Our Texas Legislature has, over the years, become known for individual and collective shenanigans.
One thing can be said for legislators in the last decade: they seem more sophisticated about outside activities. For instance, through at least the early 1990s, there was a tendency for some elected officials to make headlines by raising cane after hours. You know, drink and carouse. There were, of course, shenanigans within the legislative chambers themselves - special interest bills, self-serving bills, inane bills and all manner of things damaging and/or entertaining.
To my knowledge, there haven't been any major scandals involving whiskey and wild women in this decade, but our representatives adjourned their latest session June 1 without disappointing in the legislative shenanigan department.
The Texas Senate set the tone in the session's opening days by suspending their rules for one piece of legislation - the voter identification bill. The Senate is usually known for its clubby and civilized atmosphere. Regular rules call for a two-thirds majority (21) of the 31 senators to vote to consider a piece of legislation before it can come to the Senate floor. The Senate, which has 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats, split along party lines to suspend that rule and allow consideration of that one bill with a simple majority. Then, the voter ID bill was brought to the floor and passed by the same 19-12 count.
That began a contentious session. While lots of legislation was passed, including a $182 billion budget, some high profile bills didn't make it - the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a proposal for allowing urban areas to raise gasoline taxes and fees for local transportation projects, bills to keep some state agencies (Texas Department of Transportation, the state collective for windstorm insurance and the office for insurance public counsel) from being eliminated due to the sunset review process. Sunset review requires a legislative examination and a vote to continue the agency or not. No vote results in a shutdown of the agency in one year. Approval of the state taking federal stimulus funds ($555 million) to expand unemployment benefits also failed in this session. Perry has called a special session of the Legislature to begin Wednesday, July 1, to address the sunset review of five state agencies, including TxDOT.
Some legislation got bottled up because Democrats in the House were cocked and spring-loaded in the ticked-off position over the voter ID bill, which also became a victim of the contentiousness. Some bills died because Gov. Rick Perry hinted at a veto if they hit his desk.
So, Texas Senate Republicans get the top award for Collective Legislative Shenanigan with second place to House Democrats.
There is no contest for the Individual Legislative Shenanigan Award. That goes to State Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Center).
It seems Christian took umbrage that an open beaches law would prevent rebuilding lots of homes destroyed in Hurricane Ike. Those homes, including one he owned on Bolivar Peninsula, if rebuilt, would be on actual public beach land by law. Christian, who owns an insurance/financial services agency, had a tax-value-assessed $187,300 beach home there.
He used a tactic called bracketing (some say "stealth legislation") to try to exempt rebuilding his and others' homes on Bolivar by adding this exception to a homestead exemption bill: "(4) the house is located on a peninsula in a county with a population of more than 250,000 and less than 251,000 that borders the Gulf of Mexico." That precisely describes Bolivar Peninsula. The bill granted homestead exemptions to those whose homes were destroyed by Ike, until they can rebuild. Christian's Bolivar property is now assessed at $100.
Texas' Land Commissioner, Republican Jerry Patterson, after asking Perry to veto the bill, had this response to Christian's shenanigan: "My option (if there's no veto) is just to say, 'Screw you, Wayne Christian,' because the Legislature didn't pass this, one guy passed this."
Congratulations to all winners on maintaining the Lege's reputation for shenanigans.
There is hope, however, that Texas' position as the most dysfunctional legislature is being usurped. As this is written, New York's state legislative bodies are embroiled in a rather silly dispute that involves a billionaire, his international tennis star girlfriend, a snit over a "billionaire tax," political party switching and the threat of "open air legislative sessions" due to one party temporarily locking the doors.
However, the Lone Star State still holds the honors for longest running show.
Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher. He can be reached by e-mail at wwebb@wildblue.net
