star-telegram.com: Legislature

Fort Worth school board candidates arguing over mailer

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:02 CDT

By AMAN BATHEJA

FORT WORTH -- The school board race between Carlos Vasquez and Camille Rodriguez may be over but the attacks are still coming, this time over a controversial campaign mailer that went out to voters last week.

Vasquez, a former principal, unseated the incumbent Rodriguez in Saturday's election, winning 64 percent of the votes.

The mailer featured a stick figure of a man grasping the bars of a prison window with the headline "Do You Want To Go BACK to these Times?" The text on the back called on Vasquez to "TELL THE TRUTH" and then lists several statements in the first person, as if coming from Vasquez. Among the statements: "I have NO ETHICS," "I BUY votes with cash" and "I WANT to go back to the days of CRIME AND CORRUPTION under [former Superintendent Thomas] Tocco."

The mailer says the political advertisement was paid for by Voters for the TRUTH.

The return address listed on the flier is "PO Box 1213 Circle Park, Fort Worth, TX 76164." No such address exists. However, 1213 Circle Park Blvd. in Fort Worth is the address of an empty lot across the street from Vasquez's house. Vasquez owns the property.

Vasquez said he learned about the mailer when the postal service delivered several to his mailbox return to sender. He said he was initially confused by what he saw because of the address and the use of his campaign's colors: purple and gold. Then he read the content.

"I was just really, really surprised, and I couldn't believe anybody would put out things like that," Vasquez said.

Vasquez said Rodriguez was probably behind the mailer.

"The information that was contained on that piece was the same stuff she used in her fliers," Vasquez said. "She constantly said I want to go back to the era of Dr. Tocco and his corruption."

Rodriguez said that she didn't send the flier but that whoever did could have lifted that wording from her campaign material.

"I didn't have anything to do with it," Rodriguez said. "As nasty as he's been toward me, I assume he thinks I'm going to get back at him."

Rodriguez continued: "He might have done it himself to blame me. I wouldn't put it past him."

The Fort Worth school district has no record of a group called Voters for the Truth. Political action committees, formed in connection with a Fort Worth school board or bond election, have to file campaign contribution reports with the district's board election office. But no political action committees filed reports for the May 10 elections, said Connie Berry, the administrative assistant assigned to maintain election records for the school district.

Representatives for the Tarrant County Elections Office and the Texas Ethics Commission also said they have no record of the group.

Commission spokesman Tim Sorrells said the Texas Election Code does not have a rule requiring return addresses on campaign material and does not specifically take up the issue of using a fake address.

The election code does classify misrepresentation of identity as a Class A misdemeanor.

Using a fake address on mail is, however, a federal crime, according to the U.S. Postal Service Web site.

Vasquez said he plans to file a complaint with the ethics commission.

Despite its apparent intent, Vasquez said the mailer might have helped him win.

"Ultimately, I think when voters ... probably looked at it as ... being vindictive and ugly," he said.

Texas GOP lawmakers hired ghost workers too, Democrats note

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:05 CDT

By JOHN MORITZ

The political dust-up over whether some Texas House members are hiring so-called ghost workers -- who received state benefits without devoting at least 40 hours a week to their jobs -- escalated Thursday with Democrats pointing out that Republican members have also engaged in the practice.

Glenn Smith, a veteran Democratic operative who heads the Progress Council, distributed documents showing that two members of House Speaker Tom Craddick's leadership team were either classifying low-wage staff members as full time, or paying them full-time wages from the state payroll and full-time wages from their political account.

"I'm not saying there's anything illegal about that," Smith said. "Just as I'm saying there's nothing illegal with what [some Democratic members] are doing. What's outrageous is that Craddick is using the resources of the House to try and gain an advantage over some of his adversaries."

Craddick has ordered two House committees to examine whether any members have violated House rules or state law with their hiring and payroll practices. He's also asked the attorney general's office and the state auditor along with the Travis County district attorney's office to look into the matter. The furor erupted after a series of reports by the Austin American-Statesman detailed the practice.

The articles said two Craddick critics -- Democratic state Reps. Jim Dunnam of Waco and Craig Eiland of Galveston -- had hired former House members as low-paid full-time workers. By continuing on the state payroll, the former members can build up service time that could sweeten their retirement packages.

The paper also said one of Craddick's Republican critics, Rep. Byron Cook of Corsicana, was carrying a full-time staffer while she attended graduate school out of state.

Smith, a former staffer in the Texas Senate, said it's been a long-standing practice in the Capitol for lawmakers' aides to log 70- or 80-hour workweeks during the intense 140-day legislative sessions and occasional special sessions, then scale their hours way back once the sessions ended.

Expecting staffers to adhere to a year-round 40-hour workweek in the Capitol environment is unrealistic, he said.

He said state Rep. Tony Goolsby, a Dallas Republican who heads the House Administration Committee, has had at least four ghost workers in recent years. Last week, Goolsby wrote a letter to each House member admonishing them to make sure their staff payrolls were on the up-and-up and warning them that their practices would be reviewed to ensure compliance with House rules.

After being informed that he had paid four staffers what amounted to part-time wages while classifying them as full time, Goolsby told the American-Statesman that, in hindsight, he should have designated them as part-timers.

State Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican and Craddick ally who heads the House Regulated Industries Committee, rejected Smith's assertion that he was also employing two ghost workers. The two staffers were receiving full-time wages from both the state payroll and from King's political campaign account.

"The people that I have on the payroll as full-time work full time for the state of Texas," King said. "Do I supplement their pay [with political funds]? Yes. That's the only way I can keep good people on staff. The fact is, under House rules, we don't get enough money to pay good people what they're worth."

So then, Smith asked, why all the uproar? If some members choose to stretch their payrolls by hiring more people at lower wages, House rules and custom gives them that discretion, he said.

Craddick spokeswoman Alex DeLee said the speaker ordered the inquiries to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

"The public deserves to be confident that the House operates with integrity, and the speaker remains confident that the House does so," DeLee said. "Members and citizens alike would expect the House to act responsibly when these kinds of questions are raised.

"The questions were properly forwarded to the House General Investigating Committee, which oversees issues of employees and payroll. The committee's attention to such matters is not with the intent to implicate or exonerate any member, but to determine the facts and thereafter recommend any appropriate action by the House."

Fort Worth leader gets seat on panel

Thu, 01 May 2008 04:39 CDT

By GORDON DICKSON

FORT WORTH -- Bill Meadows' reputation as a political bridge builder is one reason he was selected Wednesday to serve on the Texas Transportation Commission. He'll be put to the test immediately, pitching toll roads to a skeptical public and distrustful Legislature.

Gov. Rick Perry announced Wednesday that he had appointed Meadows, a longtime Fort Worth civic leader and former four-term City Council member, to one of two openings on the five-member commission. The body oversees the Transportation Department and is responsible for mapping out a plan to reduce gridlock.

Perry also appointed his former chief of staff Deirdre Delisi as commission chairwoman. Meadows and Delisi will begin serving immediately, although their appointments must be confirmed by the Senate in 2009. Their terms end Feb. 1, 2013.

Meadows, who resigned his seat on the North Texas Tollway Authority board Wednesday shortly after the appointment was made official, said toll roads aren't the answer to all traffic problems. But, he said, Texans must get the message about the state's bleak highway-funding situation. Highways have traditionally been supported by gasoline taxes, but those funds haven't kept pace with the cost of building roads.

"Properly explained, I think the public will accept toll roads, particularly if we are careful and clear in explaining what the future capacity needs are going to be," Meadows said. "The fact is this state is going to grow dramatically in the next 50 years. There are projections that put the population at 40 million people in 2060. We're going to have to work hard to provide additional capacity to serve that sort of population growth."

Meadows is the first Fort Worth resident to serve on the commission since Robert Bass was a member in 1986-87.

Tarrant County leaders praised the appointment, saying they hope Meadows' influence will speed up construction of projects such as Southwest Parkway, a proposed toll road from downtown to southwest Fort Worth, and new toll and nontoll lanes on Interstate 35W, Loop 820 and Airport Freeway.

Delisi said criticism of toll roads is a byproduct of tackling a tough problem -- how to pay for much-needed roads without raising taxes. "Our transportation infrastructure and how we're going to build it and pay for it are very difficult challenges that need to be addressed," she said.

Texas lawmakers vow to press for expansion of health insurance for children

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:54 CDT

By R.A. DYER

AUSTIN -- Noting that Texas leads the nation in uninsured children, key lawmakers joined with healthcare advocates Tuesday in calling for an expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.

Eligibility for the government-subsidized children's insurance program is restricted to families with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $41,300 for a family of four.

But in a news conference Tuesday, state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said they will press for legislation in 2009 to extend the CHIP eligibility limit to 300 percent. Likewise, requirements that families on Medicaid re-enroll every six months should be extended to one year, they said.

Zaffirini is vice chairwoman of the powerful Senate finance committee and has a place on a committee for Medicaid reform.

Turner is on the House appropriations and calendars committees.

He is also co-author of House Bill 109, a law from 2007 that made several key changes to the CHIP program.

"Texas has the highest rate of uninsured children, and that is absolutely abominable," said Zaffirini, who added that expanding coverage would be expensive but "should be seen as an investment."

The lawmakers could not estimate the cost of those or other proposed changes. They said that any reform legislation should include provisions to improve the CHIP enrollment system, to reduce red tape for families applying for CHIP and to increase outreach so more Texans know about the program.

They said that 1.5 million Texas children are without insurance and that at least 700,000 of them are eligible for CHIP or Medicaid.

Turner's House Bill 109 waived a 90-day waiting period for families seeking CHIP coverage, increased the value of fixed assets a CHIP family can have without losing eligibility and restored CHIP outreach.

It also extended the re-enrollment requirement for CHIP from six months to a year.

That and other changes helped increase the number of children getting insurance through the program by 109,000, according to information from the Children's Defense Fund, which sponsored the news conference Tuesday.

Benefits under CHIP and children's Medicaid include coverage for checkups, dental care, eye exams and glasses, immunizations, prescriptions, medical supplies, hospital services, mental health, X-rays, labs and hospice care, according to information from the Children's Defense Fund.

Medicaid coverage for qualifying low-income Texans is free and requires no monthly premiums or co-payments. Traditional CHIP requires sliding-scale payments based on family income.

Bush urges action on his energy proposals

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:37 CDT

By JENNIFER LOVEN

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Tuesday that Congress is blocking his proposals to deal with high gas prices and dragging its feet on other issues to address the nation's sagging economy. He said he was open to any idea in terms of energy, including a proposal backed by John McCain and Hillary Clinton to suspend gas and diesel taxes this summer.

But, he said, he favors longer-term fixes, such as encouraging new oil production in the United States and the building of new refineries.

"It's a tough time for our economy," Bush said at a Rose Garden news conference. "Across our country, many Americans are understandably anxious about issues affecting their pocketbook, from gas and food prices to mortgage and tuition bills. They're looking to their elected leaders in Congress for action.

"Unfortunately, on many of these issues, all they're getting is delay," he said.

Bush was asked about a proposal by Republican presidential contender John McCain, later endorsed by Democrat Hillary Clinton, to suspend taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel for the summer travel season. The tax is 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents on diesel.

"I'm open to any ideas, and we'll analyze anything that comes up," he said.

But Bush also said he didn't want to inject himself into the ongoing presidential race. Of the three candidates, only Democrat Barack Obama has not backed the gas-tax proposal.

The average price of a gallon of gas has reached $3.60 nationwide.

Bush renewed his objection to calls that the government discontinue keeping up the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve supply while oil prices are so high. "If I thought it would affect the price of oil significantly, I would seriously consider it," he said of an idea embraced by many Democrats and some Republicans.

Bush also said that it was important to keep filling the reserve, in underground salt domes in Texas and Louisiana, in case there is a terrorist attack on the nation's oil supplies. He also once again called for Congress to permit drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a proposal he has made repeatedly since he first took office in 2001, and to pave the way for the building of new refineries.

"Another reason for high gas prices is the lack of refining capacity. It's been more than 30 years since America built its last new refinery.

"Yet in this area, too, Congress has repeatedly blocked efforts to expand capacity and build more refineries," Bush said.

Conservative lawmakers plan to target immigration

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:38 CDT

Conservative state legislators made it clear Monday that they'll again push for strict state laws to crack down on illegal immigration when lawmakers convene in January.

A chief area they're likely to concentrate on is encouraging police departments to work with U.S. officials to enforce federal immigration laws, which the House State Affairs Committee is studying.

"The fact of the matter is, our borders are broken," said Republican Rep. Debbie Riddle of Tomball, urging lawmakers to battle illegal immigration in 2009.

Measure would silence in-flight cellphone calls on U.S. airliners

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:37 CDT

By DAVE MONTGOMERY

The campaign against disruptive cellphone conversations is spreading to the skies.

Armed with their own horror stories of rude cellphone users, three lawmakers on Tuesday introduced "The HANG UP" Act -- Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace -- which would ban in-flight cellphone use aboard U.S. airliners.

Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.; Jerry Costello, D-Ill.; and John Duncan, R-Tenn., said the bill is designed to keep American airlines from emulating carriers in the European Union, which recently gave the go-ahead to cellphone use aboard flights within its 27 member nations.

Just as their news con- ference started, six staff members, following orders from DeFazio, simultaneously began dialing cellphones and chattering to display the kind of nerve-racking babble that passengers might expect to endure 30,000 feet in the sky.

"I can't imagine people going through what I went through just a few weeks ago," said Costello as he recalled the passenger seated behind him on a flight from St. Louis to Washington, D.C.

"His cellphone went off before we started to depart," Costello said. "It became obvious to everyone around that it was either his wife or girlfriend, and she gave him the bad news that they were breaking up."

The young man spent the next 10 minutes "begging and pleading" with the caller until a flight attendant demanded that he hang up, Costello said.

Costello, the chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, said he plans to hold immediate hearings in the hopes of passing the bill as quickly as possible.

The legislation would apply only to audible conversations and wouldn't restrict wireless e-mails, text-messaging or the use of laptop computers.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission currently prohibit in-flight cellphone use aboard U.S. airliners.

Charging fees for in-flight cellphone use could provide a new source of revenue for cash-strapped airlines burdened by rising fuel costs and other operating pressures.

"We think this is something that shouldn't happen,"' said DeFazio. "And we want to intervene before it does and before the airlines become addicted to the money."

Passengers can operate their cellphones while the plane is on the ground but not in the air. The in-flight bans were put into place because of potential disruptions with the planes' instruments.

EU officials and airlines in the member nations plan to use onboard stations -- the equivalent of an airborne mobile tower -- to send signals directly to a satellite, avoiding a potential disruption with the planes' communications.

The Air Transport Association, the trade group representing major airlines, said in a statement that in-flight communications "should be made by the individual airlines based on passenger needs and preferences."

Airline attendants, who would be charged with enforcing the policy, are strongly against lifting the ban, as are most passengers, according to a survey by the International Airline Passengers Association.