"Holy Crap! And Holy Crap! And Holy Crap!"

[The Jacobin]

http://www.pinkdome.com/archives/2005/07/holy_crap.html

"Mr. Speaker, show me voting NO on HB 3" - Chairman Jim Keffer.

Only 8 ayes for HB 3, this one goes down in a blaze even more so than HB 2.

Right now, every jaw in the Capitol has dropped. After some particularly underhanded moves by the leadership, Representative Scott Hochberg passed his own plan for school finance. A collective brick was shit by leadership. Included in the amendment is greater property tax relief for most Texas homeowners than was included in HB 2. It also includes a full restoration of school employee health benefits, a larger teacher pay raise than in House Bill 2, and increases in compensatory education, bilingual funding, and facilities funding. After some debate it passed 76-67, a huge margin of victory.

After some scrambling, HB 2 went down in a blaze, final vote 79-62.

What went down today? People are still shaking their heads trying to figure it out.

[PDittie]

1. Scott Hochberg got bipartisan consensus on his

amendment to the failed bill.

I'd like to see Hochberg run for Lt. Governor (but I'm afraid we'd lose a great legislator, because I doubt whether Texans could elect a Democrat with a New York accent).

[sonias]

2. Hey, my Rep is a New Yorker too

Elliott Naishtat (D-49) is from NY, and when he ran his first campaign, his incumbent repuke opponent did a commercial against him which was a parody of the Pace Picante commercial. "Why this fella is from New York City". Well it didn't play well here in Austin and Naishtat promptly kicked the crap out of that unlucky repuke.

I do like Scott Hochberg too. He's another really smart guy on our side. Very tech savvy.

Sonia

[sonias]

3. Texas Observer blog on "A Surreal Day in the Texas House"

http://www.texaslegislatureobserved.com/
It took all of four legislative days for the second special session on school finance to implode. This time it happened in the Texas House--and in spectacular fashion this afternoon. It was a marvelous few hours of legislative theater that ended with the sponsors of both the school finance bill and the property tax cut bill voting against their own legislation.
(snip)
When debate finally started on HB 2, the House rebelled against leadership, voting 76-67 in favor of Scott Hochberg's amendment to lower the proposed property tax cut and triple the homestead exemption. Hochberg, a Houston Democrat and high priest of school finance policy, contends that the increased homestead exemption will ease the tax burden on lower and middle income families. The plan narrowly failed in the first special session.

With Hochberg's amendment in the bill, Craddick was in a tight spot. The House stood at ease for half an hour while leadership tried to peel off some of the 13 Republicans who had backed the Hochberg plan. There was a palpable sense of unease among Democrats on the House floor as they waited for Craddick's next move. And when Craddick sprung it on them, it turned the House upside down. Unable to turn enough votes, Craddick decided to scuttle the ship. HB 2 sponsor Kent Grusendorf (R-Arlington) went to the front mic and accepted all the pending amendments, which moved the House right to a vote on HB 2. Grusendorf then raised two fingers to signal a vote against his own bill. A slew of Republicans and some stunned Dems killed HB 2 by 79-62.
(/snip)

Craddick's Reaction to the Meltdown (Or Craddick can't count)
The Speaker said Hochberg's amendment succeeded because of four absent Republicans, though it should be noted that the amendment received 76 votes, which constitutes a majority of the House even if all members are present.

Sonia

[aquart]

4. Public over corporate and party interest?

Is that possible?

[jsamuel]

6. Is this the beginning of something beautiful in the south central US?

People who care for other people more than the corporations...

[aquart]

7. Nah. It's Texas.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. Maybe they all just decided to do their

jobs rather than chasing each other around cheap motels in OK and KS?
Just a thought.

[Why Syzygy]

8. KS? KS?

ahem.. it was OK and NEW MEXICO! Man. I don't think you understand the cajones those guys displayed in deserting their native state to go hide (in a good way) from the Thugs(R) in this state.

That was old time excitement to the max.

And who said "cheap motels"?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

9. One was in Kansas, believe it or not...

and it was not the best hotel in Abeline, either.

I think he was from Abeline, TX, and was making some kind of statement about the cattle drives of old, IIRC.

[Gingergal]

10. Texas Democrats went to Okla. and N.M.

The Texas Democrats from the Texas House went to Ardmore, Oklahoma to the Holiday Inn.
The Texas Democrats from the Senate went to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I wrote my Senator there.
These brave moves re-energized not only the Democrats of Texas but Democrats in the U.S. It brought great attention to the unethical re-redistricting plan of Tom DeLay.

[fudge stripe cookays]

11. You don't know what the hell you're talking about.

It was Oklahoma and New Mexico. And the Democrats of this state SUPORTED them doing it. As long as they remained in Texas, Rick Perry could call the Texas Rangers on them.

They were trying to keep the Republicans from achieving a quorum so they could redistrict our state for assholes like Tom DeLay.

By leaving the state, they were untouchable by our partisan government who were trying to drag them back here to support a measure that no self-respecting liberal would voluntarily endorse. They went to New Mexico because the governor, Bill Richardson, a Democrat, supported them, and helped them out as much as he could.

Why don't you do some more reading before condemning these brave legislators? :eyes:

FSC

[sonias]

12. "pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered"

That's got to be my favorite quote from this article.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/tx/legislature/stories/07/28LEGE.html
Frustrated watchers say House ought to pack it up
The education community, having witnessed Tuesday's carnage on the House floor, sees little chance that Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again, either in this special session or any new session Perry might call.

They'd just as soon see the Legislature quit trying and wait for the Texas Supreme Court to provide direction. The court is expected to rule this fall whether the state's school finance system is constitutional.

(snip)
"There's a saying among trial lawyers that 'pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered,' " said McCown, whose group advocates for low- and middle-income families. In negotiating a final bill in the first special session and bringing parts of it back in this session, McCown said, the Legislature's Republican leaders overreached and stacked the deck too heavily for wealthy districts. And got slaughtered.
(/snip)

Sonia