Highlights from the Texas Capitol Monday
AUSTIN, TX
In a legislative session dominated by searing debates over a
strained state budget, a provision banning smoking in most bars and
restaurants has been tucked neatly into a critical spending bill.
Previous sessions have seen proposed bans beaten down by
arguments favoring the rights of business owners and smokers to not
have the government meddling in their private affairs.
Now supporters of the ban are counting on a promise that cutting
down on smoking will save the state tens, if not hundreds, of
millions of dollars spent treating patients with smoking-related
diseases, to turn in their favor.
"The worst health hazard in America today is tobacco use," Dr.
Kenneth Cooper, a fitness expert and aerobic exercise pioneer, said
Monday. "It embarrasses me that we have not been able to pass this
bill."
According to a legislative analysis, at least 29 states have
adopted smoke-free laws and several more are considering them this
year. More than 30 Texas cities have comprehensive smoke-free
ordinances covering public workplaces and facilities with a
patchwork of other regulations across the state.
Supporters have been tried in the past to draft celebrities such
as former professional cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong
to boost their cause. But arguments that second-hand smoke kills
more than 50,000 people nationwide every year were overrun by
concerns over personal and property rights in the
Republican-controlled Legislature.
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BUDGET AGREEMENT
House and Senate negotiators have moved closer to finishing up
their work on the next two-year state budget.
The panel met Monday and wrapped up unfinished business on
public schools, higher education and some general government
issues. They'll take a final vote when the massive document is
printed, expected to be Thursday.
Leaders said last week that they had agreed on budgeting $80.6
billion in state dollars for the 2012-2013 spending plan.
Final details were not yet available, but public schools will
get about $37 billion in state money for general operations. While
more than expected, it still means a significant cut to public
schools.
Once the panel takes a final vote, the budget goes back to both
chambers for final adoption.
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STEROID TESTING
Texas is likely to keep testing high school athletes for
steroids despite deep budget cuts across the state, but it will
likely focus the testing on only a few sports -- including football,
baseball and track, state legislators said Monday.
The state will spend about $1.5 million over the next two years,
far below the original $6 million budget when it was created in
2008. The final cost will be determined this week when lawmakers
vote on the 2012-13 state budget.
Criticism has been mounting since the program began. More than
50,000 tests yielded fewer than 30 confirmed findings of steroid
use.
Rep. Dan Flynn, a Van Republican who helped create the program,
said steroid testing was difficult to defend at a time when budget
cuts in public education threaten the jobs of tens of thousands of
teachers and school workers across Texas.
But Flynn said Monday he believes steroid testing still works as
a deterrent. Flynn and Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, chairwoman
of the Senate education committee, said the program has a valuable
ally in Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who first championed it
during his 2006 election campaign and wants to keep it alive.
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DRIVING FASTER
Texas drivers may soon be going faster.
The state Senate has approved raising highway speed limits to 75
miles per hour in some areas and doing away with slower nighttime
limits.
Most non-urban state highways in Texas have limits of 70 miles
per and can be as low as 55 at night.
Texas in one of the few states with different limits for urban
and rural areas and the only state with lower nighttime speeds.
The bill approved Monday allows the state to do safety studies
to determine if boosting speeds will be reasonable in some areas.
The bill also allows trucks to travel at the same speed as cars.
The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Perry for his consideration.
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FOOTBALL HELMETS
Public school districts wouldn't be allowed to use older
football helmets under legislation passed by the Texas Legislature.
The Texas Senate gave final approval Monday to a bill that bans
schools from using helmets 16 years old or older. It also requires
10-year-old helmets to be reconditioned every two years.
Lawmakers have been paying increasing attention to head injuries
sustained by student athletes in recent years. Supporters want to
ensure that helmets are in adequate condition as they are the first
line of defense against concussions and other head injuries.
Districts would have to document when a helmet was purchased and
anytime it is reconditioned.
The bill has been approved in the Texas House and is headed to
Gov. Rick Perry, who can sign it into law.
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ANTI-BULLYING
Texas lawmakers have given final approval to legislation
requiring schools to adopt anti-bullying policies and improve
methods of prevention.
The Texas Senate voted Monday to send a bill to Gov. Rick Perry
that provides a framework for districts to develop and implement
policies that prohibit bullying in any form. Perry can sign the
bill into law.
The bill gives school boards discretion to transfer a student
who bullies another student to a different classroom or campus in
the district.
Schools would also have to set out specific methods for
reporting and investigating bullying incidents.
Lawmakers have been working to create a zero-tolerance for
bullying, since some students have committed suicide as a result of
being bullied.
More than 10 different versions of anti-bullying legislation
were filed this session.
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WESTERN SWING MUSIC
Texas lawmakers have declared western swing the state's official
music with a mini-hoedown on the House floor.
Rep. Doug Miller donned a cowboy hat and crooned, "I saw miles
and miles of Texas," while Reps. Sid Miller and Charles "Doc"
Anderson, stomped their feet to the beat.
The ceremonial resolution passed unanimously Monday and had
already passed the Senate.
It means lawmakers gave the nod to such western swing pioneers
as Bob Willis over a parade of other homegrown hit-makers,
including everyone from Hank Williams to the Dixie Chicks.
A sub-genre of country that originated in the 1920s and 30s,
western swing is an up-tempo dance sound that mixes pop and jazz
with a string section, and can feature elements of fiddle and
ragtime.
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PAYDAY LOANS
Legislation requiring payday loan providers to post interest
rates, fees and terms of service took another step forward in the
Texas Legislature.
State senators voted approval Monday for the measure, which now
returns to the House. The bill would require loan companies to
display the disclosures prominently and advise the public that a
payday loan is only meant to meet short-term needs, not long-term
financial problems.
Companies would also have to post contact information for the
state consumer credit commissioner.
Supporters of the bill say it's important to provide the public
with better information and give more oversight to the industry.
But some lawmakers want to see more regulation in order to protect
Texans from getting trapped in payday loans.
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CAMPAGIN ETHICS
A bill to clean up campaign financial disclosure laws and keep
Texas lawmakers from double-dipping spending practices stepped
closer to becoming law.
The Senate approved Monday legislation to require lawmakers to
disclose more information about their campaign finances, including
the sale of an asset or investment purchased with a political
contribution.
Lawmakers would also have to report potential conflicts of
interests with lobbyists.
The bill now goes to the House for final approval before being
sent to Gov. Rick Perry.
Current law provides little oversight for political travel
funding, allowing lawmakers to pocket taxpayer money with few or no
records.
Double-dipping practices have led to criminal investigation.
The bill changes the threshold from $50 to $100 in political
expenditures that a lawmaker must report.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"This system... is broken when the voices of special interests
have the power that they have in the halls of this Capitol. People
are being terribly hurt by it, and we shouldn't stand for it."
Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, speaking on the need to reform the
payday lending industry.
