Capitol Reports
texagnet
August 3, 2010
Musical Chairs and the Texas Senate
Earlier this month, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced that he was reshuffling eight Senate committee chairmanships. The off-session move managed to raise more than a few eyebrows across the Capitol.
The resignation of Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco left open the chairmanship of the important Senate Natural Resources Committee. Dewhurst has moved Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, from chair of the Business and Commerce Committee to chair of Senate Natural resources ... filling the void left by Averitt’s resignation.
John Carona, R-Dallas, who had served a chair of the Transportation and Homeland Security has been moved to chair Business and Commerce. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, will replace Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, as chair of Senate Administration. Williams will replace Carona as chair of Transportation and Homeland Security.
Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, has been picked to chair the Select Committee on Veterans Health, and Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, who previously chaired Senate Nominations will now chair Economic Development ... which had been held by Chris Harris, R-Arlington. Harris will now chair Jurisprudence which was previously chaired by Wentworh.
Whew! Enough said! But ... Dewhurst will reappoint committees in January to serve during the next legislative session ... and that could generate a whole new series of musical chairs.
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Fraser Appointment Important to Agriculture
The announcement that Lt Gov. David Dewhurst has selected Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, to chair the Senate Natural Resources Committee is significant to agriculture. The committee addresses a good many pieces of legislation that impact agriculture either directly or indirectly.
One of the committee’s charges has historically been the issue of water ... determining who owns it, and whether it can be moved from one area to another (inter-basin transfers). Discussion of water and water rights is sure to come before the legislature at some point ... it always has, and as an essential resource, probably always will.
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Mid-Summer and the Budget Deficit Still Rules
It is looking even more like the state’s budget deficit will be front and center on the minds of legislators when they return to the Capitol next year. The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) has already requested that state agencies reduce their current year (2010) budget by 5 percent, and have told agency heads to plan for another 10 percent budget cut during the next spending biennium. The 10 percent cut would be on top of the current year’s 5 percent budget cut.
The Texas Constitution requires that the legislature approve a balanced budget ... no deficit spending. Legislators can balance the budget either by raising revenues (taxes) or cutting expenses. Texas lawmakers are characteristically reluctant to raise taxes ... but the current continued weak economy is adding to pressures against tax hikes of any kind. So, lawmakers are looking at slashing budget expense items as the lesser of the two evils.
It continues to be estimated that there will be a $15 - $18 billion shortfall in General Revenue (GR) monies when the legislature convenes next year.
Deputy Commissioner, Drew DeBerry, told members of Texas Cotton Producers (TCP) this week that the Texas Department of Agriculture has taken action to slash its budget by 5 percent for the current year. The reductions will be split near evenly between general agency cuts and grant programs. The Department is planning for an additional 10 percent cut to its budget for the next biennium.
Texas AgriLife Extension has also implemented a 5 percent budget reduction plan for 2010. The agency will not be requesting any exceptional budget items as it enters the next legislative budget cycle.
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Texas Cotton Producers Meet in Austin
Member grower organizations that comprise Texas Cotton Producers (TCP) met last week in Austin to discuss a number of important issues impacting the state’s cotton industry. The organization is comprised of 9 certified cotton grower organizations including, Cotton and Grain Producers of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, South Texas Cotton and Grain Association, Blackland Cotton and Grain Association, Southern Rolling Plains Cotton Growers, Rolling Plains Cotton Growers, Plains Cotton Growers, St Lawrence Cotton Growers, Trans-Pecos Cotton Growers, and El Paso Cotton Growers.
Members heard a number of agricultural related reports and discussed cotton industry issues with Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture, Drew DeBerry. Cotton grower representatives also took action to express support for the Texas IPM Program effort administered cooperatively through Texas AgriLife Extension and Texas Pest Management Association.
Upon completion of the meeting, the members caucused to select and nominate individuals to serve director and alternate positions on the Cotton Board, Cotton Incorporated Board of Directors, and grower delegates to the National Cotton Council of America.
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