2019 Texas Legislative Session Preview

The Texas legislature’s 2019 session will begin Tuesday, January 8.  One of the first items of business will be the Biennial Revenue Estimate delivered by the comptroller of public accounts. The following Monday, January 14, the Legislative Budget Board budget estimates are delivered to the governor and the Legislature. The next day is the inauguration of the governor and lieutenant governor after which the Legislative Budget Board general appropriations bill will be delivered to the governor and the Legislature. Later the same day is the governor’s State of the State address to the Legislature when he’ll deliver his budget to the Legislature.

In the Texas Senate, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick will likely pass out committee assignments within days of his inauguration. If the new Speaker of the House, Dennis Bonnen, holds to the same schedule as the former Speaker, Joe Straus, it will be three more weeks until House committee assignments are handed out.

Pre-filing of bills started shortly after the November election results were certified and bill filing will continue until Friday March 8. Although there will likely be 5000 or so bills filed less than 1000 will likely get much attention and only a few hundred will even get voted on let alone signed by the governor. One issue that Democrats and Speaker Bonnen agree upon is that Public Education finance is a high priority item.

Public education finance is a topic with two fronts, the most obvious being how much money will the legislature allocate and the less obvious being the formula that will be used when distributing those funds to the hundreds of school districts across the state. Given the large previous budget cuts and then small increases that fail to keep pace with increased costs state funding only covers 35-40% of district budgets. Expect a big fight over how much money the state allocates and another quieter fight over how each districts share is calculated.

Dan Patrick has claimed for years and even campaigned on the idea that property taxes are too high especially the portion charged by school districts. He says he’s going to fix that by capping property taxes and other foolishness. The reality is that the reason districts have had to raise their tax rates is that the state legislature with him in the lead has repeatedly failed to adequately fund public education forcing districts to pick up the slack. Expect Patrick to use shell game tactics to obfuscate what’s really happening and his talk radio hucksterism to sell it. The best thing we can say about incoming Speaker Bonnen is that in the past he’s shown quite a lot of spine in standing up to Lt. Gov. Patrick and House Democrats hope that continues.

While in many ways less significant than public education finance marijuana legalization is also highly likely to be in the news as various groups continue the push toward that goal. In November Michigan became the tenth state to legalize recreational marijuana use, roughly twenty other states have passed some form of broad medical marijuana legalization, so it would be surprising to see the legislature finally make a move in that direction. This is especially true considering the huge tax revenues from legalized marijuana that states like Colorado are now reporting.

Our state legislators have until midnight Monday, May 27, to get all their work done. Let’s all hope they make good use of their time.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - January 4, 2019

Blue Wave Really a Progressive Wave

My Republican neighbors are in denial about the “blue wave” that swept the country earlier this month which led to 38 and possibly 39 or 40 more Democrats in the House. Democrats lost four seats they held in the Senate but won two others previously held in by Republicans from Arizona and Nevada. Nationally turnout was the highest for a mid-term election since 1914 so no one can claim that low turnout caused the swing. In addition to the progress I wrote about two weeks ago made by Democrats in Texas; over 330 state legislative seats switched from Republican to Democratic hands. Democratic governors were elected to replace Republicans in seven states and six state legislatures switched from Republican to Democratic control. There were many county governments and other elected offices like Secretary of State, Secretary of Agriculture, and judgeships changing hands as well.

2019 will be a tremendous year for diversity in our federal legislature. At least 123 women will be in Congress next year, all but 19 are Democrats. The 116th Congress will have the highest percentage of women ever at 23%. The first two Native American women won seats in the House, Deb Haaland from New Mexico and Sharice Davids from Kansas. Religious diversity also increased as the first two Muslim women; Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar and Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib were elected to the House and a record 53 other Muslims won elections to state legislatures and local government bodies. New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest member ever elected to the House.

Nine newly elected members with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and medicine are headed to the House of Representatives seven of them are Democrats; one Democrat won in the Senate.

Elected officials were not the only evidence of the change in the body politic as three Republican controlled states, Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah voted on propositions to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act provision enabling Medicaid expansion. Some of the states where Republican governors were replaced had denied Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act was a campaign issue so their defeat was at least in part a repudiation of the Republican efforts to repeal it.

Three states voted to legalize marijuana, Utah and Missouri for medical treatment and Michigan for recreational use. Florida voted to restore voting rights to 1.4 million felons who have served their time. In New Mexico the newly elected Democratic legislature is already preparing to repeal the existing state law prohibiting abortion so that any action by the Supreme Court on the issue will have no effect there. Arkansas and Missouri both voted to increase the minimum wage, which will give raises to a combined total of 900,000 workers in the two states.

Automatic voter registration, which disproportionately enfranchises young people and people of color, passed in both Nevada and Michigan. In Michigan voters approved same-day voter registration and made it easier to request absentee ballots. Voters in Maryland passed a ballot measure to implement same-day voter registration by a wide margin.

Given all this it wasn’t just a “blue wave” it was a progressive wave and that’s actually more important in the long run.

Texas Democratic Party Platform the Finest in History

Saturday last week in Fort Worth the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) overwhelmingly passed the finest platform in its history. Among other important planks the platform calls for legalization of marijuana like Colorado, a moratorium on new fracking wells and shutting down existing fracking wells by 2026, as well as enacting sensible gun laws to curtail the availability of weapons with extended ammunition magazines, including rapid-fire, magazine-fed weapons.

I had the honor and privilege to be appointed to the Chair’s Advisory Committee on the Platform. My appointment allowed me to have extensive input on both the topics and positions recommended to those who were elected from each of the 31 senate districts at the Texas Democratic Party convention in Fort Worth last week.

Criminal justice reform is a big topic and was placed at the beginning of the platform to emphasize its importance. Due to the high number of Texans jailed for non-violent crimes we the taxpayer are burdened with those costs while it fails to accomplish one of the presumed goals of rehabilitation. The TDP platform calls for big reductions in incarceration starting with bail reform so that being poor doesn’t mean an automatic jail sentence even if found innocent. We also call for eliminating incarceration for many non-violent crimes in favor of probation and other programs which are much more cost effective. We also demand a quick end to private prisons as there should never be a profit incentive for jailing people.

There are a rare few items with which we agree or nearly agree with the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) such as marijuana reform which we believe should involve full legalization similar to Colorado while they only call for making possession of small amounts equivalent to a speeding ticket. The TDP platform also calls for the immediate release of anyone incarcerated for possession of marijuana and expunging their convictions. I’m don’t smoke and I don’t drink so I don’t have much of an axe to grind but if alcohol consumption is legal then I can see no reason to ruin someone’s life over their choice to get inebriated via cannabis.

While the RPT suggests allowing counties to use paper ballots, something the can already do, Democrats call for a return to paper ballots statewide on the ground that it is the only truly auditable and unhackable method of recording our votes. If our democratic republic is to survive it is imperative that we have confidence in the results of our elections. So far there is no evidence that Russian or Chinese hackers succeeded in changing actual ballot counts we know that they did indeed gain access to the election systems of several states and counties we should take steps to insure that it can’t ever happen.

The TDP platform differs in significant ways from the RPT platform passed just a couple of weeks ago in that we support the federal Voting Rights Act and the Texas Voting Rights Act, and restoration of the federal preclearance policies that were overturned by the Supreme Court while they want to repeal those protections. The TDP supports extended early voting periods that the RPT wants to shorten.  Our platform calls for creating a nonpartisan redistricting commission to end racial and political gerrymandering in our redistricting process. We also call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the electoral college and award the presidency to the winner of the nationwide popular vote so that candidates have to campaign in all states not just swing states.

To see the entire platform enter “texas democratic party platform 2018” in your favorite search engine.

Published in the Seguin Gazette June 29, 2018

Highlights of and Link to the 2018 Texas Democratic Party Platform

Criminal Justice

Bail Reform

The Texas Democratic Party Supports amending Texas Constitution Art. 1 § 11, § 13 and Texas Code of Criminal 17.01 and 17.02 to create a pre-trial release system that:

·         presumes release on personal recognizance for people charged with non-violent offenses who have little or no criminal history;

·         requires immediate release of low-risk defendants under the least restrictive conditions necessary to guarantee appearance at court proceedings;

Re­entry

Texas Democrats support programs that decrease recidivism by providing ex-offenders with a pathway back to productive participation in society. Texas Democrats support reducing recidivism by:

·         increasing access to rehabilitation and re-entry programs, with a special emphasis on reducing drug use among people released from prison, including the reversal of policies that deny student loans and grants to those who have completed sentences for drug felonies; and

Mass Incarceration

·         ending the practice of sending poor people to jail or prison for inability to pay fines and court costs;

·         redirecting mentally ill offenders from the criminal justice system to treatment programs when the risk to public safety is low;

Eliminating Private Prisons

·         amending the Texas Constitution to require state and local governments to directly operate and perform all core services at prisons, jails, and detention facilities within the State of Texas, and expressly prohibit the use of private prisons, jails, and detention facilities within the State of Texas;

Democracy

·         existing voter protection policies under the federal Voting Rights Act and the Texas Voting Rights Act, and restoration of the federal preclearance policies in the Voting Rights Act that were overturned by the Supreme Court;

·         instituting vote by mail for all elections – federal, state and local;

·         the creation of a nonpartisan redistricting commission to end racial and political gerrymandering in our redistricting process;

·         a constitutional amendment to eliminate the electoral college and award the presidency to the winner of the nationwide popular vote, and failing that, we urge all states to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, so that candidates must campaign everywhere and not just in swing states;

·         a return to paper ballots because they are more secure, much less expensive, and are the only method that can provide a truly auditable vote count;

·         the report and recommendations of the Unity Reform Commission to the Democratic National Committee as a carefully considered and eloquent prescription for strengthening democracy for all American citizens in general elections and Democratic Party nominations.

Ethics in Government

·         requiring elected officials throughout the state, including local or county officials, to file a personal financial statement to allow for more transparency; and

·         requiring every candidate for the President of the United States to disclose their complete federal tax return and, upon election, place private holdings in a blind trust for divestment.

Good Jobs Build Strong Communities

·         Every American should have a right to a job; therefore, federally funded jobs paying at least a living wage with health insurance and other typical benefits on projects selected by the states and local governments must be available in or near every community.

Healthcare for All

The Texas Democratic Party asserts that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege for the few. Texas Democrats recognize that the health and well-being of Texas residents cannot be based on decisions made by non-healthcare professionals whose primary concern is the financial well-being of a corporation rather than the well-being of an individual.

·         support the inclusion of a “Single Payer Option” as an addition to the plans currently offered under the state exchange systems;

Cannabis Reform

·         Texas legislation to legalize possession and use of cannabis and its derivatives and to regulate its use, production and sale as is successfully done in Colorado, Washington and other States;

Gun Violence Prevention

·         Closing loopholes that allow guns to be sold or traded without passing a mandatory and thorough background check;

·         Enacting legislation to require all individuals charged with domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic or foreign terrorism, stalking or any violent felony to temporarily surrender all weapons and ammunition in their possession to law enforcement pending adjudication of their case(s);

·         Enacting sensible gun laws to curtail the availability of weapons with extended ammunition magazines, including rapid-fire, magazine-fed, military-style assault weapons;

Energy and Environment

A Moratorium on Fracking

·         a moratorium on new fracking wells;

·         set a goal of shutting down existing fracking wells by 2026;

·         set a goal of ending the practice of injecting wastewater by 2023;

Clean and Available Water

• Access to clean drinking water is a human right.

Immigration

·         strongly oppose the Trump Administration’s policy abusing children by of separating children from their parents at the southern border and denounce housing children in tent cities;

·         strongly oppose “tender age” shelters for infants and small children;

·         strongly oppose the Trump Administration so called “zero tolerance” approach to immigration;

·         strongly oppose the Trump Administration’s policy to no longer recognize asylum claims or Temporary Protected Status for refugees fleeing forced gang recruitment and violence perpetrated by gangs and refugees fleeing domestic violence;

·         support securing and protecting our border, while treating asylum seekers humanely;

·         strongly oppose any type of bans based on religious affiliation or country of origin;

·         strongly oppose efforts to build a border wall of any size and the unrealistic claim, and possibly abandoned claim, that a foreign country will pay for a border wall;

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NdguJq-4AhdyAz4WLzo_B-9HjMzJb1mS