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The Brief: May 9, 2011
“House debate hit dramatic heights on Saturday in what could go down as the Great Mother’s Day Fight of 2011. Threats of a walkout, an attempt to lock members inside the House chamber and a tossed rule book (literally) punctuated the most striking display of Republican power seen in the Legislature this session — and what many have called one of the tensest days they’ve ever seen in the statehouse. The drama began Friday after Democrats — looking to run out the clock with just over three weeks left in the session — used procedural objections to derail two major pieces of Republican-backed legislation…”
(View full article here).
Inside Intelligence: With Deadlines Looming…
“It’s May of an odd-numbered year, so we asked the insiders whether the big stuff will get finished during regulation time or whether there will be special sessions this summer, and about what issues won’t get resolved. The insiders tilt, slightly, toward a special session, with 51 percent saying lawmakers won’t finish work on the budget by Memorial Day (when the session ends) and 47 percent saying they will…”
(View the full article here)
Texplainer: How Does a Special Session Work?
“Consider a special session the legislative overtime in Texas. If both the House and Senate reach a stalemate on key issues or if the governor decides the legislative show must go on, he or she can call for a special session. Really, it’s got the same setup as a regular session. The only difference is the time — legislators only have 30 days to come to conclusion. So, for lawmakers, time is of the essence in a special session. And, unlike the predictability of a regular session, the governor can call a special session at any time, without any warning. But he doesn’t have to call one, unless there’s no state budget…”
(View full article here)
The Brief: May 10, 2011
“Not that he was stepping onto the friendliest of political territory anyway, but President Barack Obama‘s visit to Texas today has coincided with a dramatic display of Republican legislative might. The president, before speaking at two fundraising events in Austin, will deliver a speech on immigration in El Paso just hours after Republicans in the Texas House gave initial approval to a so-called sanctuary cities bill, the most controversial immigration-related legislation that lawmakers have taken up this session… ”
(View full article here).
Toughened Limits on Payday Lender Win Preliminary Approval in Texas House
“The Texas House gave preliminary approval Thursday to legislation designed to toughen controls on payday lenders. Meanwhile, scores of other bills hung in the balance as the critical midnight deadline approached. House members seemingly put aside the partisan discord from the past several days to churn out bill after bill in the hopes of beating the cutoff for first-time floor consideration of House bills…The Republican-controlled House approved the payday lending bill after a testy exchange between Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, the bill’s sponsor, and Rep. Gary Elkins, R-Houston, a payday lender who opposed it… ”
(View full article here).
House Gives First OK to Medicaid Waiver Plan
“House lawmakers have given an early okay to Rep. Lois Kolkhorst’s bill to ask Washington for a block grant to run Medicaid — the joint state-federal health care program for children, the disabled and the very poor — as Texas sees fit. Kolkhorst said states can seek all kinds of waivers from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Texas sought one unsuccessfully during the Bush administration…”
(View full article here).
New Texas Senate District Map Proposed
“Travis County would get two new out-of-town senators, and Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, would be squeezed into a district designed for a Republican, in political maps proposed by Senate Redistricting Chairman Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo. Seliger’s map was shown to senators this morning and unveiled for the public this afternoon. He’ll hold the first committee hearing on the plan on Thursday morning at the state Capitol…”
(View full article here).
The Brief: May 11, 2011
“It’s a long shot, and he knows it. But the question remains: Is the president angling for Texas in 2012? After stopping in El Paso to deliver a major speech in which he made an economic argument for comprehensive immigration reform, the president, in full campaign mode, traveled to Austin, where he spoke at two high-dollar fundraising events.‘We’ve still got some climbing to do, so don’t take off your boots,’ Obama told a crowd of supporters at a venue in downtown Austin (video of which can be found here). ‘It’s going to take more than one term to get there…’”
(View full article here).
House Gives Early OK to Dental Bill
“House lawmakers gave an early OK tonight to a measure that would stop health insurance plans from requiring dentists to agree to discounted fees for services not covered by the policy. The bill has already passed the Senate. Right now, insurance companies can, as part of their contracts, get dentists to agree to cap rates for certain non-covered services, like tooth whitening or cosmetic procedures. Dentists want this to stop…”
(View full article here).
House Debates Anti – “Obamacare” Bills
“In their latest effort to remind Washington how much they hate federal health reform, House lawmakers gave early approval tonight to one measure to hold “Obamacare” at bay and deflected, at least temporarily, another that is directed at the individual mandate for health insurance. Republican Rep. Brandon Creighton’s HB 32 states that no Texan be required to purchase health insurance — a slam at a rule in federal health reform that requires all Americans to be insured or face penalties. GOP lawmakers argue that’s a ridiculous burden on individual rights; their opponents say a state law can’t overturn a federal one. That measure was stalled on a technicality Wednesday night…”
(View full article here).
Hospitals to Budget Conferees: Cuts Hit Us Too Hard
“Texas hospitals have a pointed message for the lawmakers hashing out the final details of the 2012-13 budget: The proposed cuts hit them too hard. Steep Medicaid rates cuts, coupled with a 23 percent reduction in trauma funding, ‘will curtail growth in the health care sector, lead to more unemployment and reduce access to health care services in communities statewide,’ Dan Stultz, president and CEO of the Texas Hospital Association, wrote in a letter to Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan. Hospitals say that neither the House nor the Senate budget adequately fund anticipated growth in Texas’ Medicaid population, leaving a huge fiscal burden on hospitals…”
(View full article here).
Senate Budget Plan Would Tap Rainy Day Fund Now to Free Up Money Later
“Blocked from using the state’s rainy day fund for the next budget, the Senate could instead opt to withdraw more from the $9.4 billion fund for the current budget. This fiscal contortion is aimed at resolving the conflict between senators’ demands to improve funding for public schools in the 2012-13 budget and their resistance to using the reserve fund for that same purpose. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, offered little explanation on Thursday when asked why his committee voted earlier in the day to draw $3.97 billion from the rainy day fund to cover the deficit in the current budget. That amount exceeds the withdrawal approved by the House — and agreed to by Gov. Rick Perry — by about $800 million. The Senate move could free up $800 million for the next budget, Ogden said. Perry and Republican lawmakers have said they do not want to take more from the rainy day fund now because the state might need it in the future. With only 18 days left in the legislative session, there are still many pieces of the budget puzzle that have yet to be set in place…”
(View full article here).
Ron Paul Announces for President
“This morning on ABC’s Good Morning America, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, formally announced that he plans to run for president in 2012…”
(View full article here).
The Brief: May 13, 2011
“Democrats may have little time to savor their first real win of the session. That win, as the Tribune’s Morgan Smith reports, came Thursday night with the death of House Bill 400, a controversial piece of Republican-backed public education legislation.House members had until midnight to preliminarily approve legislation, and HB 400 — waiting at the back of the pack as lawmakers spent the day scrambling to make last-minute pitches for their own bills — missed the deadline…”
(View full article here).
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