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Gov. Perry Announces Texas Budget Compact

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Perry Announces Budget Compact

Key principles that will lead to a stronger Texas
Monday, April 16, 2012
 

Gov. Rick Perry announced the Texas Budget Compact, composed of five key principles for a stronger Texas. The governor called on lawmakers to commit to these principles in preparation for the 2013 legislative session and going forward, urging the continued importance of carefully stewarding Texas taxpayer dollars, especially as Medicaid puts increasing pressure on our state budget.

“The priorities set and decisions made in 2011 helped stabilize our economy and kept industries hiring in the Lone Star State like nowhere else in the country,” Gov. Perry said. “It is imperative we remain committed to the sound conservative values that have brought us to where we are today. If Texas leaders will commit to govern and budget by the five principles of the Texas Budget Compact, we will ensure continued growth and prosperity, an honest budget, and more limited government.”

“Texas continues to face serious budget concerns that can only be addressed by significant fiscal reform,” Sen. Patrick said. “I am proud to continue my support for these initiatives and be among the first to endorse this compact.”

Gov. Perry is pledging his commitment to the following principles, and asking lawmakers to do the same:

• Practice Truth in Budgeting • Support a Constitutional limit of spending to the growth of population and inflation • Oppose any new taxes or tax increases, and make the small business tax exemption permanent • Preserve a strong Rainy Day Fund • Cut unnecessary and duplicative government programs and agencies

Committing to these principles now is imperative as we address budget challenges in the 2013 session, specifically with respect to Medicaid, which already consumes a massive amount of our budget and is primed to eat up significantly more in both the short and long terms, especially if the Supreme Court upholds Obamacare.

Additionally, in order for Texas to continue leading the nation in job creation and economic development we must rein in state spending and make the small business tax permanent. Texas’ economy continues to rank number one in the nation for job growth and business climate. Our state has added more new jobs over the past year than anywhere else in the country, and the employment rate continues to decline, and is more than a full point below the national average. Additionally, state sales tax collections have posted steady gains over the past two years.

Gov. Perry’s full remarks.

More information about the Texas Budget Compact.

More information about Texas’ economy and jobs market.

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Governor Perry: Obama Admin Placing Pro-Abortion Politics Over Women’s Health

Monday, March 5th, 2012

Our Texas Governor published the following Editorial regarding President Obama’s plan to cancel the Medicaid Women’s Health Program for Texas.  (Last year the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 7, restricting funds to clinics providing a broader range of services to poor women.)

By Governor Rick Perry

March 1, 2012

President Obama’s Administration plans to cancel funding for a long-standing and cost-effective health and wellness program for more than 100,000 Texas women. This move will cut off access to screenings for breast and cervical cancer, hypertension and diabetes, STD testing and family planning services for Texas women who otherwise could not afford them.

Unfortunately, President Obama and his allies are once again putting their political agenda ahead of sound policy and the delivery of cost-efficient health care. They are trampling on the rights of states like Texas to create programs like the Women’s Health Program and to administer it for Texans by Texans.

Why would the Obama Administration take away access to health care for low-income Texas women? Because this administration puts funding for abortion providers and affiliates ahead of funding for women’s cancer screenings and other preventative health care. Texas, operating under the direction of an overwhelming and bipartisan majority of legislators, prohibits abortion providers and affiliates like Planned Parenthood from receiving taxpayer money.

Because Texas refuses to fund abortion providers and their affiliates, the federal government has announced that it will cancel the Women’s Health Program. To me, this reflects a twisted set of values, not to mention a continued disregard for the basic concept of states’ rights.

Under federal law, Washington leaves it to state leaders to administer the Medicaid program and set criteria for who is, and is not, a qualified provider. Consistent with state and federal law, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) developed a program that would ensure continued access to care by qualified providers across Texas and asked the Obama Administration for approval.

However, the Obama Administration apparently is unwilling to allow the exclusion of organizations like Planned Parenthood, as Texas law requires, even though that organization represents less than 2 percent of enrolled providers. Texas has more than 2,500 qualified providers in 4,600 sites across the state, ready to deliver care.

If this debate were really about health care, the Obama Administration would allow the Texas Women’s Health Program to continue.

Instead, the administration’s stated intention to reject the Texas program reflects nothing more than its pro-abortion agenda, and is a blatant pander to the president’s liberal base, which has made Planned Parenthood’s abortion services a celebrated cause.

Texas is an easy target for such attacks because we value life and have worked hard to preserve and protect its sanctity over the years. We’ve passed laws requiring that parents be notified and give consent before their minor daughters abort a child, ensuring parents will be involved and ready to provide much-needed guidance and advice at the most critical of moments.

We’ve funded and promoted alternatives to abortion, and provided counseling for women on these other options, including adoption, which – in addition to saving a child – is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give a waiting mother and father.

We also created a law that will prevent abortions in Texas until the mother has a sonogram, because we believe women deserve to have all the information before making such a life-ending decision.

At our nation’s founding, the architects of our constitution clearly spelled out precisely which powers were enumerated to the federal government and left the rest – explicitly – to the states.

While Washington has steadily undermined and weakened the authority of states and local communities to govern themselves, it wasn’t until the last few years when states – especially more conservative states – were actively targeted by a presidential administration.

The Obama Administration has seized control of Texas’ air-permitting process, put radical new interpretations of the Clean Air Act into effect and, worst of all, imposed a health care mandate on individual citizens and state governments that threatens to bankrupt us all.

The Texas women who face the prospect of losing access to preventative health care are only the latest to be caught in the crossfire of the Obama Administration’s ongoing efforts to seize more control over the actions of every state, every town and every household.

Here in Texas, we will continue to fight back against all manner of federal encroachment into our lives, and any and all efforts to destroy or dilute the protections we’ve put in place for our unborn. President Obama, please abandon this misguided and unhealthy course of action and allow the Texas Women’s Health Program to continue providing preventative health care and cancer screenings for Texas women.

 

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Texas Redistricting Update

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

From the Republican Party of Texas

February 28, 2012

On Tuesday afternoon, the San Antonio three-judge federal panel overseeing Texas redistricting posted new maps for the State House, State Senate and U.S. Congress. We are awaiting a formal order enacting these maps, however, we expect that these will be the final maps issued by the panel. The Republican Party of Texas has carefully analyzed these maps since their release and is providing our staff’s findings via this update.

                        RPT Staff Analysis of H309 (Court Interim Map)

                        RPT Staff Analysis of C235 (Court Interim Map)

You can click on the above link to see the full analysis of the new State House districts in PDF format. This analysis shows side-by-side comparisons of the number of Republican districts under the maps used in the 2010 elections, the districts that were originally drawn by the Texas Legislature, the districts that were drawn by the three-judge panel in 2011 (and which were subsequently challenged), and the districts that the three-judge panel has issued today. The percentages are based on the average of the top 9 statewide Republican candidates in the 2010 General Election.

Our staff’s analysis leads to the conclusion that while the new State House map creates one less Republican district (defined as a district being over 50% Republican) than the map drawn by the Legislature – it is an improvement over the previous map issued by the San Antonio three-judge panel, which drew three less Republican districts. Thus, Attorney General Abbott’s appeal of the interim maps to the Supreme Court has yielded two more Republican districts than if he had not appealed. In addition, the new map creates the same number of districts as the original legislative map which are over 48% Republican, that being 102. This represents an improvement of one over the previous map drawn by the San Antonio three-judge panel. The new map also creates three more Republican districts over 55% than the previous map drawn by the San Antonio three-judge panel, although this is four districts less than the original legislative maps. However, the new map actually has three more districts over 55% than existed in 2010.

Commenting on the afternoon’s developments, RPT State Chairman Steve Munisteri stated: “While we are disappointed that the San Antonio three-judge panel did not follow completely the legislative maps in today’s new maps, we are appreciative of General Abbott’s efforts to mitigate the damage done by the federal courts by appealing this to the Supreme Court. His successful efforts to have the U.S. Supreme Court intervene has resulted in a new map which should enable the Republican Party of Texas to maintain a substantial majority of the Texas House of Representatives, and gives us a chance to obtain the second highest number of Republicans ever elected to the Texas House. The State Party’s job will now be to ensure that we elect as many Republicans as possible in November.”

Our staff has also run an analysis on the Congressional plan released today by the panel (see the above link for that document in PDF format). The analysis indicates that there will be 25 Republican seats that have a Republican average vote of over 55%. This translates into the Republican Party expecting to gain 2 of the 4 new Congressional seats. Under the original Congressional map issued by the Legislature, the Republican Party hoped to gain 3 seats. However, we may not have gained any seats under the previous map drawn by the San Antonio three-judge panel, so General Abbott’s efforts have resulted in the possibility of reclaiming two of the three lost seats.

Also, a State Senate map was issued today under which Republicans would be expected to win at least 19 of 31 State Senate seats with a chance to increase that margin to 20 if we can defeat Democrat Senator Wendy Davis.

It is important to note that these are only interim maps for the 2012 elections and still could change prior to 2014 as a result of either future court action or additional legislative redistricting in the upcoming session.

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Redistricting Update

Friday, February 17th, 2012
Redistricting Update from Republican Party of Texas Chairman, Steve Munisteri
February 15, 2012

This afternoon, the San Antonio three-judge panel indicated that the April unified primary election will be postponed and that it was probable (but not a certainty) that the new primary date will be May 29th. As previously reported, on Tuesday, county clerks and elections administrators testified that they need 88 days of lead time to prepare for a primary election from the date that new district maps are issued. Today at the hearing, the Texas Secretary of State’s office indicated that this timeline could be shrunk to 77 days and reduced even further if military ballots were accepted for a short period of time after the primary. Consequently, new maps need to be in place sometime between early and mid-March in order to maintain the May 29th primary date.

Chairman Munisteri discussed with the Court the problems a May 29th primary creates for the party’s delegate selection process for the RPT State Convention. He reiterated that it is impossible to comply with the current Texas Election Code as it pertains to delegate selection, with the primary on May 29th and the State Convention in the first week of June. He strongly urged the Court to issue an order that would allow the State Republican Executive Committee to adopt a new delegate selection process which varies from the Election Code. He told the court that if there is sufficient time for planning, that in consultation with party leadership, he had several different options in mind which: would allow district conventions to still occur on schedule, allow for a May 29th primary, and still allow for a convention the next week. In general terms, he suggested different options which would completely de-couple the selection of delegates to the State Convention from the primary election.

The Court indicated it was very likely that they would grant such a request from the State Party, provided it received U.S. Department of Justice pre-clearance. Chairman Munisteri made the case that DOJ pre-clearance is not required in a case where the changes are made as a result of court order. However, the Court indicated that they thought it was a safer route to obtain pre-clearance. A Department of Justice attorney testified that his office would expedite such a request and anticipated that the approval time could be reduced from a couple of months to a couple of weeks, thereby allowing the change to occur.

The Court instructed both political parties to consult on a new schedule for a May 29th primary. It also invited the state parties to put forth separate proposals as to how they would select delegates and conduct their conventions. Chairman Munisteri is hoping to hold a telephone conference with members of the Republican Party of Texas Officials Committee tomorrow to go over various options. He plans within the next few days, to have a separate telephone conference with the entire SREC to go over recommendations from the Officials Committee. It is his hope that a consensus plan can be agreed upon by the SREC. If this is accomplished, he will distribute this plan to all County Chairmen to obtain their input, and then once a final plan is agreed upon – to propose the plan to the three-judge panel in San Antonio.

It is the Chairman’s goal to develop a process around existing Senatorial and County conventions so as to minimize inconvenience and logistical problems. It remains his objective to keep the State Republican Convention scheduled as planned during the first week of June. We will provide further information over the next few days as to developments in this regard.

Also on Wednesday – Chairman Munisteri, RPT lawyers and staff spent another day in the courtroom listening to final arguments in the redistricting case. It appears as though there is an agreement between the Attorney General and the Democrats on a new Texas State Senate map. As soon as we have full details, we will provide them to you – but it is expected that the final lines will make it possible for a Republican to win the district in controversy, SD 10, although not a certainty.

At the time the hearing concluded, General Abbott’s team had not reached agreement with all the plaintiffs on all districts pertaining to the Texas House map. With one set of plaintiffs, there is still a battle over Republican districts HD 144 (currently held by Ken Legler), HD 117 (currently held by John Garza) and HD 81 (currently held by Tryon Lewis). Another set of plaintiffs wanted to change the lines of another 30 districts on the State House map in an even larger grab for seats.

With regards to the Congressional districts (discussion of which took up most of the day) the prime battleground appears to be over CD 33, 25, 23, 35 and 27. Of particular concern to the Republican Party of Texas is CD23, which is represented by Congressman Quico Canseco. General Abbott’s map is roughly equivalent to how that district was configured before redistricting, while the Democrats are pushing for an increase of Democrat voters there.

There was also a big argument with the Democrats over CD 25, currently represented by Lloyd Doggett. Travis County and other Democratic plaintiffs are arguing that the district should not be converted to a Republican district, since in their opinion the district is protected under the Voting Rights Act – General Abbott’s team disputes this. There are also several different proposals regarding Congressional District 33 in Arlington. Additionally, Congressman Joe Barton’s legal team (led by former State Representative Joe Nixon) argues that the configuration of that district in the Attorney General’s compromise proposal is not allowable under current legal standard. At the end of the hearing today, there was also no agreement on the Texas Congressional map.

Chairman Munisteri issued the following statement regarding today’s proceedings. “I am disappointed that the San Antonio three-judge panel again delayed the Texas Primary Election. The Secretary of State’s witness today indicated that if the panel would issue maps within the next few days – that an April 24th primary could still be accomplished. However, now that it is apparent that April is out, the RPT will continue to fight to oppose any further slippage in the primary schedule. We will work hard with our Party leadership to come up with a plan to preserve our State convention.”

At this juncture, it appears that there will not be an agreement between all parties regarding all districts. Therefore, at this time, it appears that the three-judge panel will have to decide where the final lines are for the Texas House and Congressional districts.

Special Advisory to all Republican county chairmen, precinct chairmen, and party activists from Chairman Munisteri – I am hopeful that the SREC will come up with a plan for the three-judge panel that will still allow district conventions on the date scheduled. Therefore it is our advice that you not cancel your plans to go forward with district conventions until otherwise instructed. I am hopeful that within the next week or so, that we will have a telephone conference with all county chairs to provide them more information on any proposed plans. The RPT is committed to working with each of you to come up with a workable solution to this unprecedented challenge. Thank you again for your patience and hard work.

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Wilco Congressman John Carter Votes NO on Payroll Tax Cut Extension, Higher Deficits

Friday, February 17th, 2012

(WASHINGTON, DC) – House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter continued a tradition of bucking House and Senate GOP Leaders in voting a resounding no today on the Payroll Tax Cut Extension, which will add $100 billion to the federal deficit. 

“Enough’s enough, no more,” said Carter, who withdrew support for the measure after House and Senate conference negotiators failed to provide spending cuts to offset the payroll tax cut extension.   “We cannot continue to cave in to the Obama Administration’s economy-destroying deficits,” said Carter.  “We were given back the House last November by the people of America to stop the pending bankruptcy of our federal government, and this bill increases those deficits by $100 billion.” 

Carter is the only member of elected Republican Leadership who voted against the Bush Administration’s TARP spending, the Obama Administration’s Stimulus bill, and now the Payroll Tax Extension package.

Carter voted last December for a full-year, fully paid-for extension of the plan which passed today, which included a two-year fix to the Medicare physician payment and an extension and reform of unemployment benefits.  That package passed the House with bipartisan support, but was blocked by Senate Democrats, who instead demanded a temporary extension. 

H.R. 3630 passed today by a 293-132 margin.  146 Republicans voted yea, with 91 nays including Carter.  147 Democrats voted for the bill, with 41 nays. 

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Federal Panel Sets New Primary Date – April 3, 2012

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Joint Statement from TDP and RPT on Agreement Regarding 2012 General Primary Election

Parties have submitted a joint agreed proposal to the San Antonio federal panel. 

On Friday, December 16, 2011, the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) and the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) issued a statement announcing that the two parties have submitted a joint agreed proposal on the 2012 General Primary Election to the U.S. District Court three-judge panel in San Antonio. 

The parties’ joint proposal provides for an April 3, 2012 unified primary date, along with adjusted dates, deadlines and requirements in respect to its administration. 

RPT State Chairman Steve Munisteri said, “I am pleased that we could come to an agreement and I hope that most Republican elected officials and Texas voters will be satisfied with this proposal. We are hopeful that with both a timely ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court and subsequent finalized maps, that this agreement not only preserves the original structure of a unified primary, but provides us enough time to accomplish it in a fair and orderly fashion. Furthermore, this agreement addresses the concern of both the TDP and RPT by providing a timeline which still allows us to hold our respective state conventions and national delegate selection in June.”

TDP State Chairman Boyd Richie said, “We’re glad to have worked out an agreement which we feel works best for Texans. Given the less than ideal circumstances, we think that this election schedule is a workable solution that will create the least confusion for the voters.  We’re pleased that the agreement maintains a unified primary which will save taxpayers money.” 

Notable details of the agreement submitted to the panel are as follows:

  • February 1, 2012 - New residency deadline for candidates seeking election to the Texas House and Texas Senate.
     
  • February 1, 2012, 6:00pm - New deadline of court-ordered reopened filing period, in which candidates for all offices have the opportunity to amend, withdraw or file a new application for the ballot.
     
  • February 3, 2012 - New deadline for County Executive Committees to conduct drawing for candidate order on ballot.
     
  • April 3, 2012 - Date of the 2012 General Primary Election.
     
  • April 14 or April 21, 2012 - Date of County and Senatorial District Conventions, as determined by the State Chair of each political party.
     
  • June 5, 2012 - Date of the 2012 General Primary Runoff Election.

Nothing in the order shall be construed by the Court or the parties as a waiver of the positions of each party with respect to the schedule or conduct of the upcoming election. The parties’ positions as stated at the December 13, 2011 hearing are expressly reserved. Additionally, the Republican and Democratic parties have agreed that it is necessary to have a primary early enough in April to allow them to conduct their statutorily required conventions as previously planned. 

UPDATED DECEMEBER 16:  The U.S. District Court three-judge panel in San Antonio signed into effect the proposed agreement between the Texas Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Texas as documented above. 

Per the signed order – the new date of the 2012 General Primary Election is set as Tuesday, April 3, 2012. 

Please note – the current filing deadline to submit an application for the primary ballot will end on Monday, December 19, 2011 at 6:00pm. 

The court order provides for a reopened filing period which will begin at a date to be determined. We will keep you informed of any further announcements or developments regarding federal court action which affects these rulings.

***

Note:  Reportedly the courts will reopen filing again sometime in the first quarter of 2012.

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Redistricting Update from the Republican Party of Texas

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

December 13, 2011

Dear Texas GOP leadership and candidates: 

As we wrap up a very long day from today’s redistricting hearing in front of the federal panel in San Antonio, we wanted to again keep you informed of the latest news and where we anticipate going from here.

The majority of the issues that were addressed today related to the immediate and pressing issue of candidate filing. Tomorrow, we expect an order from the panel that will ratify the agreement between the two political parties to extend candidate filing through Monday, December 19th for all races and positions on the ballot. We are instructing candidates to file their applications using the intended district number and designation for the office they are seeking. 

There is, of course, the difficulty of how to best proceed without finalized maps. We have asked that the panel provide an opportunity for candidates who have already filed to be able to amend or withdraw their filing, should the need arise.

Under this solution, if a candidate files to run in a State Representative district whose number changes from the current map to a different number on a finalized map – the candidate would be able to either amend the designation on their application or be afforded the option of withdrawing their application if they choose not to run. Importantly, we are asking the panel to order that candidates who choose to withdraw their application will also be entitled to a refund of the filing fee, if they choose not to run based on the new district lines. This will apply to all candidates at every level.

If the court ratifies the proposal, this will also provide the opportunity for new candidates to file for a position once its district lines are finalized. In other words, filing will be re-opened once all court redistricting is finalized. In many cases, this will give an opportunity to a candidate who was running for a different position that is no longer an option to them. In other cases, it may open the race up to a newcomer in the contest who was not previously eligible.

We know this solution is imperfect, but like all of you, we are working to come up with the best possible, workable and fair solutions so the panel can get them approved, and we can quickly get focused back on the administration of these important elections. These proposals, if ratified by the panel, will allow for the quickest and most fulfilling method of handling the vast majority of candidate filings now, instead of creating a bigger problem days or weeks closer to the date of the election.

As to determining that date – we want to inform you that all parties will be in mediation on Thursday to discuss how to proceed with the timing of the election beyond the filing period. But again, a note of caution – with the exception of the court’s announcement that they would sign an order on Wednesday which extends the deadlines, all other anticipated actions we have discussed are not a certainty until they are submitted to the court and signed. We do anticipate that occurring tomorrow afternoon. As always, we will keep you informed as soon as we have any news to pass along so that you can keep informed in your campaigns and in your community.

We cannot begin to express how grateful we are for your continued patience, and for the support you have shown in this process. If you have any questions that we have not answered or not considered, please let us know. We will be in contact again soon with more updates.

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Update on Redistricting Battle From Republican Party of Texas

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Texas Redistricting Update
State Chairman Munisteri Proposes Battle Plan
Today, Republican Party of Texas (RPT) State Chairman Steve Munisteri outlined the Party’s strategy relative to protecting the citizenry’s right to have their elected officials represent their interests in establishing boundaries for Texas legislative and Congressional districts, rather than an unelected judicial panel which has overstepped its bounds and applied questionable jurisprudence and logic.

 Chairman Munisteri stated, “We believe it is an important principle of the Republican Party that the judicial branch of government should not use its authority to legislate, rather than undertake its constitutional duty of applying and interpreting the law.”

 ”It is clear to me that two of the three judges on the San Antonio federal panel have attempted to usurp the legitimate authority of the Legislature to create redistricting maps by deciding to replace the constitutional legislative duty with their own political agenda. The federal panel has created districts as they see fit, rather than the elected representatives of the people. This action becomes clearer when you look at the redrawn maps, and observe radically altered boundary lines for districts which were devoid of any controversy to all political observers, prior to the actions of the federal panel. Also, the presumably main argument offered by liberal Democrat groups’ arguments who brought the suit, was that their challenge to the redistricting map was to protect the rights of Hispanics. This argument has been undermined by the fact that the federal panel altered the legislative-drawn district lines so radically, that it has discouraged a Republican Hispanic, Aaron Pena to choose retirement rather than run for re-election.”

 ”The Court also seems to fail to take into account the fact that more Hispanics have been elected statewide on the Republican ticket than on the Democratic ticket. In the 2010 election, the RPT helped elect five new Republicans of Hispanic descent to the State House, two new Republicans of African-American descent to the State House, and two new Republicans of Hispanic descent to the U.S. Congress. If you add the two new Republican Hispanic Congressmen to the number of already existing Democratic incumbents of Hispanic descent, and combined the further anticipated wins by Hispanics under the legislatively-drawn map – this would yield a Congressional delegation whose percentage of Hispanic Congressmen would approximate the percentage of eligible voters of Hispanic descent in Texas.”

 

 ”The bottom line is that it appears to us as if political considerations overrode legal considerations, with the maps handed down by the two judges in San Antonio. The Republican Party of Texas will not stand by idly and allow this to occur. Consequently, the Party is advocating a three-prong strategy to either prevent this injustice from occurring, or to undo the damage done by the court through legitimate legislative means.”

 ”First, the Party strongly supports Attorney General Abbott’s motion for a stay filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. We are particularly grateful to the Attorney General for tailoring the relief sought in such a way, so as to preserve the original primary date for officeholders and races not affected by the contested redistricting maps. This will allow the RPT to select its delegates and alternates to the Republican State Convention in a timely fashion, and will also allow the Party to comply with the Texas Election Code, which requires us to have a State Convention in June or July.”

 ”Second, the Party supports the Attorney General’s efforts to obtain a favorable final ruling from the Washington D.C. federal panel. As a safeguard and backup strategy, I will be asking the State Republican Executive Committee (which meets this weekend in Austin on Saturday, December 2nd) to pass a resolution authorizing the State Chairman to request that each of our legislative candidates pledge to support a new redistricting effort in the next session of the legislature, in the event that the maps drawn by the Legislature are not enacted by the courts. The resolution will also request the SREC to grant the State Chairman the authority on behalf of the Party, to request in such an event, that the Speaker, Lieutenant Governor and Governor, all support the efforts to lead a new redistricting effort in the 83rd Legislative Session. If granted the authority by the SREC, I will also instruct the RPT political staff to begin preparing a legislative lobbying blitz to push for redistricting at the next session.”

 ”Finally, if the legislative maps are not upheld prior to the next election, the Party will redirect resources toward swing districts under the court panel’s maps, so that we minimize the damage of the Court’s map and increase our chances of having a Legislature favorable to appropriate redistricting in 2013.”

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Early Voting Begins!

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

Early voting for the Texas Constitutional Amendment and Local Election will begin on Monday, October 24.  All Texans will vote on 10 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, some of which are controversial.  There are a variety of online sources for information on these amendments, and Northwest Austin Republican Women President Michele Samuelson has compiled a list of links to analyses from both sides of the aisle.  Informed voters can find Michele’s list at Blue Dot Blues. 

In addition to the 10 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, many Williamson County residents will also be voting on a variety of local proposals. 

Hutto Independent School District is asking voters to approve a tax increase of $.06 per $100 valuation.  This will give HISD residents a school tax rate of $1.60.

Highlands at Mayfield Ranch Municipal Utility District, Northwoods Road District No. 1, Williamson County Water, Sewer, Irrigation and Drainage District No. 3, Wilco-Liberty Hill MUD, and others are seeking voter approval for various bond packages, (which amount to approval for a tax increase.)  Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 1(Jollyville) is seeking approval of a 1% local sales and use tax.

The City of Round Rock has 10 of its own propositions on the ballot.  Propositions #1-8 are merely ‘housekeeping,’ and update terms and definitions in the City Charter.  Propositions #9 and #10 are more controversial. 
*Proposition 9 adds 2% to the local hotel tax to finance an indoor sports venue.  The tax is estimated to bring in $630,000 per year, and the sports facility is estimated to cost $12 million, which, according to the city website ”does not include land, design and engineering costs or related infrastructure.”  It is unclear as to whether the venue tax will cover all costs.   
 
*Proposition 10 regards a half-cent sales tax approved by voters back in 1997.  The original approval was under the condition that the funds would be used only for major road and transportation projects related to economic development.  This tax, called “Type B revenue,” is limited by Texas law to economic development programs, and Round Rock originally limited theirs to road and transportation.  If voters approve Proposition 10, the city can use the revenues for other economic development projects as defined by State Law.  According to literature from Texas Comptroller Susan Combs these uses include:
 
“Paying for land, buildings, equipment, facilities expenditures, targeted infrastructure and improvements found suitable for the use of…professional and amateur sports and athletic facilities, tourism and entertainment facilities, convention facilities, public park purposes and event facilities (including stadiums, ballparks, concert halls, etc.) * related store, restaurant, concession, parking and transportation facilities * related street, water and sewer facilities * affordable housing.”
 
Sample ballots are available at the Williamson County Elections Department website.  
Remember that during the Early Voting period, you may vote at any location in the county.  However, on Election Day you may only vote at the assigned location for your precinct.  
FULL TIME LOCATIONS, Open Oct. 24-November 2, 8am to 6pm, No Sunday Voting, and November 3 and 4 7am to 7pm. 
Main Location:  Williamson County Inner Loop Annex, 301 SE Inner Loop, Georgetown.
Branch Locations: 
Anderson Mill Limited District
Cedar Park Public Library
Parks & Recreation Admin. Building, Georgetown
McConico Building, Round Rock
Brushy Creek Community Center, Round Rock
Taylor City Hall
Pat Bryson Municipal Hall, Leander
Cedar Park Randalls, Cypress Creek Road
Round Rock Randalls, Gattis School Road
J.B. and Hallie Jester Annex, Round Rock
MOBILE – TEMPORARY LOCATIONSMonday, October 24 through Wednesday, November 2, 10am to 6pm, No Sunday Voting
Thursday, November 3 and Friday, November 4, 7am to 7pm
Oct 24, Monday:   Seton Medical Center Williamson, 201 Seton Parkway, Round Rock
Oct 25, Tuesday:  Granger City Hall, 214 E. Davilla, Granger
Oct 26, Wednesday:  RR Higher Education Center, Round Rock                                             
Oct 27, Thursday:  Clairmont Retirement Community, 12463 Los Indios Trail, Austin               
Oct 28, Friday:  Liberty Hill Annex, 3407 RR 1869, Liberty Hill
Oct 29, Saturday:  Liberty Hill Annex, 3407 RR 1869, Liberty Hill 
Oct 31, Monday: Jarrell Memorial Park, 1651 CR 305, Jarrell      
Nov 1, Tuesday:  Hutto City Hall, 401 W. Front St., Hutto       
Nov 2, Wednesday:  Hutto City Hall, 401 W. Front St., Hutto
Nov 3, Thursday: Hutto City Hall, 401 W. Front St., Hutto
Nov 4, Friday:  Hutto City Hall, 401 W. Front St., Hutto                            

REMEMBER, YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

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Obama’s Bridges to Nowhere

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

The following is a guest column written by WCRW Legislative Committee Chair Holly Hansen for the Hill Country News.

Standing beside a ‘functionally obsolete’ bridge last week, President Obama insisted Congress must pass his $447 billion jobs bill so that aging bridges across the nation can be repaired and Americans can get back to work. While a few remaining Obama enthusiasts support the plan, most Americans and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are skeptical, and understandably so. 

The claim we lack funds for bridge repairs is an obvious red herring. Federal law requires states to use 10% of transportation funds for ‘enhancements,’ including the establishment of transportation museums, scenic areas, and pedestrian education programs. The set-aside has been used to build a ‘twin dragons’ gateway to Chinatown in Los Angeles, a Corvette simulator in Kentucky, and a squirrel observation area in Tennessee. Entertaining as these enhancements may be, they hardly seem prudent when America’s bridges are supposedly on the brink of collapse. 

Of course the idea that we cannot repair our transportation infrastructure unless we raise taxes and/or sink the country further into debt is absurd. The number of federal spending programs that most Americans would consider dispensable are too numerous to list here, and the GAO recently reported that duplication in government costs taxpayers over $100 billion per annum. Surely amongst all this waste there are ample funds for bridge repair. 

There is, however, a more fundamental problem with the American ‘Jobs’ bill: it is based on the false premise that government spending programs will create lasting jobs and strengthen the economy. While infrastructure repairs might create temporary jobs, raising taxes above sustainable levels will result in reduced economic activity, increased unemployment, and declining tax revenues over the long-term. 

Proponents of higher taxes as a solution to our economic woes ignore the reality of human behavior. We acknowledge, and even hope for, potential behavior changes when advocating for ‘sin taxes’ like those on cigarettes and alcohol, but Leftists assume there will be no resulting change in behavior due to taxes on economic activity. 

In practice, excessive taxes remove incentive and the very ability of private citizens to invest in economic activity, and they transfer capital into the hands of government bureaucrats. According to economic analysts James Sherk and Rea Hederman, each $1 increase in government spending reduces private-sector investment by as much as $.97. Historically, taxes above Laffer Curve levels have reduced economic activity and income levels, and resulted in declining tax revenues. 

But the economic problems created by high taxes and excessive government spending and debt are not limited to the federal government. Texas has fared relatively well in this recession due to (relatively) conservative state fiscal policies, but analysts are sounding the alarm on local government activity. In our own community, the Leander school district’s $1.2 billion in bond debt has led to one of the highest ISD property tax rates in the area and a ‘negative outlook’ designation from the Fitch Group. These problems are beginning to impact the local economy, which is seeing reduced growth and falling property values. 

While the Left argues that deficit spending creates needed jobs, government programs are notorious for waste and inefficiency. Analysts note that recent ‘stimulus’ bills cost taxpayers a minimum of $228,055 for each job created or “saved.” Although government spending has increased 4.8% since 2008, national unemployment and poverty rates continue to grow at alarming rates. 

If our elected leaders are serious about ‘stimulating’ economy, they should look at factors that inhibit business. The United States has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, and according to Senator Susan Collins, federal agencies are working on another 4,200 new regulations that will further handcuff American businesses. A better solution would be to reduce corporate taxes and burdensome regulation. Add to this picture some $14.7 trillion in debt, and the outlook is dismal indeed. 

It is past time to get serious about our economic problems, and we must address these issues at all levels of government. Tax, Borrow, and Spend policies are destroying this country, and raising taxes to repair bridges or construct school buildings that stand empty for years is not the answer. Yes, Mr. President, let’s repair those bridges, but not in a way that further injures our ailing economy.

Note from Holly Hansen:  Although the President insisted that Congress pass his American Jobs Bill immediately, Senator Harry Reid has declined to bring the measure up for a vote. 

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