DOCSLIB.ORG

View/Download

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
View/Download SUMMER 2007 Our Seventh Session and Counting IN THIS ISSUE Seventh Session & Counting ...... 1 Fight for Maritime Industry ....... 2 We have just finished the 80th legislative session, the seventh in which Buzbee’s Comments ................... 3 TLR has engaged. And while every session is different, some things Venue Choices ............................ 4 don’t change. Our supporters all over the state stay in touch with law- How HB 1602 Became Law ....... 5 makers between sessions. Our Political Action Committee engages in judicial, legislative and statewide elections. Our legal team researches is- Special Thanks ........................... 7 sues extensively and drafts our proposals meticulously. Our consultants Eternal Vigilance ........................ 8 and lobbyists carefully think through strategy and tactics. And the en- Texas FDA Defense Upheld ....... 9 tire TLR team works patiently and persistently throughout the session. Defense Strategy Aids Reform .. 10 Richard W. Weekley As you will read in this Advocate, we had a successful session, with TLR Day .............................11-12 the passage of a critical reform and our active participation in improving good bills and defeating bad ones. Our major disappointment was that the Court Modernization Bill, SB OUR MISSION 1204 by Senator Bob Duncan (R-Lubbock), did not become law. The bill contained several Texans for Lawsuit Reform is proposals recommended by TLR Foundation in its exhaustive paper on the Texas court sys- a volunteer-led organization tem. Senator Duncan and his able general counsel, Lisa Kaufman, worked tirelessly on this working to restore fairness bill and carefully consulted with the stakeholders – TLR, various lawyer organizations, judges, and balance to our civil and legislators. As a result, SB 1204 passed the Senate by a 24-6 margin. It then went to the justice system through politi- House, where it easily passed out of the House Judiciary Committee. There was widespread cal action; legal, academic, bi-partisan support for the bill in the House and it would have passed by a comfortable mar- and market research; and gin, in part because there was no organizational opposition to the bill. grassroots initiatives. The Tragically, this legislation, which would have gone a long way toward making our courts common goal of our more more modern and user friendly, was killed by a point of order raised by Rep. Senfronia than 15,000 supporters is to Thompson (D-Houston) at the request of Rep. Kino Flores (D-Mission). Apparently, the make Texas the Beacon State trial judges of Cameron and Hidalgo counties asked Mr. Flores to kill the bill. It is notewor- for Civil Justice in America. thy that the American Tort Reform Association includes these two counties in their list of “ju- dicial hellholes” in America, where it is difficult for a defendant in a trial to get a fair outcome. It also is telling that Cameron and Hidalgo counties are where a small group of lawyers chose 1701 Brun Street, Suite 100 Houston, Texas 77019 to file abusive lawsuits against dredging companies, as discussed elsewhere in thisAdvocate . www.tortreform.com SB 1204 was just one of many significant bills that fell in the House due to highly [email protected] technical – and often questionable – points of order. Most of the points of order concern a parliamentarian’s construction of language in the often arcane analyses of bills prepared by committee staff. Hopefully, the House will adopt a materiality rule and other checks and bal- ances for points of order so that they can no longer be used routinely by Members who want to kill bills but do not have the votes to defeat them on the merits. Sincerely, Richard W. Weekley Chairman & CEO The Fight for the Texas Maritime Industry: Why HB 1602 is Critical In passing HB 1602, the Texas Legislature moved deci- THE SOUTH TEXAS LAWSUIT sively to curtail abusive litigation by a handful of plain- EXPLOSION : LAWSUITS SOAR AS tiff trial lawyers, based in Houston and Galveston, who SAFETY RECORDS IMPROVE were filing personal injury lawsuits against the dredging companies that are essential to keeping our ports and wa- terways clear and open. The lawyers were using a venue loophole to file their cases in four South Texas counties that the American Tort Reform Association describes as “judicial hellholes.” TEX AS MARITIME INDUSTRY IS KEY TO THE TEX AS ECONOMY Texas has no natural deepwater ports, so dredging is es- sential to keep the waterways open. Texas maritime com- merce accounts for a full ten percent of our state’s gross domestic product. More than 300 million tons of cargo passes through Texas ports each year – automobiles and fuel, agricultural and manufactured products, military equipment and personnel – producing more than $178 billion in business sales. Scores of major port facilities are located along a thousand miles of channel maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Texas ports handle al- DREDGING LAWSUITS THRE ATENED TEX AS most 15,000 vessels – 20% of the national total. Marine MARITIME INDUSTRY and related transportation also provides billions of dollars in local and state tax revenue. A million Texas jobs are Only about half a dozen dredging companies have taken tied to the maritime industry. on projects in Texas in recent years. As a result of the explosion of lawsuits against them, several of those com- panies chose not to work in Texas as long as the lawsuit abuse continued. Of the four companies currently dredg- ing in Texas, two are Texas based and faced bankruptcy if the lawsuits continued. Two worldwide companies that dredge in Texas were questioning whether they could continue to hire Texas workers or work on Texas projects. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts for most of the dredging work on Texas ports and waterways. Law- suits against dredgers kept some of them from bidding on Texas projects and forced those who did bid to include a “lawsuit surcharge” in their cost estimate. When the U.S. Corps’ budget would not cover the cost increases, they began canceling dredging projects continued on page 3 P A G E 2 P A G E 3 continued from page 2 Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Explains Why A PAttERN OF LAWSUIT ABUSE He Files Jones Act Lawsuits in Beginning in 2003, a pattern of lawsuit abuse became ap- parent when almost 60% of the Jones Act personal injury Certain South Texas Counties lawsuits against dredgers nationwide were being filed in Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata and Cameron counties. There was no logical reason for the increased litigation. The compa- Mr. Tony Buzbee, the plaintiffs’ lawyer who has been filing most nies being sued had experienced a much smaller number of the recent Jones Act lawsuits against the maritime industry in of lawsuits in the past. Their safety records had improved Starr, Zapata, Hidalgo and Cameron counties, explained why he during the same period the lawsuits exploded and the chooses those venues in a May 2006 speech at the Annual Marine number of South Texans employed by the dredgers had and Energy Seminar. The complete transcript of his presentation is remained fairly constant. available at TLR’s website, www.tortreform.com. A few of his com- As further evidence of lawsuit abuse, many of these ments are as follows: lawsuits were filed by workers who did not report an “Obviously there is great influence on the case if we file in the injury at the time the incident allegedly occurred. In Valley versus, say, Houston. As a plaintiff’s lawyer I’m going to get many cases, the first time an employer became aware a case probably worth at least 60 to 70 percent more if it is filed that the worker was claiming an injury was the day on in the Valley.” which the company was served with the lawsuit. On “Cases filed in Starr County, which is traditionally the best those occasions when a claimant had reported an injury, venue in the State of Texas. That venue probably adds about 75% it was moderate and did not require a hospital stay or to the value of the case.” lost work days. Yet most of these lawsuits sought dam- “Maybe in Harris County, Galveston County, we need to show ages in excess of $2,000,000. here’s what the company did wrong, all right? But when you’re in Starr County, traditionally, you need to just show that the guy was working, and he was hurt. And that’s the hurdle: just prove that he A VENUE LOOPHOLE ENCOUR AGED THE wasn’t hurt at Wal-Mart, buying something on his off time, and tra- LAWSUIT ABUSE ditionally, you win the case. That’s how we win those cases.” [In legal Most Texans can file a lawsuit in his or her home coun- terms, Mr. Buzbee is saying that in Starr County he does not have to ty only when the defendant has no place of business in show fault or negligence by the employer, even though the Jones Act does Texas and the accident did not occur within this state. require fault or negligence for there to be a legitimate cause of action.] Unfortunately, a political concession made by a legislative “But generally speaking, Hidalgo County is a more sophisti- leader to plaintiff trial lawyers in 1995 made an exception cated county, for those of you who haven’t spent a lot of time there. for seamen who are covered under the federal Jones Act. Generally you’ll get – and John can correct me if I’m wrong – a lot of school teachers on the jury [i.e., the prospective juror panel]. SOUTH TEX AS EMPLOYMENT REMAINS Most of the people that you are going to get as jurors in Hidalgo STE ADY: L AWSUITS EXPLODE County are people that have some relationship to some government entity; that the biggest employer: schools, I guess hospitals, and it is very easy for me as representative of the plaintiff to knock out all those jurors that will be good for your [defendant’s] interest.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 20070730 TDHCA Board of Directors Meeting Transcript
    TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS BOARD MEETING Capital Extension Auditorium State Capital 1500 N. Congress Avenue Austin, Texas July 30, 2007 9:30 a.m. MEMBERS: ELIZABETH ANDERSON, Chair C. KENT CONINE, Vice Chair SHADRICK BOGANY SONNY FLORES NORBERTO SALINAS GLORIA RAY ON THE RECORD REPORTING (512) 450-0342 A G E N D A PAGE CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL 6 CERTIFICATION OF QUORUM PUBLIC COMMENT 7 CONSENT AGENDA 37 ITEM 1: Approval of the following items presented in the Board materials: General Administration: 37 a) Minutes of the Board Meeting of June 28, 2007 Disaster Recovery Division 37 b) Presentation, Discussion and Possible Approval of requests for Amendments to CDBG contracts administered by Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA) Multifamily Finance Division 37 c) Presentation, Discussion and Possible Action for Housing Tax Credit Extensions (if recommended) d) Presentation, Discussion and Possible 38 Issuance of Determination Notices for Housing Tax Credits Associated with Mortgage Revenue Bond Transactions with other issuers HOME Division 41 e) Presentation, Discussion and Possible Approval of a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for approximately $10,000,000 utilizing unawarded and deobligated HOME funds for the HOME Rental Housing Development (RHD) Program f) Presentation, Discussion and Possible 50 Approval of a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for approximately $6,000,000 utilizing unawarded and deobligated HOME CHDO funds for the HOME Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) Rental Housing
    [Show full text]
  • Federal and State Elected Officials Representing Districts Within the UH System Service Area
    Federal and State Elected Officials Representing Districts Within the UH System Service Area Name Area Represented Alumnus/a U.S. Senate John Cornyn Statewide Kay Bailey Hutchison Statewide U.S. House of Representatives Kevin Brady The Woodlands John Culberson Houston Al Green Houston Gene Green Houston UH, BBA, JD Sheila Jackson Lee Houston Pete Olson Sugar Land Michael McCaul Houston Ted Poe Houston UH, JD Texas Senate Rodney Ellis Houston Mario Gallegos Galena Park UHD, BA Glenn Hegar Katy Joan Huffman Houston Mike Jackson Pasadena Dan Patrick Houston John Whitmire Houston UH, BA Tommy Williams The Woodlands Texas House of Representatives Alma Allen Houston UH, EdD Carol Alvarado Houston BA, UH Dwayne Bohac Houston Dennis Bonnen Angleton Bill Callegari Houston UH, MS Ellen Cohen Bellaire Garnet Coleman Houston Joe Crabb Kingwood Brandon Creighton Conroe John Davis Houston UHCL, BA Harold Dutton Houston Al Edwards Houston Craig Eiland Galveston Rob Eissler The Woodlands Gary Elkins Houston Jessica Farrar Houston UH, BA Allen Fletcher Houston Patricia Harless Spring Ana Hernandez Houston UH, BA Scott Hochberg Houston Charlie Howard Sugar Land Lois Kolkhorst Brenham Ken Legler South Houston Geanie Morrison Victoria Dora Olivo Missouri City UH, MA, JD John Otto Dayton Debbie Riddle Houston Wayne Smith Baytown Larry Taylor League City Kristi Thibaut Houston Senfronia Thompson Houston UH, LLM Sylvester Turner Houston UH, BS Hubert Vo Houston Armando Walle Houston BS, UH Randy Weber Pearland BS, UHCL Beverly Woolley Houston UH, BA John Zerwas Houston UH, BS .
    [Show full text]
  • Legislative Staff: 78Th Legislature
    HOUSE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION focus report Texas House of Representatives March 5, 2003 Legislative Staff: 78th Legislature House of Representatives ALLEN, Ray GN.7 BERMAN, Leo E2.908 Phone: 463-0694 Phone: 463-0584 Fax: 463-1130 Fax: 463-3217 Chief of staff Scott Gilmore Chief of staff Gloria Rogers Legislative aides Colleen Benefield Legislative aide Jake Menefee Tedrah Hutchins Interns Ashley Austin Kyle Findley ALONZO, Roberto R. E1.314 Brian Carl Phone: 463-0408 Fax: 463-1817 BOHAC, Dwayne E2.404 Chief of staff Artie Blanco Phone: 463-0727 Admin. assistant Brenda Rios Fax: 463-0681 Legislative aide Daniel Ramon Chief of staff Jeannette Trail Interns Maria Bournakis Legislative director Travis Griffin Ben Kogut Michael Nagy BONNEN, Dennis E2.602 Phone: 463-0564 BAILEY, Kevin GS.6 Fax: 463-8414 Phone: 463-0924 Legislative director Zachary “Zak” Covar Fax: 475-2387 Legislative aide Shera Eichler Chief of staff Bob Cash Admin. aide Amy Creswell Legislative director Vanessa Luna Legislative aides Eric Carter BRANCH, Dan E1.418 Daniel MacDonald Phone: 463-0367 Fax: 322-9935 BAXTER, Todd E2.802 Legislative director Kevin Thompson Phone: 463-0631 Admin. assistant Pauline Mikus Fax: 236-1065 Legislative aide Amy Higgins Legislative director Kristine Dannheim Interns Katherine Klein Admin. assistant Nellie Byrne Jennifer Owen Legislative aide Brad Shields Christine Stephens House Committees 13 Senate 17 Senate Committees 21 No. 78-9 Page 2 House Research Organization BROWN, Betty E2.910 CAPELO, Jaime E1.424 Phone: 463-0458 Phone: 463-0462 Fax: 463-2040 Fax: 463-9545 Legislative director Kevin Jones Chief of staff Bert Quintanilla Legislative aide Heather Jinkins Legislative director James Lampley Admin.
    [Show full text]
  • Policy Report Texas Fact Book 2008
    Texas Fact Book 2 0 0 8 L e g i s l a t i v e B u d g e t B o a r d LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD EIGHTIETH TEXAS LEGISLATURE 2007 – 2008 DAVID DEWHURST, JOINT CHAIR Lieutenant Governor TOM CRADDICK, JOINT CHAIR Representative District 82, Midland Speaker of the House of Representatives STEVE OGDEN Senatorial District 5, Bryan Chair, Senate Committee on Finance ROBERT DUNCAN Senatorial District 28, Lubbock JOHN WHITMIRE Senatorial District 15, Houston JUDITH ZAFFIRINI Senatorial District 21, Laredo WARREN CHISUM Representative District 88, Pampa Chair, House Committee on Appropriations JAMES KEFFER Representative District 60, Eastland Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means FRED HILL Representative District 112, Richardson SYLVESTER TURNER Representative District 139, Houston JOHN O’Brien, Director COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF SENATE MEDIA CONTENTS STATE GOVERNMENT STATEWIDE ELECTED OFFICIALS . 1 MEMBERS OF THE EIGHTIETH TEXAS LEGISLATURE . 3 The Senate . 3 The House of Representatives . 4 SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES . 8 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEES . 10 BASIC STEPS IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATIVE PROCESS . 14 TEXAS AT A GLANCE GOVERNORS OF TEXAS . 15 HOW TEXAS RANKS Agriculture . 17 Crime and Law Enforcement . 17 Defense . 18 Economy . 18 Education . 18 Employment and Labor . 19 Environment and Energy . 19 Federal Government Finance . 20 Geography . 20 Health . 20 Housing . 21 Population . 21 Social Welfare . 22 State and Local Government Finance . 22 Technology . 23 Transportation . 23 Border Facts . 24 STATE HOLIDAYS, 2008 . 25 STATE SYMBOLS . 25 POPULATION Texas Population Compared with the U .s . 26 Texas and the U .s . Annual Population Growth Rates . 27 Resident Population, 15 Most Populous States .
    [Show full text]
  • Salsa2hjournal 1..24
    HOUSE JOURNAL EIGHTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, REGULAR SESSION PROCEEDINGS FIRST DAY Ð TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2011 In accordance with the laws and Constitution of the State of Texas, the members-elect of the house of representatives assembled this day in the hall of the house of representatives in the city of Austin at 12 noon. The Honorable Hope Andrade, secretary of state of the State of Texas, called the House of Representatives of the Eighty-Second Legislature of the State of Texas to order. The invocation was offered by Archbishop Daniel Nicholas Cardinal DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, as follows: Almighty and compassionate Lord, you have revealed your glory to all nations and have care for all. We humbly thank you for this land, our state, a land rich in resources but above all rich in its many people. May we be a people mindful of your love, justice, and kindness. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. God of wisdom and justice, through you authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgement is decreed. Let the light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of this legislature and shine forth in all its proceedings and laws, framed for our rules and governance. May this house of representatives seek to preserve the common good and continue to bring us the blessings of liberty and equality. Assist with your spirit of council and fortitude the speaker and all the representatives, that their administration be conducted in good judgement and be eminently useful to the citizens of this state.
    [Show full text]
  • Liberals and Conservatives in the 2011 Texas House of Representatives
    JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RICE UNIVERSITY LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES IN THE 2011 TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BY MARK P. JONES, PH.D. FELLOW IN POLITICAL SCIENCE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RICE UNIVERSITY SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 The 2011 Texas House of Representatives THESE PAPERS WERE WRITTEN BY A RESEARCHER (OR RESEARCHERS) WHO PARTICIPATED IN A BAKER INSTITUTE RESEARCH PROJECT. WHEREVER FEASIBLE, THESE PAPERS ARE REVIEWED BY OUTSIDE EXPERTS BEFORE THEY ARE RELEASED. HOWEVER, THE RESEARCH AND VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THESE PAPERS ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHER(S), AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY. © 2011 BY THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY OF RICE UNIVERSITY THIS MATERIAL MAY BE QUOTED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION, PROVIDED APPROPRIATE CREDIT IS GIVEN TO THE AUTHOR AND THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY. 2 The 2011 Texas House of Representatives I. Introduction Political scientists have long used roll call votes cast by members of the U.S. Congress to plot the legislators on the liberal-conservative dimension along which most legislative politics in our nation’s capital (as well as in Austin) now takes place.1 Here, drawing on the data provided by roll call votes held during the combined 2011 regular and first special legislative sessions (January-June), I provide similar information for the members of the Texas House of Representatives. These data provide a window from which to view only one facet of a representative’s activities in Austin, and should thus be considered as one of many tools utilized by citizens to evaluate their elected officials.
    [Show full text]
  • Pensions Investments and Financial Services
    InterIm report to the 82nd texas LegisLature House Committee on Pensions, investments & Financial services January 2011 HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PENSIONS, INVESTMENTS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES INTERIM REPORT 2010 A REPORT TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 82ND TEXAS LEGISLATURE VICKI TRUITT CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE CLERK MERITA ZOGA Committee On Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services January 10, 2011 Vicki Truitt P.O. Box 2910 Chairman Austin, Texas 78768-2910 The Honorable Joe Straus Speaker, Texas House of Representatives Members of the Texas House of Representatives Texas State Capitol, Rm. 2W.13 Austin, Texas 78701 Dear Mr. Speaker and Fellow Members: The House Committee on Pensions, Investments and Financial Services of the Eighty-First Legislature hereby submits its interim report including recommendations and drafted legislation for consideration by the Eighty-Second Legislature. Respectfully submitted, _______________________ Vicki Truitt (Chair) _______________________ ______________________ Rafael Anchia (Vice Chair) Charles "Doc" Anderson _______________________ ______________________ Dan Flynn Ana Hernandez Luna _______________________ ______________________ Chuck Hopson Tan Parker _______________________ ______________________ Marc Veasey Beverly Woolley TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 CHARGE #1: STUDY THE IMPACT OF THE DEBT RELIEF INDUSTRY, INCLUDING DEBT MANAGEMENT AND DEBT SETTLEMENT
    [Show full text]
  • TEXAS HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES 2008 CANDIDATES GENERAL ELECTION July 1, 2008 District 1 George Lavender
    TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2008 CANDIDATES GENERAL ELECTION July 1, 2008 District 1 Stephen Frost (D), Atlanta – Incumbent (51.25%-R) George Lavender (R) Texarkana Tim Eason (L), Texarkana District 2 Dan Flynn (R), Van – Incumbent (64.52%-R) Michael A. French (L), Wills Point District 3 Mark Homer (D), Paris – Incumbent (55.6%-R) Kirby Hollingsworth (R), Mt. Vernon District 4 Betty Brown (R), Terrell – Incumbent (63.67%-R) Victor Morales (D) Crandall James C. Yow (L), Scurry District 5 Bryan Hughes (R), Mineola – Incumbent (61.05%-R) District 6 Leo Berman (R), Tyler – Incumbent (71.05%-R) Gene Moody (L), Flint Smith Co. District 7 Tommy Merritt (R), Longview – Incumbent (69.63%-R) Joey R. Stroman (L), Longview District 8 Byron Cook (R), Corsicana – Incumbent (59.4%-R) District 9 Wayne Christian (R), Center - Incumbent (58.42%-R) Kenneth D. Franks (D) Pineland Joe Allport (L), Garrison District 10 Jim Pitts (R), Waxahachie - Incumbent (66.35%-R) Phil Smart (L), Ferris District 11 Chuck Hopson (D), Jacksonville – Incumbent (63.37%-R) Brian K. Walker (R) – Tatum Paul Bryan (L), Longview District 12 Jim McReynolds (D), Lufkin – Incumbent (56.77%-R) Van Brookshire (R), Coldspring District 13 Lois Kolkhorst (R), Brenham – Incumbent (64.45%-R) District 14 Fred Brown (R), College Station – Incumbent (67.32%-R) Ron Darby (L), Bryan Brazos Co. District 15 Rob Eissler (R), The Woodlands – Incumbent (76.55%-R) Montgomery Co. District 16 Brandon Creighton (R), Conroe – Incumbent (74.57%-R) Montgomery Co. District 17 Open Seat - Robby Cook (D), Eagle Lake not seeking re- (54.18%-R) election Tim Kleinschmidt (R) Lexington Donnie Dippel (D) La Grange Alan W.
    [Show full text]
  • State Legislative Scorecard 2005
    State Legislative Scorecard 2005 Environment Texas House Of Representatives Environment Texas, a nonprofi t, nonpartisan advocate for Texas’ environment, monitors the voting records of Texas’ state legislators. Do your legislators support the public interest? Their votes on key environmental issues are shown below. (Votes continued on reverse.) REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Score PUBLIC INTEREST VOTES Rep. Alma Allen 131 - + + + + + + 86% 1. Gut Clean Water Standards. HB 2833 by Rep. Cook would gut Rep. Ray Allen 106 - + + - - - - 29% water quality standards by requiring cities to reimburse developers Rep. Roberto Alonzo 104 + + + + + + + 100% for profi ts lost due to environmental protections. This bill passed the Rep. Rafael Anchia 103 + + + + + + + 100% House by a vote of 103 to 41, but fortunately died in the Senate. Public interest vote: No. Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson 56 - + + E E E - 50% Rep. Kevin Bailey 140 - E + + + + E 80% 2. Renewable Energy To Seven Percent. An amendment by Rep. Rep. Todd Baxter 48 - + + - - + + 57% David Swinford to SB 743 would have required that approximately seven percent of Texas’ electricity be generated from clean, renewable Rep. Leo Berman 6 - + - - - - - 14% sources by the year 2017. The fi nal legislation passed and mandated Rep. Roy Blake 9 - + + - - - - 29% fi ve percent renewable energy by 2015. Public interest vote: Yes. Rep. Dwayne Bohac 138 - + - - - - + 29% 3. Renewable Energy Fee Protection. An amendment by Rep. Phil Rep. Dennis Bonnen 25 - - - - - - - 0% King to SB 712 to make sure renewable energy producers don’t pay Rep. Dan Branch 108 - P P E E E N/A 0% discriminatory fees for transmission.
    [Show full text]
  • United States District Court for the District of Columbia
    Case 1:11-cv-01303-RMC-TBG-BAH Document 230 Filed 08/28/12 Page 1 of 154 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ) STATE OF TEXAS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 11-1303 ) (TBG-RMC-BAH) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) and ERIC H. HOLDER, in his ) official capacity as Attorney General ) of the United States ) ) Defendants, and ) ) Wendy Davis, et. al., ) ) Intervenor-Defendants. ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION Before: GRIFFITH, Circuit Judge, COLLYER and HOWELL, District Judges. Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge GRIFFITH, in which District Judge HOWELL joins and District Judge COLLYER joins all except section III.A.3. Separate opinion for the Court with respect to retrogression in Congressional District 25 filed by District Judge HOWELL, in which District Judge COLLYER joins. Dissenting opinion with respect to retrogression in Congressional District 25 filed by Circuit Judge GRIFFITH. Appendix filed by District Judges COLLYER and HOWELL, in which Circuit Judge GRIFFITH joins. Case 1:11-cv-01303-RMC-TBG-BAH Document 230 Filed 08/28/12 Page 2 of 154 Opinion for the Court by GRIFFITH, Circuit Judge: Table of Contents I. Background.............................................................................................................................. 3 II. Principles of Section 5 Analysis ............................................................................................. 5 A. Retrogression ....................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • General Election Results (Final Report)
    M E M O R A N D U M TO: Texas Candidate Information Subscribers FROM: Dana Chiodo DATE: November 5, 2008 RE: General Election Results (Final Report) Following are the results of the November 4, 2008 Texas General Election. Turnout was extremely high. There were 8,053,036 voters (59.37% of registered voters), compared to 4,399,068 voters (33.64% of registered voters) in 2006; 7,410,749 voters (56.57% of registered voters) in 2004; 4,553,979 (36.24% of registered voters) in 2002, and 6,407,637 in 2000 (51.81% of registered voters). STATEWIDE President – In Texas, Senator John McCain got 55.47% of the vote over Senator Barak Obama, who received 43.72%. Libertarian Bob Barr took 0.7%. Write-In candidates received: Brian Moore – 49 votes; Alan Keyes – 586 votes; Ralph Nader –3,053 votes; Cynthia McKinney – 415 votes; Jonathan Allen – 57 votes; Chuck Baldwin – 3,418 votes; and Thaddaus Hill – 148 votes. U.S. Senate – Senator John Cornyn (R-Austin) defeated Representative Rick Noriega (D- Houston) 54.8% to 42.85%. Libertarian Yvonne Adamas Schnick took 2.33% of the vote. Railroad Commissioner- Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Michael L. Williams (R- Austin) won re-election with 52.08% of the vote. Democrat Mark Thompson received 44.39%, and Libertarian David Floyd got 3.51%. Texas Supreme Court: Chief Justice – Republican Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson got 53.07% of the vote over Democrat Jim Jordan (43.82%) and Libertarian Tom Oxford (3.1%). Place 7 – Republican Justice Dale Wainwright received 51.08% of the vote to defeat Democrat Sam Houston (45.89%) and Libertarian David G.
    [Show full text]
  • Notice Newsletter Summer 04
    Texas Association of County Auditors Officers and Board of Directors 2005 -2006 Officers Board of Directors LARGE COUNTY PRESIDENT PRESIDENT-ELECT FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT BARBARA SCHOTT, CPA KIRK KIRKPATRICK MARK YATES, CPA JIMMY L. MYNAR KEVIN SMITH Harris County Auditor Johnson County Auditor Cameron County Auditor Burleson County Auditor Burnet County Auditor 1001 Preston, Suite 800 2 North Main St. 964 E. Harrison St. 100 W. Buck St. Ste. 205 220 S. Pierce Houston, Tx. 77002 Cleburne, Tx. 76031 Brownsville, Tx. 78520 Caldwell, Tx. 77836 Burnet, Tx. 78611 Office 713-755-6505 Office 817-556-6305 Office 956-550-1398 Office 979-567-2331 Office 512-756-5495 Fax 713-755-8932 Fax 817-556-6807 Fax 956-548-9527 Fax 979-567-2371 Fax 512-715-5291 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Texas Association of County Auditors SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT SECRETARY-TREASURER IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT MEDIUM COUNTY RICK DOLLAHAN EDWARD DION, CPA VIRGINIA PORTER, CPA CLARA FLORES, CPA KEITH BARBER Gaines / Dawson Counties El Paso County Dallas County Nacogdoches County Auditor Cass County Auditor Volume 6, Issue 3 • Fall 2006 P.O. Box 847 500 E. San Antonio, Room 406 509 Main St., Room 407 101 W. Main, Ste. 110 P.O. Box 299 Seminole, Tx. 79360 El Paso, Tx. 79901 Dallas, Tx. 75202 Nacogdoches, Tx. 75961 Linden, Tx. 75563 Office 432-758-4002 Office 915-546-2040 Office 214-653-6472 Office 936-560-7761 Office 903-756-5067 Fax 432-758-4012 Fax 915-546-8172 Fax 214-653-6440 Fax 936-560-7702 Fax 903-756-3018 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Message from the President SMALL COUNTY SUSAN PUGH ELLEN FRIAR Get out of your our duties.
    [Show full text]