High Plains Report

With thanks to our friends at the venerable Quorum Report...see a note about Lubbock's Bob Craig near the end.

www.quorumreport.com

INSIDE STORY OF SHIRLEY NEELEY LEAVING TEA

Too close to education community for the Governor?

Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley was a victim of the Governor Office's decision to keep an iron-grip on education policy by creating a state agency run by two people.

This was the brainchild of the Governor's Office back in 2004 - some say the idea came directly from chief of staff Mike Toomey - to give Neeley the title of Education Commissioner and let Deputy Commissioner Robert Scott run the agency. If you've ever looked at the agency's organizational chart, that point becomes abundantly clear. All roads at the agency point to Scott.

BY ERIC FINLEY
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

State Sen. Robert Duncan was upbeat Wednesday following the end of lawmakers' time in Austin, saying the legislative session was a great one for West Texas.

Among the Lubbock Republican's reasons:

• $130 million in new money for Texas Tech.

BY Enrique Rangel
Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - To no one's surprise, the Texas House on Wednesday easily gave final approval to a bill that would give the state public schools the option of including Bible classes in their curriculum.

For Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, the passage of the bill he authored was a victory. But as Chisum admitted, the bill his colleagues unanimously approved is not the bill that he had initially written. 

Lubbock Avalanche Journal

"This is Robert Duncan, your state Senator for West Texas.  On Monday, April 16, the Senate passed legislation that will be very significant for Texas and West Texas.  Senator Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio - a Texas Tech law school graduate by the way - passed legislation that would require congressional redistricting to be determined by a bipartisan panel appointed by the House, Senate and the Governor's office.  That bill, if passed, will take the contentious redistricting issue out of the highly charged partisan environment of the Texas Legislature, and move it to a commission that can make decisions based more on the science of redistricting than the purely political trade-offs.  While it is not perfect, it is certainly a step in the right direction. 

House Speaker Tom Craddick said in an interview today he expects the legislative session that started last month to lack the pressures of his first four years steering the House, a period encompassing laws restricting lawsuits, lowering school property taxes and redrawing congressional districts to reflect Republican gains.

Austin American Statesman

South Plains lawmakers submitting proposals for new legislation

BY ENRIQUE RANGEL
AUSTIN BUREAU

AUSTIN - State representatives Joe Heflin and Delwin Jones have filed one bill each while State Sen. Kel Seliger has filed three.

On the other hand, representatives Warren Chisum and Carl Isett have already filed 16 and 12 bills and resolutions, respectively.

But "who is counting?" asks Jones, a Lubbock Republican, as he gently pats the back of a reporter with a grin on his face.

By Sarah Kleiner Varble / kleiners@reporternews.com
January 30, 2007

State Rep. Susan King is one of nine freshmen legislators to land leadership positions on Texas House of Representatives committees.

King, R-Abilene, will serve as vice chair of the Human Services Committee throughout the 80th session of the Texas Legislature.

The Abilene Reporter News

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick (right)announced committee appointments for the 80th legislative session.

Sen. Robert Duncan (R) Lubbock:
State Affairs, Chair; Finance; Jurisprudence; Natural Resources

Sen. Kel Seliger (R) Amarillo:
Criminal Justice, Vice-chair; Administration; International Relations & Trade, Natural Resources

Rep. Warren Chisum (R) Pampa:
Appropriations, Chair; Energy Resources

Rep. Joe Heflin (R) Crosbyton:
Agriculture & Livestock; County Affairs

Rep. Carl Isett (R) Lubbock:
Appropriations, Licensing & Administrative Procedures, Budget and Oversight

11:30 AM CST on Friday, January 19, 2007
By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick says the unprecedented coup that nearly ended his leadership was a signal that he had lost touch with some lawmakers, and he vowed not to retaliate against fellow Republicans – some of them trusted associates – who rose up against him.

Dallas Morning News

The state surplus has hit $8.2 billion, an amount so large that it could tempt lawmakers to forego a major tax overhaul as they begin a special session today focused on paying for school finance.

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