Want More Local Debt Transparency? Senator Bettencourt Delivers with SB 1041

The 84th Texas Legislature is coming to a fast and furious close.  Will there be a special session?  Will there be TWO special sessions?  Only time will tell.

As individual activists and collectively as communities in varying school districts across the state of Texas, I think it's safe to say we're all concerned about mounting local debt, especially debt for our school districts through bonds that are issued.  We've all experienced the frustrations that come with those hidden elections, when precinct numbers are changed and mobile voting is introduced, ensuring a low voter turnout to those who would normally be against the bond.

I'm a resident of the Cy-Fair School District and they passed a $1.2 Billion Bond Referendum last May that I worked against that passed with flying colors.  They employed the same tactics that other school districts and taxing authorities use to get their bonds pushed through on an unsuspecting public.  These tactics are not new, and as long as they keep being successful, they won't ever stop.

I know how hard I've personally worked alongside other volunteers and activists to defeat certain bond measures and to defeat increased taxes.  Not because I hate children or don't want to see children succeed, but because as a taxpayer I have to wonder, when is enough, 'enough'?     

Thankfully, not all hope is lost.  One of the ways we can try to rein in local debt is through the Texas state legislature.  The representatives we send to Austin, (or even you) can write and introduce bills to make changes to current laws to ensure the changes that we want on how bond measures are presented on the ballot get made.

Enter SB 1041, introduced by Senator Paul Bettencourt.  Here's a little about the bill from Senator Bettencourt, "Taxpayers have a right to know how much debt their local government has taken out and what the cost is to taxpayers. For the first time, taxpayers will get to directly see how much they should expect to pay when they vote for bonds - right on the ballot itself.

My bill, SB 1041, just passed the Senate 26-5 and would require on any ballot to approve property tax backed debt, information about their local government debt and the amount of taxes the average homeowner would pay to pay off their local government debt. This information is required for ALL of the property tax backed debt the local government currently has, and the debt they are asking voters to approve."

Wow!  Right on the ballot?!?  Right on, Senator Bettencourt! 

HB 4 passes the House and is now in the Education Committee in the Senate.

                                                

Pro-liberty House Member Jonathan Stickland writes about his position on House Bill 4.

"This weeks worst bill of the week didn't quite start out that way, but by the time the liberals in the Texas house were done with it, it earned the ‪#‎WBOTW‬ award.
HB 4 by GOP Rep. Dan Huberty sought to establish a "High Quality" pre-k program in the state of Texas. The first obvious question is, "Why would we be spending money on our other pre-k programs if they aren't "high quality"?
After an amendment offered by conservative Rep. Jodie Laubenberg to put a ceiling on the amount of money spent on this pilot program was gutted by progressive liberal Trey Martinez-Fischer, it was effectively opened up to unlimited spending. Things only got worse from there. The measure initially limiting it to a half day program was also stripped allowing, for full day programs for 4 year olds. New requirements and testing of our teachers and children also found their way on to the legislation.
The final end product in my opinion was nothing but a first step for the state of Texas requiring an unlimited, full day, mandatory pre-k program.
I wish that value was placed in fostering an environment of stronger family units instead of government daycare. How can we on one hand complain when parents are not as involved in their children's education as needed, and then promote handing them over to government at a younger age?"

House Bill 4 has a companion bill in the Senate; SB 801 and it is in committee now.  Here is a link to find all of the committee members.  Click here to find the names of the members.

We need to stop the intrusion of the government into the family unit.  Call the Senate Education Committee Members to tell them to kill this bill.

Third Times A Charm: The 84th Texas Legislature Revives House Voter Registration Bill

Ever get stuck on ONE topic and write about it until you can't possibly write about it anymore?  Nah, me neither.  So, you'll excuse me for writing once again about election law and election integrity.  Both are extremely important to maintain free and fair elections.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to be one of those countries that has to dip our thumbs in purple ink to prove that we haven't voted more than once.  Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

So, to prevent us going to that extreme, despite some differences in opinion that we all may have with our representatives, there is some good legislation that has been written and introduced to help keep voter fraud at bay, none of which, I might add, have ANYTHING to do with approving online voter registration.  That's another topic for another day.

House Bill 1096 has been written and introduced by Representative Jim Murphy and it's a bill "relating to the residence address of a person for purposes of registration under the Election Code."    Now, as election law sits, there are lots of loopholes in the laws regarding voter registration.  For example, you could put your place of residence as a big open field that you, 'plan' to build on later, all the while living somewhere else.  Or, you could live in a mansion and have your address for your voter registration be some tiny apartment with 100 other voters registered to the same address in Sheila Jackson Lee's district.  I kid you not. 

This bill, should it become law, basically tightens down on the loop holes and makes it so that the following matches your voter registration:
a) your drivers license
b) your primary residence
c) concealed handgun license adress
d) address of property where person has a homestead exemption

So, here's where we're at in the process of HB 1096.  It has been reviewed by the Elections Committee and testimony on the bill is scheduled for March 16, 2015.  A panel of the committee members will listen to testimony, both pro and con for the bill and then they will make a decision based on their findings there.  Once they decide to let it leave the Elections committee, it will head to Calendars committee and they will determine whether the bill makes it to the house floor.  This particular bill has been brought up twice before.  Testimony has been heard on it both times, and unfortunately, it has never made it out of committee.

So, if you agree that this bill needs to be passed out of committee and a chance to be handed off to calendars and the process continued, I would encourage you to contact the members of the Elections Committee.   Click on the link provided here to see all of the members. 

I said it before, and I'll say it again, the game to steal elections is always afoot, so please help protect your ballot.  Through GOTV efforts at election time, staying vigilant at the polls when working as an election judge or clerk and paying attention during the legislative session, we can all work together to ensure free and fair elections continue here in the state of Texas.

Rodney Ellis' Omnibus Elections Bill Shuttles Texas Voters Back In Time

We all talk about protecting the constitution and holding our elected officials accountable.  However, unless we work to protect our elections, then the rest is for naught,  Unfortunately, the liberal left is always working to perfect the theft of our elections, not just on election day, but through other avenues like voter registration fraud.  They also try to steal elections by pushing through legislation that rolls back the safeguards that photo ID and other requirements provide.  With the 84th Texas Legislature in full swing, this session proves to be no different than others in the pursuit of the vote.

The state of Texas has come so far with the progress it has made to ensure elections are not stolen.  Photo Voter ID was a huge step in the right direction as well as upgrades that were made to the electronic equipment that is used for elections.  However, Democrat Rodney Ellis wants to bring all of the progress on election integrity to a screeching halt with Senate Bill 990, as he calls it, "a far-reaching and omnibus bill to improve and protect voting rights in Texas."

Senator Ellis claims that these are "common sense election reforms", but what I think he meant was, that these are 'nonsense election reforms' because the things that he is suggesting that we do as a state in this bill are absolute nonsense.

Let's touch on the first bit of nonsense:

• Same-day Voter Registration-Allows qualified citizens to register to vote at a polling place on election day.  This will allow otherwise eligible voters to register and vote on election day.

I'll tell you what this same-day voter registration will allow, it will allow voters to register in all 900 precincts in Harris County and vote in every one of them.   There's also no time to check residency or signatures on a same day registration, both of which are key.  In the Wisconsin recall election for Governor Scott Walker, there were forty-five counts and convictions of voter fraud and they all came from same day voter registration.

• Section 34 of SB 990 states that "a qualified voter is eligible to vote a late ballot as provided by this chapter if the voter has a sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the polls on election day..."

Give me a break!  As if two weeks of early voting isn't enough to get yourself to the polls!  Oh, and let's just forget about the likelihood of the Democrats getting the vote totals and then figuring out how many 'sick' people they need to show up to vote in order to keep their freebies rolling in!  This, again, shows what nonsense this bill really is.

• Youth Preregistration for Voting-Allows a person to preregister to vote on or after the person's 16th birthday.  Mr. Ellis also would like year old children to be allowed to register to vote.  

Mr. Ellis would have you believe that by doing this, we would be "engaging young people to vote".  I have no doubt that there is truth to that, however, we have enough trouble keeping up with the voters we have now, much less adding a bunch more names of people who aren't even allowed to vote yet.  More potential for voter fraud!!  More confusion at the polls!  This could overwhelm the system and cause chaos, actually allowing 16 year olds to vote at the busiest precincts when election workers are rushed and can't properly take the time to check their status.  Something that we definitely do not need.     

Friends,the game to steal elections is ALWAYS afoot.  We must remain vigilant.  As  Noah Webster once said, "If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted.... If a republic form of government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws." 

Points System And The Projects

MORE low income housing for the Cy-Fair/Bear Creek area, you say?  Yes, it's true.  Hard to believe?  Well believe it!

I recently wrote an article titled, "Plutocracy and the Projects" in which I briefly outlined the process by which low income housing makes its way stealthily into the burbs.  It's a pretty involved process, but I thought I would try to break it down for you, maybe get a little more in-depth on the subject this time.

I'm reporting primarily about the Cypress, Texas area, but I'm sure that much of the targeted areas get close to the same amount of money.  Right now, the federal government had dangled $9,704,613 for the Cypress area.  Each developer seeks $1.5 million.  Only the top six developers with the highest points are awarded funds.    The developers need 118 points to qualify to receive the funds.  What I'd like to do is show where the points come from to show you how important it is for the state representatives to maintain their negative point capabilities.

Last year, the highest points achieved were 133.  By contrast, the lowest points awarded were 125.  The developers were funded or lost on a single point.

There are several entities that can award or subtract points to the developers.  They are:
-School District
-MUD 61 JF-Hofman
281-469-9405
JFHofman@District61.org
-Fire Department
-EMS
-Law Enforcement
-Local Businesses
-Elected Officials
The only other quantifiable community participation is with a coalition, which, thanks to James and Barbara Hardin, Cy-Fair has now; The Cypress Coalition.  It first came to the Cypress Coalition's attention last year and I wrote an article about the first town hall meeting titled, "The Texas House-Representing Voters or Subsidized Developers?"

State Representatives still have eight points, which can have a HUGE impact, as you see that developers were funded or lost on a single point.  As of the current legislative session, State Representatives are proposing to give up their points that serve their constituents.  County commissioners also have the ability to add or take away points; they've been allotted three points.

To further prove the need for the reps to keep their points, especially those that represent Cy-Fair as we have several vulnerabilities as an area.  We live in an unincorporated area, which means we don't have a city council or a mayor to represent us.   That leaves us with, you guessed it, relying on the State Reps and the County Commissioners to be our voice.

Stay tuned as there's a town hall being planned to oppose the two new proposed developments.  If you're concerned, please contact State Representative Dwayne Bohac at:

(512) 463-0727   Austin Office

(713) 460-2800   District Office

I'm sure there's more to come since the 84th legislation is far from over. 

Plutocracy and the Projects

Plutocracy is defined as government by the wealthy, or an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.  I can't think of a better word to describe the government of the state of Texas.  Now, I hear you, you're saying, Texas, right?  Yes, I'm talking about our great state of Texas, and while the government of Texas hasn't done EVERYTHING wrong, there is definitely room for improvement.

I'll start off with one good thing; Texas' decision to refuse the use of Common Core Standards for our public school system.  Not just the standards, but the money that the feds dangled in front of the state.  Let's face it, the government doesn't give anything away for nothing.  They always want something in return-there are always strings attached.  Common Core was no different.  However, the reason that the state turned down the money wasn't just because they were trying to be honorable, and 'do the right thing'.  It was simply a case of not being able to profit from the implementation of Common Core statewide.

Next topic, low income housing.  Yep, I hear you groaning.  Once again, the feds are at the ready to offer up money to the state, in the form of tax credits, but guess what kids, there are strings attached.  The state has an agency set up called Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), and they hand out the tax credits to the developers who score the most points in order to build the low income housing I mentioned.

Low income housing usually lowers property values, increases crime rates and overcrowds the system; fire departments, schools, EMS services, etc.  However, that's of no concern to the developers who only see dollar signs when they come into the neighborhood they are trying to 'bust'. That's a real term, 'neighborhood busting' and it's a term and an action that has trickled down from liberal Washington, D.C.  Surprise!

So, back to these points that the developers try to accumulate in order to build; you may be asking, who can award those points?  I'm so glad you asked. The state legislators of the designated development area have points to award, as do county commissioners, school districts, water districts and community coalitions, which brings me to my main point.  The state does NOT have to accept this money from the feds!!  If they had courage of conviction, the state would tell the feds to get the hell out of our state, similar to the courage, ahem, they exhibited when they shunned Common Core.  There is one glaring difference here, though.

If you guessed the potential for capital gain on the part of the legislators, then you guessed correctly.  Hmmm, let's see, the developers just might sidle up to the legislator whose district they want to build in, and oh, maybe make a campaign contribution.  Gee, I can't imagine why the legislators wouldn't want these developers to keep coming back.

To another point that has my pants in a bunch is that during the last legislative session, the Senate voted to do away with their points.  Now they have no say in what comes into their districts.  The House is planning on doing the same thing this session.  This can only lead the voter to one conclusion; that the representatives WANT the campaign contributions to continue to flow without having any accountability to those they represent.

This issue isn't over.  I'll be following it and sharing with all of you to keep you informed.     

The Grassroots Have Spoken: Scott Turner for Texas Speaker

"When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you … you may know that your society is doomed."  Ayn Rand

Texas, we're there.  Need proof?  Look no further than the race for the Speaker of the House.  "The money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors" has never been more prevalent than in the dynamics of the Speaker of the House race.  Folks, we're in a battle for control of the agenda for the 84th legislative session and the stakes couldn't be higher.

Texas is known as a bastion of conservatism.  It's a Republican 'red' state, but far from conservative, by my standards anyway.  If we want to make it truly conservative, then we the people of Texas have got to keep our eyes on ALL of our elected officials to ensure that they are voting correctly and really and truly taking a stand to protect our freedom to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  The Texas Speaker of the House plays a big part in all of these facets of liberty and if you are a friend of liberty, then you are no friend of Joe Straus.

I have written several articles about the speakers race and have discussed how important it is for us to have a say in who is elected speaker.  The handwriting is on the wall, folks.  County Republican parties all over the state of Texas have endorsed Scott Turner for Speaker of the House.  Not only that, but the body of delegates at the Republican State Convention held in June of 2014 voted to pass a resolution in which the vote for Speaker should be a vote cast by none other than the voters of Texas!

To pile onto the sentiment of unrest over the decision for Speaker of the House, on Monday night, the largest county in the state of Texas endorsed Scott Turner for Speaker.   I'm happy to say that I'm a member of the Executive Committee of the Harris County GOP by way of being a precinct chair.  The resolution was written and introduced by precinct chairman David Wilson with three speakers for the resolution and three against.  After some heated debate, the vote was taken and it passed. 

I'm not sure what more proof that the representatives need that we want a change in the Speaker of the House!  We all know the old saying, "Follow the money."  All of the representatives' support for Joe Straus has been bought and paid for.  I included a link in my previous blog, called, "Is the Republican Delegation of the state of Texas For Sale?" of all the different reps who have received  money from Straus.  We need to make a change.  I don't know about you, but I for one am tired of our representation being bought and paid for.  Scott Turner for Speaker!

Is the Republican Delegation of the State of Texas for Sale?

"You were bought with a price." 1 Corinthians 6:20

We all were, if you are a Christian.  Jesus paid the ransom for our sin with his own blood so that we could have eternal life.  Pretty hefty price, if you ask me.

One could say that our delegation of Texas State Representatives have been bought with a price, too.   Not one as noble as the price that Christ paid for our sins.  What I'm talking about here is their vote for the Texas Speaker of the House, bought and paid for by current Speaker of the House, Joe Straus. Follow the money, especially all the lobbyist money Straus distributes with strong strings attached.  See the article just written by a contributor to Raging Elephants Radio with a complete list of state reps who have received contributions from Speaker Straus.

Now, you might accuse me of being extreme here with the parallel I've drawn, but I don't think so.  See, the state of Texas and it's future rests squarely in the hands of the Speaker of the House, which is a position that needs to be held by a true conservative member of the house.  My choice?  Scott Turner, that's who.

Scott Turner understands the responsibility he has as a legislator and where our priorities should be.  From a fellow blogger, Adam Cahnman's most recent blog post he relays some of Scott's legislative priorities:

"...As a candidate for the Office of Speaker of the House, I have spent the last several months traveling across our great state and have heard the voice of the people calling for their representatives to help promote and protect our shared values of faith, family, and free enterprise. It is important that we focus on the future of Texas and not rest on the perceived victories of the past.

As the next Speaker of the House, I want us to focus on securing our borders, fully implementing E-verify, and completely ending the practice of sanctuary cites. Moreover, we can no longer put off giving parents and families a choice to provide the best educational environment for their children. Additionally, we must provide a solid financial environment for our state by repealing the Gross Margins Tax and implementing a fiscally conservative budget that exemplifies responsible stewardship of the taxpayers’ money.

I look forward to working with my fellow members to seize the opportunities set before us, work on the passage of the critical legislation the people are calling for, and move forward in a bipartisan effort to ensure true freedom and prosperity for Texas.”

As someone who's been working with the Scott Turner team, I've been privileged to hear him speak more than a few times.  One of the quotes I gathered from him that I found rather inspiring myself was this one, "Status quo and complacency rob you."  This quote can definitely be applied to the upcoming legislative session.

Sadly, as I mentioned earlier, it seems that the Straus camp has already sent out their talking points to his delegation, and their little army of 'lemmings' has all but regurgitated the information on all of their Facebook walls and at speeches around the state.  Lots of them reflect Scott's perceived inexperience as a legislator.  Another quote from Scott that refutes that claim, "I'm no stranger to scrutiny and accountability."

I believe it is that same scrutiny and accountability that he speaks of that will make him a great speaker.  Win or lose, Scott will take the vote to the floor, because in his own words, once again, "It's time."

Is it Murphy's Law to Support Joe Straus?

"If you aren't willing to fight for what you believe, do not cry about what you will lose."
I have no idea who this quote is from, but I love it.  I think it's fitting of the upcoming Speaker's race for the Texas House.  What do I mean?  I mean that if you aren't willing to fight for a new, conservative Speaker of the House, then don't cry about what you will lose.  What will we lose?  The conservative stronghold that we have maintained here in Texas, despite the current speaker's liberal influence.


Let's introduce the players, shall we?  We have incumbent Joe Straus, with known ties to Democrats and a history of stalling conservative legislation.  We now thankfully also have Scott Turner, a staunch conservative who has vowed to his family and his supporters to see this race through to the bitter end.   Not only that, he has promised to make the vote for speaker an 'on the record' vote for all of the state representatives so that their constituents can see.  No more closed door, back room deals on Speaker of the House.

This race also has a history of pitting conservative activists against each other about whether or not to even 'pick this fight'.  Some say it's not worth the time and energy to help one candidate for speaker over another.  Some say that it doesn't matter who the speaker is, followed by those who say that we're wasting our time because our voice won't be heard with our representatives on this issue.  I used to be in one or a few of those camps, but I've changed my mind, and I hope after reading this, you might decide to get involved, too.

What I hear you saying is, how can we make a difference in this particular race, seeing as how it's perceived as such inside baseball, if you will.  Here's my answer: talk to your representatives.  Call their offices and chat with them about making Scott Turner their choice for Speaker.  Send them a note via e-mail or snail mail asking them to vote for Scott Turner.  Better yet, find out when they might be having a town hall meeting and show up to let them know how important their choice is for Speaker and how much you would like for them to vote for Scott Turner.  

Not being one to ask others to do something I wouldn't do, I thought I'd start us off with a town hall that one of the state representatives was holding here in Houston, Texas.  State representative Jim Murphy hosted a town hall this past weekend to a crowd of about seventy-five people.  He took us through the past session and what he sees on the horizon for the upcoming 84th legislative session, but that's another blog for another day.

Lo and behold, it was time for the question and answer session.  Oooh, pick me!  Pick me!  I raised my hand and after a few questions, he got to me.  With video camera rolling, I asked him about the speaker's race.  I wanted to know if I could get a commitment from him on whether or not he would be supporting Scott Turner for Speaker of the House.  He did the typical political song and dance and never really committed to make a decision.  You can watch the video here.  

So, that wasn't a total loss.  This just proves my point that we need to keep the pressure on our representatives to ensure that Scott Turner is elected our new Speaker of the House.  As Ronald Reagan once said, "When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat."