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Last Week in the Texas Legislature 6/5/2009
Marilyn Davis, Vice President Legislation TFRW
What didn't happen the last four days of the session. The mainstream news has been full of it and I didn't want to get too far behind. Below you will get my take as well as some links to some of the good news articles that have more details than I can include in the brief newsletter. So we will start where we began...s l o o o w l y..... More...
Last Week in the Texas Legislature 5/22/2009
Marilyn Davis, Vice President Legislation TFRW
Evidently conferring on the budget is difficult and now they are taking it out on Gov. Perry. The Dallas Morning News reports "Lawmakers are whacking many of Gov. Rick Perry's priorities in the budget." "Don't these guys realize a Gov. Perry budget veto means a special session?" Gov. Perry doesn't want them to forget that he can do it, as he reminded legislators in a Wednesday afternoon session with members of the House and Senate as reported in the Austin American Statesman. More...
Last Week in the Texas Legislature 5/15/2009
Marilyn Davis, Vice President Legislation TFRW
Bipartisan Effort on Voter ID? Not exactly. After many days trying to craft a voter ID bill that could be supported by at least some Democrats as well as Republicans, Rep. Todd Smith (R-Euless), Elections committee chair, gave up and asked his committee to vote out SB 362. Rep. Heflin (D-Crosbyton) was one of the five votes needed to clear the committee. According to The Quorum Report (QR), http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/05/11/0511voterid.html Rep. Heflin prefaced his vote on the premise that some of Rep. Smith's proposed compromises would be brought up as amendments on the House floor. Rep. Heflin said he was also voting the wishes of his district. I guess that's what happens when a Democrat gets elected in a Republican district and is faced with a totally partisan issue. More...
Last Week in the Texas Legislature 5/8/2009
Marilyn Davis, Vice President Legislation TFRW
Thursday the House debated the TxDot sunset legislation until 11:57 PM and started again on the subject Friday morning. HB 300 is the bill and as I write this (Friday) they are working on the 176th amendment of the almost 400 pages of amendments that have been offered. One amendment approved would have the Transportation Commission elected rather than appointed. Another, given the green light, gives TxDot the authority to set rules for red light cameras. More...
Last Week in the Texas Legislature 5/1/2009
Marilyn Davis, Vice President Legislation TFRW
We made it to May without any major legislation hitting Governor Perry's desk. Sine Die is one month from today (for you new readers, Sine Die is the Latin way to say the session's over). But May 11 is the last day House committees can vote out bills and May 13 is the final day the House can pass House bills. That's less than two weeks. If legislators want to get bills on Gov. Perry's desk in time to override a possible veto they need to get in high gear. More....
A Message from Texas First Lady Anita Perry
The Texas Governor's Mansion suffered significant damage from arson in
June 2008. State leaders, concerned citizens, and preservationists
were horrified and saddened by the damage to the historic Texas
Governor's Mansion. These same Texans have vowed to rebuild this grand
house, a symbol of Texas pride and an irreplaceable part of our State's
history. In July 2008, I founded the Texas Governor's Mansion Restoration Fund, a nonprofit organization established to raise money to rebuild this National Historic Landmark.
From Michael Williams, Candidate for U.S. Senate
Once again, the Texas Federation of Republican Women had a very successful
Legislative Day in Austin. Austin needs to be overrun with Republican ladies
more often!
Thank you for inviting me and my fellow candidates for United States Senate
to join you for a panel discussion. Donna and my mother Margaret were able to
join me and we all had a great time.
If you were not able to join us last week watch this short video.
Last Week in the Texas Legislature 4/25/2009
Marilyn Davis, Vice President Legislation TFRW
The House budget debate, which lasted until the wee hours last Saturday morning, was surprisingly civil [Click Here for story] and ended with a unanimous vote in favor of the appropriations bill. It was clear that the House leadership was willing to let House members express their concerns and add any amendments for which they had the votes, even if it is likely the amendment will not survive the conference committee. More...
