HOUSE JOURNAL — 5Th Day 131 HOUSE JOURNAL SEVENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, REGULAR SESSION PROCEEDINGS
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Tuesday, January 19, 1999 HOUSE JOURNAL — 5th Day 131 HOUSE JOURNAL SEVENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, REGULAR SESSION PROCEEDINGS FIFTH DAY — TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1999 The house met at 10 a.m. and was called to order by the speaker. The roll of the house was called and a quorum was announced present (Record 5). Present — Mr. Speaker; Alexander; Allen; Alvarado; Averitt; Bailey; Berman; Bonnen; Bosse; Brimer; Brown, B.; Brown, F.; Burnam; Capelo; Carter; Chavez; Chisum; Christian; Clark; Cook; Corte; Counts; Crabb; Craddick; Cuellar; Culberson; Danburg; Davis, J.; Davis, Y.; Delisi; Denny; Deshotel; Driver; Dukes; Dunnam; Dutton; Edwards; Ehrhardt; Eiland; Elkins; Ellis; Farabee; Farrar; Gallego; Garcia; George; Giddings; Glaze; Goodman; Goolsby; Gray; Green; Greenberg; Grusendorf; Gutierrez; Haggerty; Hamric; Hardcastle; Hawley; Heflin; Hilbert; Hilderbran; Hill; Hinojosa; Hochberg; Hodge; Homer; Hope; Howard; Hunter; Hupp; Isett; Janek; Jones, C.; Jones, D.; Jones, J.; Junell; Keel; Keffer; King, P.; King, T.; Krusee; Kuempel; Lengefeld; Lewis, G.; Lewis, R.; Longoria; Luna; Madden; Marchant; Maxey; McCall; McClendon; McReynolds; Merritt; Moreno, J.; Morrison; Mowery; Naishtat; Najera; Nixon; Noriega; Oliveira; Olivo; Palmer; Pickett; Pitts; Puente; Ramsay; Rangel; Reyna, A.; Reyna, E.; Ritter; Sadler; Salinas; Seaman; Shields; Siebert; Smith; Smithee; Solis, J.; Solis, J. F.; Solomons; Staples; Swinford; Telford; Thompson; Tillery; Truitt; Turner, B.; Turner, S.; Uher; Uresti; Van de Putte; Walker; West; Williams; Wilson; Wise; Wohlgemuth; Wolens; Woolley; Yarbrough; Zbranek. Absent, Excused — Coleman; Crownover; Talton. Absent — Flores; Hartnett; Moreno, P. The invocation was offered by Judge Jack Hightower, First Baptist Church, Austin, as follows: As I stand to pray, our Heavenly Father, I am reminded of the old familiar spiritual, Standing in the Need of Prayer: "It's me, it's me, it's me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer." We all need prayer, Father, but today I pray especially for the members and staff of the Texas House of Representatives. Passing the laws and supporting the mechanism of government by which we live as free people is an awesome responsibility. We are a great people who love and care for each other. We are mindful of our responsibility to provide a government that educates its children and makes it possible for us to clothe the needy, feed the hungry, and bind up the wounds of the afflicted. There is so much to be done; there is work for all. Today, at the beginning of a new chapter in our history, we ask for strength, wisdom, and courage for each member of this house, and for the citizens of this state, who have the ultimate responsibility, that we may be true servants and that thy will may be done on earth. In the name of the master we pray. Amen. 132 76th LEGISLATURE — REGULAR SESSION LEAVES OF ABSENCE GRANTED The following member was granted leave of absence for today and the remainder of the week because of important business: Crownover on motion of Hardcastle. The following member was granted leave of absence for today because of important business: Talton on motion of J. Davis. The following member was granted leave of absence for today because of important business in the district: Flores on motion of Gutierrez. CAPITOL PHYSICIAN The speaker recognized Representative Christian who presented Dr. R. A. McMurry of Jasper as the "Doctor for the Day." The house welcomed Dr. McMurry and thanked him for his participation in the Physician of the Day Program sponsored by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. HR 26 - ADOPTED (by Lengefeld) Representative Lengefeld moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HR 26. The motion prevailed without objection. The following resolution was laid before the house: HR 26, Congratulating the members of the Hamilton High School Band on being chosen to perform in the Texas Inaugural Parade. HR 26 was read and was adopted without objection. On motion of Representative Uher, the names of all the members of the house were added to HR 26 as signers thereof. HCR 32 - ADOPTED (by Pitts) Representative Pitts moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HCR 32. The motion prevailed without objection. The following resolution was laid before the house: HCR 32, Honoring Steve Howerton for his outstanding service as city manager of Ennis. HCR 32 was adopted without objection. INTRODUCTION OF GUEST The speaker recognized Representative Keel, who introduced the Honorable Preston Smith, former governor of Texas. Tuesday, January 19, 1999 HOUSE JOURNAL — 5th Day 133 HCR 2 - ADOPTED (by Telford) Representative Telford moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HCR 2. The motion prevailed without objection. The following resolution was laid before the house: HCR 2 WHEREAS, Section 17, Article III, Texas Constitution, provides that neither house of the legislature may adjourn for more than three days without consent of the other house; now, therefore be it RESOLVED by the 76th Legislature, That each house grant the other permission to adjourn for more than three days during the period beginning on January 20, 1999, and ending on January 25, 1999. HCR 2 was adopted without objection. PROVIDING FOR ADJOURNMENT Representative Farrar moved that, at the conclusion of the joint session for inauguration of the governor and lieutenant governor, the house adjourn until 10 a.m. tomorrow in memory of Petra Garcia Torres. The motion prevailed without objection. INAUGURATION OF THE GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (The House of Representatives and the Senate in Joint Session) At 12 noon today, the members of the house convened at the south entrance of the Capitol and joined the senate in a joint session for the purpose of inaugurating the Governor, the Honorable George W. Bush, and the lieutenant governor-elect, the Honorable Rick Perry, arrangements having been made at the south entrance of the Capitol for holding of the inaugural ceremonies. The color guard placed the colors on the platform. The Ross Volunteers of Texas A&M University formed the honor guard. A nineteen-gun salute was fired. The governor and Mrs. Bush and lieutenant governor-elect and Mrs. Perry and their party were escorted to seats on the platform. The Texas A&M University Band played the national anthem. Upon conclusion of the national anthem, there was an F-16 flyover. President Pro Tempore Teel Bivins called the senate to order and announced that a quorum of the senate was present. Speaker of the House James E. “Pete” Laney called the house of representatives to order and announced that a quorum of the house of representatives was present. 134 76th LEGISLATURE — REGULAR SESSION Speaker Laney stated that the house and the senate were in joint session for the purpose of inaugurating the governor and the lieutenant governor. Speaker Laney presented the Most Reverend Patrick F. Flores, archbishop of San Antonio who offered the invocation. Students from Barbara Jordan Elementary School led the pledge of allegiance. Speaker Laney stated that the oath of office would be administered to the lieutenant governor-elect, the Honorable Rick Perry, by Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips of the Supreme Court of Texas. The Honorable Rick Perry then took the constitutional oath of office as lieutenant governor of the State of Texas. Speaker Laney presented the Honorable Teel Bivins, senator from Potter County and president pro tempore of the senate, who introduced the lieutenant governor of Texas, the Honorable Rick Perry, to the joint session and the assemblage. Lieutenant Governor Perry addressed the joint session and assemblage, speaking as follows: Thank you Senator Bivins. I am truly humbled that the citizens of Texas have given me the honor of serving as the lieutenant governor of our great state. One hundred years and two days ago, Governor Joseph Sayers and Lieutenant Governor James Browning came to the 11 year-old Capitol building during one of the coldest winters ever recorded in Texas and took the oath of office. The Texans assembled on that day could not have imagined what the 20th century would bring or the role Texans would play in the most American of centuries. The American century brought miraculous achievements in medicine, science and technology. It brought opportunity based on individual actions and character rather than race, gender, or background. It brought unrivaled economic achievement and charity that helped feed, clothe, and care for the needy at home and abroad. There were dark days as well. Depression, tyranny, and two world wars. Anyone who saw Saving Private Ryan or read Citizen Soldier last year has a vivid picture of the price countless "ordinary heroes" paid for our freedom, opportunity, and hope. Two of those “ordinary” heroes—my personal heroes, both Texans—are represented here today. There was the young Navy pilot shot down over the Pacific. That aviator came home a quiet hero, only to become a father, businessman, public servant, and president of the United States, President George Bush. Then there was the 18 year-old kid from West Texas who stuffed himself into the tail of a B-17 bomber for 35 missions over Europe. He came home to become a farmer, a county commissioner, and my hero. My dad, Ray Perry, is with me today. Throughout this century, in times of war and times of peace, ordinary Tuesday, January 19, 1999 HOUSE JOURNAL — 5th Day 135 Texans from Roy Benavidez to Barbara Jordan, to ministers, teachers, and working moms like Anita Perry, have done extraordinary things to serve, protect, educate, and care for their neighbors. In this place 100 years ago, outgoing Governor C. A. Culberson reported that, "The condition of the state is in the highest degree satisfactory, has greatly improved during the past four years, and the popular demand for legislation has been met by the legislature with...rare fidelity." We can say the same thing today.