| Printable Version of This Page |
November 19, 2008 5:27 PM
SBOE ALLOWS HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES TO SUBSTITUTE ATHLETICS CLASSES FOR ACADEMIC ELECTIVESThe move heads off unintended consequences of new math and science requirements but others say the decision runs counter to spirit of state's "no pass, no play" policy.Sometimes the State
Board of Education’s bad policy choices – and by “bad,” we mean votes
inconsistent with two decades of education reform in this state – aren’t always
the fault of the State Board of Education. Such was the
case this afternoon, as the SBOE’s committee of the whole passed
a jaw-dropping measure to elevate athletics to the same stature as curricular
courses in the high school catalog and allow students the option to begin
substituting athletic classes for virtually all academic elective course
requirements. State law forced
the board to the vote. The combination of the 26 credits for the distinguished
academic diploma and the impending 4x4 math and science requirements make it
impossible for a student athlete to play four years of sports. To meet new
standards, the highest-achieving student athlete – or lowest-achieving, if it
means TAKS remediation courses – must quit athletics to pick up
the required two academic elective credits to meet diploma requirements. The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 18, 2008 4:57 PM
PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE NEW FORMATSend comments to kronberg@quorumreport.com
November 18, 2008 4:54 PM
LUCIO ATTORNEY CALLS WILLACY COUNTY DA A ONE MAN CIRCUS"Having been voted out of office, Willacy County DA commits one last act of political revenge."The release can be found here.
November 18, 2008 4:45 PM
IN OTHER SPEAKER NEWS, SOLOMONS FILES; MERRITT CALLS FOR SUMMIT; DUNNAM CHALLENGES KEEL ON FIRST DAY RULESTo be found below, press releases from the two candidatesBurt Solomons' release Tommy Merritt calls for a summit. In another matter, House Democratic Chair Jim Dunnam challenged a reported statement by House Parliamentarian Terry Keel at a recent seminar. In it, Keel said that the Secretary of State operated under the full force of existing House Rules and precedent on the first day of the session -- presumably including the right to refuse recognition for any reason. In his memo, Dunnam explains to House Democrats why he believes precedent says Keel is wrong.
November 18, 2008 4:37 PM
HK: WITH CRADDICK STRUGGLING, IT INCREASINGLY LOOKS LIKE A TRADITIONAL SPEAKER RACENew element entering the conversation -- a rump House leadership rolling over the Speaker if Craddick wins?With Burt Solomons’ much anticipated entry into the speaker’s race, the effort to unseat incumbent Speaker Tom Craddick takes on the tone of a more traditional battle for the chair. While just about everyone agrees that the speaker should not be counted out, it no longer looks as if time is on his side. In fact, the opposite seems more true every day. What is different this time is that lawmakers need to be persuaded the king is mortally wounded before they seek a new king. With each passing day, it seems more likely the proof will emerge.. Whether by public statements or their own candidacy, ten of the 76 Republicans are now more or less publicly off the Craddick reservation. With 64 Democrats committed to oppose Speaker Craddick, the math is fairly straightforward. Seventy four members of the Texas House can be safely presumed to oppose the speaker. The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 18, 2008 4:26 PM
COST OVER-RUNS THREATEN TRANSITION TO NODAL BASED ELECTRIC GRIDWas supposed to be more efficient and inexpensiveThe state’s decision to change its wholesale electric market design from one based on geographic zones to one based on thousands of discrete nodes was supposed to have made the system more reliable, less congested and cheaper in the long run. However, as the cost associated with the transition to a nodal market rises precipitously with no implementation date now in sight, lawmakers are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the project. Senate Business & Commerce Chairman Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) grilled the CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) today on those rapidly rising costs, hinting strongly that lawmakers might consider pulling the plug on the project if their concerns are not allayed. The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 18, 2008 3:41 PM
KRGV TV IN VALLEY REPORTS SENATOR LUCIO INDICTEDNo details yet but the TV station also reports that Lucio will seek to have indictment quashed this weekThe breaking story can be found at the KRGV website. However, the grand jury also indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Al Gonzales. suffice it to say that Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra is known to be "quirky, and erratic."
November 18, 2008 11:13 AM
ENDING THE SUSPENSE, BURT SOLOMONS FILES FOR SPEAKER
November 17, 2008 5:18 PM
SD 17 RUNOFF ELECTION DATE SET FOR DEC. 16Early voting to run from Dec. 8 through Dec. 12Word out of the Governor's office late this afternoon has Rick Perry setting Dec. 16 as the date for the runoff election between Democrat Chris Bell and Republican Joan Huffman to fill the unexpired term of retired Sen. Kyle Janek (R-Houston). Early voting will run from Dec. 8 through Dec. 12, per a statement from Perry's office. The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 17, 2008 5:01 PM
DID ELECTRIC DEREG HELP TEXAS CONSUMERS?A new report says that since deregulation of electricity markets, Texas residential ratepayers have experienced some of the steepest price jumps in the nation.Electric deregulation in Texas was sold to residential ratepayers as a way to get more affordable power into the homes of ratepayers. A new study, though, by a consortium of Texas cities that advocates for better electricity prices concludes that deregulation has had the opposite effect. Relying on information kept by the federal government, the study concludes that residential electric rates in Texas were consistently below the national average in the years leading up to the passage of deregulation legislation in 1999 and consistently above the national average after the state began to move to a deregulated electric market in 2002. Electricity prices increased by 64.4 percent in Texas from 1999 to 2007, a price jump exceeded by only three states – Nevada, Hawaii and Florida, according to the report by the Cities Aggregation Power Project. Among states with deregulated markets, Texas’ rates have increased the most. “This new report clearly illustrates the need for reform,” said Jay Doegey, chairman of CAPP, the non-profit organization that sponsored the investigation. “Consumers are hurting. Lawmakers should take a long, hard look at these findings and consider how best to provide relief for their constituents.” The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 17, 2008 10:34 AM
STATESMAN: DUI DROPPED AGAINST KRUSEEJudge dismisses caseCheck out the story here.
November 14, 2008 3:20 PM
JIM DUNNAM: HOUSE CAN SELECT SPEAKER BY SECRET BALLOTIn a memo, House Democratic Caucus Chairman rebuts Speaker's contention that House members can't make election secret by rule.QR readers might remember the
battle at the outset of the 2007 session on whether House members can select
their Speaker by secret ballot. Given the remarks made by the Speaker’s office
in a newspaper article published this morning, House Democratic Caucus
Chairman Jim Dunnam offers the following memo on the secret ballot
question: “Colleagues, “Alexis DeLee, Craddick’s press secretary, was
quoted in today’s San Antonio Express-News as saying that a
secret ballot for Speaker was unlikely to happen because “The Texas
Constitution requires a record vote to be open if requested by three members on
any question. The House could close the ballot, but it will have to be open if
requested by three members.” “Alexis is wrong – and she should know better. “As we all know, at the beginning of last session Rep. Charlie
Geren offered an amendment to conduct the Speaker’s election by secret
ballot, with the results published in the House Journal after
committee assignments were announced. Rep. Phil King raised a point of
order against further consideration of the Geren amendment on the grounds that
it violated the Constitutional rule requiring a record vote on the demand of
any three members. The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 14, 2008 2:57 PM
LBB SETS $79.7 BILLION BUDGET CAPLawmakers anticipate economic growth of less than 10 percent in the next biennium, express worry about softening economy.The Legislative Budget Board today adopted a $79.7 billion spending cap for the upcoming biennium as key lawmakers expressed concern that a softening economy could take its toll on personal income in the state. The state Constitution limits the growth of non-dedicated general revenue to the rate of economic growth, which is measured by the growth in state personal income. The LBB took the rare step today of adopting a single-digit estimated growth rate. According to LBB figures, only two other times has the state registered growth in personal income below 10 percent for a biennium. The first time was during the oil bust of the mid-1980s when personal income grew just 7.8 percent from the 1984-85 biennium to the 1986-87 biennium. The second time was from earlier this decade when personal income grew a scant 5.7 percent from the 2000-01 biennium to the 2002-03 biennium. The 9.1 percent growth estimate created by the Comptroller’s Office was on the low end of five estimates considered by the LBB. Only forecasters at the University of North Texas estimated personal income growth at a lower rate – 7.7 percent – while the highest estimate (done by the Perryman Group) predicted 14.8 percent growth. The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 14, 2008 2:46 PM
RECOUNT REQUESTED IN HD 11 RACEGOP challenger Brian K. Walker says ballots cast by registered voters were wrongly rejected.As was widely expected, the Republican challenger in the HD 11 race has requested a recount. Brian K. Walker trailed incumbent Rep. Chuck Hopson (D-Jacksonville) by 104 votes after provisional and military ballots were counted. Walker said in a statement today that he made the decision to request the recount because of “credible reports that ballots cast by registered voters were improperly rejected and not counted on Election Day.” The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 13, 2008 4:59 PM
STATESMAN REPORTS CORNYN TO LEAD NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATE COMMITTEEColeman drops outThe Statesman is reporting that Senator John Cornyn has all but locked up the race to chair the NRSC.
November 13, 2008 4:42 PM
HK: SPEAKER POLITICS CONTINUE PERCOLATING AS REPUBLICANS REMAIN PUBLICLY AND PRIVATELY UNALIGNEDWhy Republicans are reluctant to coalesceIn his column today, the Statesman's Gardner Selby quoted Perry/now Craddick consultant Dave Carney. Carney was arguing that no Craddick challenger had the votes or they would laid their cards out. True Then he added about Craddick, "I don't think there's any doubt he survives." Not true. But before getting to the analysis, it is also worth noting that Selby wrote, "Carney, though, plays down anti-Craddick sentiment as 'driven by guys sitting around in their underwear" writing political blogs.'" Perhaps, but we commend an outstanding posting in today's Democratic blog, Burnt Orange Report. We don't know the state of dress of writer Philip Martin, but this must-read does a member by member analysis based on previous voting history and public statements. Martin calculates Craddick has a ceiling of 63 votes with a solid 74 in the no column. The rest of the story, subscribers only
November 13, 2008 4:40 PM
DANA CHIODO: ELECTION RESULTS CONFIRM THE TRENDSOur favorite election numbers cruncher, Dana Chiodo, finds confirmation of trends she has identified in the Texas voteI have been running numbers on the Republican/Democratic split in the Texas Senate and House districts for the last six election cycles. My calculations are based on the most competitive statewide races and cover the most recent two election cycles. When I studied the 2006 numbers, compared to those from 2004, I found that two trends were emerging: For the rest of Dana Chiodo's analysis, check today's R&D Department.
November 13, 2008 4:29 PM
SOME SPEAKER CANDIDATES MAKE THEIR CASE IN TEXAS MONTHLYFive accept TM invitationCheck it out here.
November 13, 2008 4:22 PM
SILLS: THE EARLY VOTE GETS THE WORMColumnist Ed Sills sorts out some of the implications of Texas new early vote tsunamiThis column was originally posted in our R&D Department last week. However it was inadvertently left inactive for the first day it ran. We have moved it up on the site for those who missed it.
November 13, 2008 4:18 PM
URBAN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS CREATE NEW ASSOCIATION FOR UPCOMING SESSIONOffering a united front in a tough marketIn what could also serve as a reminder that Texas lawmakers convene next year for the first time since the bottom fell out of the national housing and credit markets, the state’s commercial real estate development sector announced today that they are presenting a united front in the upcoming legislative session. Real estate councils representing Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio (as well as Houstonians for Responsible Growth) plan to band together to form a new statewide coalition – the Real Estate Councils of Texas. The chairwoman of the new statewide group, Macey Davis, notes that commercial real estate developers have never coordinated efforts to this degree before. The rest of the story, subscribers only
|
Copyright November 19, 2008, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved 