year, dismissing objections by Democrats that it unfairly targets certain groups of voters. The proposal carves out a special exemption in Senate rules for the voter ID legislation, making it impossible for Democrats to block the measure
Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/fvwYUa

Republican lawmakers balk at budget cuts that would close some Texas junior colleges

AUSTIN — House GOP leaders’ deep-cutting budget plan drew immediate howls Wednesday from fellow Republicans angered by a proposal to close four community college districts.
“Why would we ever have a staff recommendation as a starting point that creates a headline that says Brazosport College would be closed?” Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, said during an explanation of the budget on the House floor.

http://dallasne.ws/hzaWbu

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s inaugural celebration short on pomp

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, danced among invited guests and state officials Tuesday at his inauguration’s evening celebration sans a fancy meal and elaborate decorations. About 3,000 guests, wearing a mix of business suits, sequined cocktail dresses and cowboy hats and boots, nibbled on appetizers such as bite-size chocolate mousse and cakes, cantaloupe and chocolate-covered pretzels as they swayed to the music of country singers such as Bonnie Bishop, Eli Young Band, Pat Green  and Clay Walker.
http://dallasne.ws/gA4l2e

Rep. Jim Pitts on the budget

I had to run over to the Capitol this morning to bring reporter Bob Garrett a couple of things. Rep. Jim Pitts, appropriations chair, was delivering grim details of the initial proposed budget. I couldn't stay for long--Internet problems back at the bureau--but I lingered for a few minutes as he outlined deep and nearly across-the-board cuts (border security alone was considered sacrosanct). 

I'm learning to take pictures and videos over there, so I took the opportunity to practice:

My gear is strictly non professional: a little point and shoot from Nikon and an Aiptek video camera. The light's tough in there, and using a flash is strictly prohibited, so it seems like my best choice for stills is to rip them off video. That's Rep. Pitts, zoomed into 5x, ripped from the HD video using freeware from VLC...

As Republicans party, Democrats lament and ponder challenges in reversing GOP domination

AUSTIN — Rick Perry took the oath of office Tuesday in between a prayer breakfast, barbecue lunch, semi-lavish ball and numerous side shindigs. Absent from the party were Democrats , whose grand plans for 2011 were overwhelmed by a Republican wave that kept Perry in office and gave the GOP its biggest majority in the Texas House in history. As they watched Perry and Republicans celebrate their victories and chart the course for Texas, Democrats were mindful of their challenges and watchful of their rivals — even if it was from afar.
 “While Rick Perry is celebrating his inauguration at his $2 million party, the desperate budget crisis will be laid out in black and white,” said Kirsten Gray, spokeswoman for the Texas Democratic Party. “Republicans can no longer ignore the budget reality that faces Texas.”

Gromer Jeffers reports: http://dallasne.ws/gMwt3D

Perry replenishes coffers with late money

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/gAOyOw

Public schools, college students, Medicaid hammered in Texas House budget plan

AUSTIN — Texas would slash support for public schools, cut at least 60,000
college students from financial aid and decrease Medicaid fees by 10 percent to
doctors, nursing homes and hospitals under a budget plan that House leaders
unveiled late Tuesday.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/gBabfO

Texas House to unveil deep cuts, balance budget without tax increases

AUSTIN — House leaders are expected to unveil a Texas budget today that erases a huge revenue shortfall with deep spending cuts for schools, college scholarships, social services and the state payroll. The two-year budget proposal will offer the first real glimpse of where the pain will fall.
http://dallasne.ws/edfrCq

Dallas' Elm Street taking a new direction

...the city is planning a new streetscape to make Elm Street in Deep Ellum an attractive two-lane road with two-way traffic instead of one way toward downtown. The aim is to slow it down, make it pedestrian- and bike-friendly and draw more business.
The project — funded through $6 million approved in a 2006 city bond program — is in the conceptual design stage and has a number of steps to go before the first jackhammer hits the pavement.
Nancy Visser reports: http://dallasne.ws/gvBst7

Gov. Rick Perry calls Texas 'a beacon of opportunity' in inaugural speech

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry took his unprecedented fourth oath of office on Tuesday overshadowed by
the state’s equally unprecedented budget challenge, but promising that Texas can show the nation how to set priorities and limit government.Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/fCa6AtTranscription of Perry's speech: http://dallasne.ws/eyVpNw

Perry hobnobs with big-dollar donors before inauguration

The corporate interests bankrolling Gov. Rick Perry's inauguration today have plenty of business before the state -- energy companies facing regulation over "fracking," beer distributors and utilities regulated by the state, companies facing possible changes in the business tax. Before Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst take their oath of office publicly today, they had some private time Monday night with major underwriters giving as much as $100,000 to fund the festivities, as we reported today. Follow the link for a full list of underwriters:

http://dallasne.ws/ew9xsr Slater reports.

In inaugural address, Rick Perry’s vision may be bigger than Texas

But one thing is certain: In his third inaugural address, Perry is likely to sketch a vision intended for more than just the eyes of Texas.


Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/g6FUS0

"He had a lot of stuff that Perry probably doesn’t have — I call it being a
member of the Lucky Sperm Club,” Chisum said.

Lawmakers allowed to tap into unused funds

Lawmakers have for years used a widely overlooked provision that lets them carry over unspent funds from one budget cycle to another, even though almost all other departments must return unused money to the state. It means they have millions of leftover dollars that don’t always appear in the new appropriations bill passed each session, rankling advocates of state programs that have been squeezed because of mandatory spending cuts.

In case you missed it (the old link hasn't been working with our revamped website), Garrett and Shannon filed this report on Sunday:
http://dallasne.ws/h7jgNv

Learn about the new dallasnews.com

Welcome to the next generation of dallasnews.com, brought to you by The Dallas Morning News, your best local resource for news, sports, business and lifestyles in Dallas. In response to your many helpful suggestions, our new look features a simplified design, better navigational access to our unique staff-written content and more emphasis on breaking news and photos.
Here are some of the features you’ll find in the site:
http://dallasne.ws/gfEOhd

 

Texas agency says new health care law will help families get coverage

Even as Texas leaders rail against the national health care law and call for its repeal, the state Department of Insurance has issued a report that says the law will make it easier for many Texas families to get health coverage. The report also helps make the case that the current system is not working, as the number of Texans with health coverage through their employers has dropped nearly 18 percent in the last eight years.

More on this story

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/f1A1Lw

Step right up to the Fraud Museum in Austin for memorabilia from Bernie Madoff, Enron and Ivan Boesky

AUSTIN – It's a hall of fame for the infamous – a collection of artifacts from con men, large and small, who swindled, stole and cheated to get everything from bread money to billions. The Fraud Museum, an exhibit in an Austin office building, contains a Bernard Madoff   engraved cigar box, given to clients as tokens of his appreciation; now-worthless stock certificates from Enron, WorldCom and Adelphia; and a canceled 1975 check from inside-trader Ivan Boesky.
Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/h9pHgG

Many Dallas athletes' charities fall short of the goal, experts say

A Dallas Morning News review of tax records for 22 local sports-driven nonprofits found a series of shortcomings among some of the charities. Some spent more on overhead than on charity. Others collected contributions but sat dormant. Still others squirreled funds away for years.
1st of 2 parts. Farwell reports: http://dallasne.ws/h3U6lV

Provision allows Texas lawmakers to tap into unspent budget money

Lawmakers have for years used a widely overlooked provision that lets them carry over unspent funds from one budget cycle to another, even though almost all other departments must return unused money to the state. It means they have millions of leftover dollars that don't always appear in the new appropriations bill passed each session, rankling advocates of state programs that have been squeezed because of mandatory spending cuts.
Bob Garrett and Kelley Shannon report:  http://dallasne.ws/fSU030

EPA says Dallas-Fort Worth a 'serious' violator of air-quality standards

The Dallas-Fort Worth area has long been among the most traffic-congested metro areas in America, and come Tuesday it will be recognized by the federal government as having some of the most polluted air as well. The region will be considered under federal law a "serious" violator of air-quality standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a designation that will put it among the worst-offending metro areas in the country.
http://dallasne.ws/gnmF6j

8,000 state jobs cut in first draft of new Texas budget

AUSTIN – The first draft of Texas' new budget will eliminate about 8,000 state jobs and stay within available revenue, which is almost $8 billion lower than the last budget, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Thursday.

The initial "bill is not going to be pretty; it never is," he said. The Texas House is expected to make the bill public Tuesday.

Chris Tomlinson, The Associated Press:  http://dallasne.ws/eLcdDV

Would-be successors kick into high gear after Sen. Hutchison's announcement that she won't run again

Senate seats without an incumbent are a huge draw, and Republicans will be swarming for this one, as Texas is a reliably red state in which their party holds every statewide office.


Slater: http://dallasne.ws/f1GIz8

'It's time for a new person,' U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says

Kay Bailey Hutchison  said today that she will not seek another term in the U.S. Senate. "I have known since 2006 that I wouldn't seek another term," the senator said in a telephone interview. "I wanted to announce it on my own terms and in my own way
Gromer Jeffers reports: http://dallasne.ws/dX5AwA

Kay Bailey Hutchison not seeking re-election to US Senate.

Details to follow.

Texas House bill would create state-run health insurance exchange

AUSTIN – A key House GOP health policy writer has filed legislation to create a state-run health insurance exchange in Texas. A bill by Rep. John Zerwas, R-Katy, would create a Texas Health Insurance Connector, or simplified insurance market. It would serve as the state's insurance exchange as required under the federal health overhaul passed last year, Zerwas said Thursday.


Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/g2IYN7

Sunset panel votes to replace Texas Transportation Commission with single chief

Gov. Rick Perry could gain even tighter control over the Texas Department of Transportation under a series of proposals approved Wednesday by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. The panel voted 7-5 to abolish the five-member Texas Transportation Commission and place the department under the authority of a single statewide commissioner.

Lindenberger, with an assist from Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/gbPLRw

Sunset panel calls for big changes at Texas Railroad Commission and Texas Youth Commission

AUSTIN – The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission recommended fundamental changes to two high-profile agencies on Tuesday, suggesting that reforms to the troubled Texas Youth Commission haven't worked and that the oil- and gas-regulating Railroad Commission must modernize.



Souder and Mulvaney:  http://dallasne.ws/eGsQ4H

Proposed changes to Texas environmental agency rejected by state sunset panel

Several proposals aimed at changing Texas’ environmental agency were rejected late this afternoon by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, including placing the agency under an elected chief instead of the current appointees. By a 10-2 vote, the Sunset Commission, which periodically reviews state agencies’ performance, denied the environmental management shift, proposed by commission member Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas.

Randy Lee Loftis: http://dallasne.ws/gHS0pI

Texas loses another round in fight over EPA regulation of greenhouse gases

WASHINGTON – Texas lost a third round Wednesday in its legal fight to halt federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Texas had asked the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to block a program that awards construction permits to major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, such as cement kilns and oil refineries. Every other state has begun the permit program or allowed EPA to award permits for them.

Dave Michaels reports: http://dallasne.ws/dJlGyk

Sales tax receipts up 9.4 percent last month

Texas sales tax receipts for December were $1.81 billion, up 9.4 percent over the same month a year earlier, Comptroller Susan Combs announced today.


Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/dK5Qp8

Legislature briefs

Amid the family, supporters and yellow roses that filled the Capitol on Tuesday's opening day, there also were quips, observations and a pervading sense of gathering storm clouds in the form of deep budget cuts. Here's a sampling fromChristy Hoppe and Terrence Stutz:
http://dallasne.ws/fFv0Yy

Exoneree Cornelius Dupree urges reforms of system that imprisoned him 30 years

AUSTIN – Only a week after his exoneration, Cornelius Dupree came to the Capitol to urge changes in what he called a failed system that sent him to prison for 30 years for a crime he did not commit.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/hOTndw

Resurgent GOP charts rightward course as Texas Legislature begins

AUSTIN – The Legislature began its work Tuesday with a decidedly Republican look and signs of a rightward lurch. With a slew of newcomers, the GOP has enhanced clout. Influenced by the tea party and an overwhelming House majority, Republicans are poised to cut the budget deeply and push for long-stalled measures on voter identification, immigration, abortion and property rights.

Garrett and Stutz (and Hoppe and Mulvaney): http://dallasne.ws/gwmSBj

Tea party rally focuses on passing conservative agenda

AUSTIN — Having lost the first skirmish of the legislative session, the tea
party stood shivering Tuesday on the Capitol’s south steps to learn what’s next.
http://dallasne.ws/fLAcTA

Rep. Joe Straus formally re-elected as Texas House speaker

AUSTIN — Texas House Speaker Joe Straus won a second term in a lopsided election this afternoon. Straus, a San Antonio Republican, was chosen as speaker by a vote of 132-15, after his last GOP opponent, Rep. Ken Paxton of McKinney, said he wouldn’t permit his name to be placed in nomination.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/hnQAnL

Sen. Ogden calls for major changes in school funding, Medicaid

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, the new Senate president pro tempore, used his election to that post Tuesday to lay out to fellow senators some of their primary tasks in tackling a massive revenue shortfall that is expected to dominate this year's legislative session. Ogden said a solution to the bleak budget picture is within reach, but will require tough decisions in such areas as education and health care.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/hVFcDA

Farrar: Dems fended off anti-Straus folks

House Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Jessica Farrar of Houston just said her Democratic colleagues deserve credit for fending off tea party adherents who wanted to dethrone Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio.

Garrett's got it covered: http://dallasne.ws/e0zzx2

Straus says 'no place' in House for foes' tactics

Read what Straus said here:
Garrett:  http://dallasne.ws/dMC3zW

Anti-Straus votes cast by 8 North Texas Rs

In the speaker's election just concluded, these eight Republican  House members from Dallas-Fort Worth voted "nay" on the re-election of incumbent Joe Straus:

Cindy Burkett, R-Mesquite
Dan Flynn, R-Van
Phil King, R-Weatherford
Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker
Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound
Ken Paxton, R-McKinney
Van Taylor, R-Plano
Bill Zedler, R-Fort Worth

http://dallasne.ws/giKnRi

Dallas tea party leader goes the distance for her cause

AUSTIN – Dallas-area tea party leader Lorie Medina drove over icy roads for five hours on Monday to get to Austin to join about 300 like-minded individuals in showing Republican leaders they want a more conservative House speaker than Rep. Joe Straus. Once there, she joined fellow tea party members from across Texas in a hospitality room of a downtown hotel to plot strategy for their efforts to persuade members of the Republican House caucus to choose Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, as speaker.
Mulvaney follows a tea party leader and writes this profile: http://dallasne.ws/hjlgS9

Will Tom DeLay go to prison? Don't count on it

Everybody knows that Tom DeLay was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday for money laundering. But what are the chances he'll actually see the inside of a jail cell? A defiant DeLay vowed to beat sentence  on appeal. None other than the judge in the case -- Senior Judge Pat Priest -- raised the possibility that he might.

Slater: http://dallasne.ws/gIf75m

Nonbinding vote by GOP caucus favors San Antonio Rep. Joe Straus to continue as Texas House speaker

AUSTIN – House Republicans rebuffed outsiders and stuck by Speaker Joe Straus on Monday. In a resounding vote of confidence, 70 of 100 Republicans at an unusual party caucus stood in support of Straus, defying tea party activists who say Straus isn't conservative enough. Garrett and Hoppe sum up yesterday's action:
Garrett and Hoppe sum up yesterday's action: http://dallasne.ws/dGaXrQ

Oops, not so fast, Ken! Chisum for Straus

Contrary to a news release last night by Rep. Ken Paxton, his fellow Straus challenger Warren Chisum is not voting for Paxton today -- but for Straus, according to a statement just issued by Chisum's office.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/hCG4E0

Perry: Texas budget cuts likely 'across the board'

As the Legislature convenes today facing a $15 billion hole – or about a 20 percent cut in current state spending – Perry told The Dallas Morning News in an interview that reductions probably "will be across the board," including health care, services for the mentally ill, higher education, prisons and public safety.


Hoppe reports: http://dallasne.ws/gqzw3H

Paxton not backing out of speaker's race

Collin County legislator Ken Paxton says he won't bow out of Tuesday's formal vote on a new speaker, despite a resounding show of support for incumbent Speaker Joe Straus in an unusual meeting this afternoon of the House Republican Caucus.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/dUfiTV

Texas is now a coal state

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said Monday coal-fired power plants generated 39.2 percent of the power used in the Texas grid last year, up from 36.6 percent in 2009. And the state got 38.2 percent of its juice from natural gas last year, down nearly 4 percentage points.


Elizabeth Souder reports: http://dallasne.ws/hk5cWy

Tea Party handed out Wet Wipes for Republicans to "wash their hands" of a bad decision

Many Tea Partiers, who waited in great anticipation to hear the results coming from the Republican caucus meeting, did not give up the fight even after hearing Rep. Joe Straus came out ahead over their preferred candidate.

Mulvaney was there: http://dallasne.ws/fn8ctk

San Antonio Rep. Joe Straus wins another term as Texas House speaker

Seventy of the chamber's 100 Republicans stood in support of Straus in a closed door session, said Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, the GOP caucus chairman. Hoppe reports: http://dallasne.ws/dGaXrQ

Tom DeLay gets three years in prison on money laundering, conspiracy charges

AP: AUSTIN – A judge ordered U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to serve three years in prison Monday for his role in a scheme to illegally funnel corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.
http://dallasne.ws/fT9kSg

Texas comptroller projects $72.2 billion available for 2012-13 budget years

Combs said in her official revenue estimate that Texas will have $72.2 billion of state funds to spend in the next two years – down about $5 billion from the forecast she issued just before the last legislative session.
Combs doggedly declined to guess how big a revenue shortfall the 82nd Texas Legislature, which convenes tomorrow, will face.

"We don't do estimates of spending," she said. "We do estimates of revenue."
Garrett:  http://dallasne.ws/fs1iBC

3 GOP leaders of Texas will need 'True Grit' in legislative session

AUSTIN – Like the characters of  True Grit , Texas' three Republican leaders must ride this legislative session through unforgiving terrain, crowded with political infighting, immigration bills and the terrifying, snake-infested hole of the state budget.

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/hFoBXg

Poll says Texans like Rick Perry as governor, but not as president

Although Perry, a Republican , has emerged as a tea party favorite and national voice on states rights, nearly two-thirds of Texas voters oppose a bid for the White House.
Slater reports: http://dallasne.ws/fyaGxU

No way to fix Texas' budget problem without displeasing many, poll by The News shows

AUSTIN – Texans not only don't want new taxes but they also strongly oppose substantial cuts to education and other programs that siphon most of the state's dollars, a new poll shows just days before the next legislative session.
Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/fUIWwf

Sen. Florence Shapiro: No fee increase for TxDOT till it 'gets its house in order'

Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano , said Sunday morning that she will not support a plan floated last week by Sen. Tommy Williams that would raise vehicle registration fees by as much as $50 a year to provide more money to build highways in Texas.
"TxDOT is in pretty bad shape," said Shapiro, who was a guest on Channel 8's political roundtable this morning with WFAA reporter Brett Shipp and Dallas Morning News political writer Gromer Jeffers. "There is a sincere lack of trust and there are many legislators who want to see them get their house in order first."


Lindenberger reports: http://dallasne.ws/fwYOEr

How do you cut $25 billion from Texas' budget?

AUSTIN – A new crop of lawmakers, more heavily Republican than at any time in modern Texas history, reports for duty Tuesday, facing a frighteningly huge budget hole. Legislators must navigate around fiscal constraints and political pressures, knowing that this time, big cuts are coming and virtually nothing is safe.  
Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/dFy0OP

Grover Norquist wary of, but not opposing, Straus

While some big names in the national conservative movement have said Texas GOP House Speaker Joe Straus must go, we haven't heard anything from the big kahuna, the dark knight of the anti-tax crusade, Grover Norquist.


Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/hBgE72

National experts criticize state's study of fatal 1991 house fire

AUSTIN – National fire experts on Friday criticized the state's arson investigation of the 1991 house fire in which Cameron Todd Willingham's three young daughters died. Two of the national experts said arson could not be conclusively determined from the evidence, even though it led to the Corsicana man's conviction and 2004 execution. The state fire marshal's office, however, stood by the conclusions of
the original investigation.
 Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/i8j4Ko

Straight-shooting press corps members get CHL permits for express access to Texas Capitol

Some members of the Capitol press corps took a 10-hour concealed handgun
safety and shooting class this week – an exercise less about getting a weapon
than getting into the Capitol.
Slater was there: http://dallasne.ws/feB63V

House will throw out votes Sessions cast before taking oath

WASHINGTON – Amid boos and taunts, a divided U.S. House agreed today to untangle the problems caused when Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions ducked out of opening-day ceremonies to attend a reception with a Pennsylvania lawmaker and campaign donors.
Gillman: http://dallasne.ws/fM7gtp

Questions about Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions' status delay Republicans' health care repeal efforts

WASHINGTON – House GOP leaders scrambled Thursday to correct an unusual snafu, after discovering that Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions had cast six votes in the new Congress without officially taking the oath of office.


Gillman and Mason report: http://dallasne.ws/gOPmi6

Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin stepping down

AUSTIN – Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin, who has overseen regulation of the insurance industry for 5 ½ years, is stepping down. In a letter to Gov. Rick Perry released Wednesday, Geeslin asked that he not be reappointed when his term ends Feb. 1.
Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/h7yTC1

Handpicked advisers tell TxDOT commissioners to 'change senior leadership'

A panel of three prominent political and business figures handpicked by the
Texas Transportation Commission to make recommendations for how to restructure
the 12,000-employee agency has recommended that the agency change its senior
management to create a more business-like and entrepreneurial culture.
http://dallasne.ws/eslEAy

Forensic panel to hear from arson experts on Cameron Todd Willingham case investigation

AUSTIN — The Texas Forensic Science Commission will hear from arson experts
for the first time Friday about the investigation that helped send a Corsicana
man to his execution, continuing its already two-year review of the case.
Mulvaney reports: http://dallasne.ws/gDLqLK

Texas' GOP freshmen plan to be aggressive in U.S. House

"...this year's freshman class includes 87 Republicans, all itching to roll back White House initiatives, cut taxes, cut spending and rein in the federal government.

Gillman reports: http://dallasne.ws/hnrYth

Pickett: Lawmakers will not boost transportation funding this year

The top two transportation leaders in the Texas Legislature said Wednesday that Texans simply must pay more for their highways and bridges, but both added that this coming session is most likely not the time to ask them do it.Both men, a Republican and Democrat, said the funding system for the Texas Department of Transportation is badly in need of an overhaul, and needs billions in new funding. But it's going to probably take more than one session to convince lawmakers to make motorists pay
up, both men said.


Lindenberger has the story. http://dallasne.ws/flWwnt

Taylor: No legal problems with caucus meeting

House Republican Caucus Chairman Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, has just told supporters of
Speaker Joe Straus that he sees no legal problems with holding a caucus meeting on Monday to possibly coalesce around "the Republican" candidate for speaker. (My quotes, not his.)

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/dOffPF

It's unclear whether slight rise in Texas class size would hurt learning

...But for all the concern about packed classrooms, experts have found little evidence that slightly larger classes deter learning. A commonly used waiver means hundreds of the state's kindergarten through fourth-grade classes already exceed the current, 22-student limit for those grades.

Jessica Meyers reports: http://dallasne.ws/giLWSp

Dallas County Republicans call for GOP caucus to select Texas House speaker

AUSTIN – Dallas County's GOP has urged Republican state representatives to unite behind a single conservative candidate for House speaker in a party caucus before the session begins next week. Late Monday, the county party's executive committee adopted a resolution that says the GOP swept last year'scongressional and state legislative elections because voters were "embracing a conservative approach to governance."

 http://dallasne.ws/dO4gCI

Private toll roads get new push in Texas

AUSTIN – It's been easy to overlook in the Dallas area, where two of the
largest privately financed toll projects in the country are under way, but
Texas' authority to build private toll roads technically has been extinct since
summer 2009.
Lindenberger: http://dallasne.ws/hazneM

The Dallas Morning News announces new digital strategy, pricing

The Dallas Morning News plans to launch a new digital strategy on Jan.
18, and it will begin charging for online and mobile access to some of its
content on Feb. 15. The initiatives include an iPad application; an updated iPhone app; and a new design and streamlined navigation for the newspaper's website, dallasnews.com.
Brendan Case: http://dallasne.ws/iehPJv

'It's a joy to be free again,' says exoneree who served 30 years in Dallas robbery, rape

A parolee who served more than 30 years for a crime he didn't commit was exonerated this morning in a Dallas courtroom.
"You're free to go," State District Judge Don Adams told Cornelius Dupree Jr., one of two men wrongly convicted in a 1979 abduction, robbery and rape in Dallas.   Dupree, who has been on parole since July, served more prison time than any
other Texas inmate cleared through DNA testing.
Jennifer Emily: http://dallasne.ws/gDFvwy

DNA evidence identifies jailed felon as suspect in elderly Oak Cliff woman's death

Dallas police have identified the man whose DNA and fingerprints were found at the scene of a December 2009 murder of a 97-year-old woman in her west Oak Cliff home.

Scott Goldstein reports: http://dallasne.ws/fLWFLK

Eagle Forum calls speaker vote crucial

The social conservative group Texas Eagle Forum today put House members on notice that their vote for speaker will account for half of the group's rating of them this session.
http://dallasne.ws/gGtfty

Paxton wins more outside-the-House support; women behind anti-Straus ad step forward

Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton today endorsed Ken Paxton for Texas House speaker. Bolton, who doesn't have a say in the matter, said Paxton's bid to oust incumbent Joe Straus has national implications because of redistricting and border security.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fEvXNE

Governor's office report says Texas owns 16.7 million shares in companies that got tech fund dollars

AUSTIN – The state of Texas owns 16.7 million shares in companies that have received taxpayers' dollars under the Emerging Technology Fund over the past three years, says a report released Thursday by the governor's office.
Drew: http://dallasne.ws/fshHff

Dallas County man cleared in 1979 rape will be Texas' longest-serving exoneree

A Dallas County man is expected to be exonerated Tuesday in a 1979 rape
conviction. Cornelius Dupree Jr., the 21^st man exonerated in Dallas County,
will have served the longest prison term of any Texas inmate cleared through DNA
evidence.

Jennifer Emily reports http://dallasne.ws/exAZKg

As teens drink and drive, Texas only talks tough

Texas prides itself on being a "zero tolerance" state for young drinkers: Even a whiff of alcohol detected on anyone under 21 can result in a ticket. Minors can be cited for even being near a beer. But reality isn't Texas tough. Whether it is a police officer escorting a young drinker home or a prosecutor opting for lesser charges or dismissing the complaint altogether, young people who drink and drive often get a break.

Crawford, Jennings and Spangenberger report http://dallasne.ws/geZq00

Texas' underage alcohol abusers often re-offend, avoid treatment

When a 17-year-old is arrested for DWI, he may be just a baby to mom and dad.
But in the eyes of Texas, he's an adult. As adults too young to legally drink, 17- to 20-year-olds fall into a special category in Texas: "minor adults."
Crawford, Jennings and Spangenberger report http://dallasne.ws/hPlDVL

Texas' social services chief expects agonizing budget process

AUSTIN – As lawmakers gear up to hunt for every penny they can use against an unprecedented budget gap, Texas' safety net for the poor and vulnerable figures to get a lot of scrutiny. The Legislature's Republican leadership will confront weighty questions, such as how many children the
state can afford to provide medical care for and what level of care and supervision can be provided for the elderly and disabled.
Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/fuqgok