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August 16, 2019 5:42 PM
A subdued ALEC, agency news, lobby moves, and appointments
So great to see all your
smiling faces at ALEC and the associated events this week. Even ran
into a Democrat or two – and not just the protesters outside. Someone joked
that any officeholders or candidates protesting ALEC better not have taken any
contributions from various companies’ PACs. Would not be a good look.
Some of the folks on “the
list” looked to be in good spirits at the Four Seasons bar, which
I still just don’t like. And apparently one of the wives of an “B lister” (“Bonnen
lister”) didn’t mind heckling Speaker Dennis Bonnen as he was speaking
at the Texas dinner.
Awkward.
Meantime, there’s some
agency news, lobby moves, and appointments to pass along this week. If you have
career news to share with the Texas Capitol community, you can send
it anytime at ksbraddock@gmail.com
and please use POTM in the subject line. Many thanks.
Here’s the latest edition
of People on the Move.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright August 16, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 16, 2019 5:36 PM
The “C” and “D” categories did shrink. On campus grades, about a quarter of all campuses were “C,” another 37 percent were “B” and almost one in five campuses in Texas were rated with an “A” this year.
Commissioner Mike Morath spent part of this week celebrating
the success of districts like Aldine ISD, while news outlets were
focused on the future of nearby Houston ISD.
Both Morath and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick
both emphasized a theme that “poverty is not destiny” during an appearance at Stephens
Elementary in Aldine. Stephens moved from a “D” to an “A” in the course
of one year, with a
“The educators at Stephens Elementary start the day with
the belief that all children can learn, they can achieve at high levels, they
can learn reading, writing and math,” Morath said. “And when they say all, they
mean all. They don’t mean unless you’re a foster child. They don’t mean unless
you’re homeless. They don’t mean unless you’re poor, or you don’t speak English
or unless you’re in special education.”
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright August 16, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 16, 2019 5:03 PM
After rumblings earlier this week that the RNC is unhappy about the situation and awkward moments at ALEC in Austin, the story goes national: "Except there was a tape..."
The story plays dramatically
in the pages
of the Times:
AUSTIN — In Texas, they’re
calling it the case of “The Speaker and the Creeper.”
The political imbroglio
started last month, when Michael Quinn Sullivan, a conservative pit-bull
who routinely antagonizes establishment politicians, accused the Republican
House Speaker, Dennis Bonnen, of offering his organization coveted House
media credentials if it would work to defeat 10 incumbent House members from
Mr. Bonnen’s own party.
Mr. Bonnen denied it, and
the bombshell was initially greeted with some skepticism. Why would one of the
state’s top politicians court a back-room deal — to undermine his own bench —
with a man Texas Monthly recently described as “one of the biggest snakes in
Texas politics?”
Except there was a tape….
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Copyright August 16, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 16, 2019 3:32 PM
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Copyright August 16, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 16, 2019 12:09 PM
KFYO radio in Lubbock cites sources close to Burrows.
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Copyright August 16, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 16, 2019 11:05 AM
Not an insignificant county GOP; the executive committee also asked the Republican Party of Texas to condemn the alleged actions "and assure the public that the organization will not tolerate anything that compromises the conservative principles and standards we hold ourselves to." The adopted resolution also asks the House GOP Caucus to select a replacement speaker
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Copyright August 16, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 15, 2019 10:17 AM
He was said to be considering either running for his old Texas House seat or the Congressional seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Kenny Marchant
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Copyright August 15, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 15, 2019 8:25 AM
There RNC is said to be quite unhappy that this kind of drama is unfolding while Speaker Bonnen's troubles become an issue in the race to lead the RPT; Bonnen's team and supporters shift from apologizing for him saying “terrible things” to arguing that the Sullivan meeting “is not a crime”
The apology tour is on as Speaker
Dennis Bonnen and Texas House GOP Caucus Chairman Dustin
Burrows seek to make amends after admitting to saying “terrible things”
about members in a private meeting while the cops have now been called to
thoroughly investigate whether there was any wrongdoing.
Some of the members on the
alleged hit list tell QR that Chairman Burrows has sounded
remorseful and looked “downright despondent” in meetings over the last few days.
On the bright side, at least he has resurfaced and is talking with colleagues
again. One member is said to have told Burrows that even though the apology is
accepted – we’re all adults after all – that does not mean there should be no
repercussions for plotting against fellow Republicans in secret and “making a
deal with the devil.”
As conservatives gather in
Austin for ALEC, the issue comes up frequently in the low talk. Bonnen gave the
welcome speech at the reception last night then left. The story has not quite
garnered national press attention so many of the attendees are hearing about it for the
first time as they come into Texas.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright August 15, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 14, 2019 10:37 AM
Members include the Big 3, the head of DPS, etc
Here is the info from the
Office of the Governor.
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Copyright August 14, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 13, 2019 4:53 PM
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Copyright August 13, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 13, 2019 4:25 PM
The Texas Facilities Commission is close to
topping out a new nine-story office building, the first phase expansion of the Health
and Human Services Commission’s North Austin Campus.
Jacobs Engineering Group is the lead on the North
Austin Campus project, which is expecting to decrease some of the 600,000
square feet of HHSC rental space. The first phase will add 406,000 square feet
of office space to HHSC agencies. The project also includes an adjacent 7-story
1,850-car garage. Both should be completed by December 2020.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright August 13, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 13, 2019 9:08 AM
Veteran Tony Lawrence says in announcement: “I understand what Texas small business owners go through to operate and succeed. I have started small businesses, including a mobile music recording business and stone masonry construction company."
Here’s the challenger’s website.
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Copyright August 13, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 12, 2019 5:21 PM
One of the members on the alleged hit list gets Abbott's stamp of approval.
“Representative Lambert’s commitment to ensuring a better future for Texas students, teachers, and taxpayers, we were able to enact much needed reforms for our school finance and property tax systems this session," Abbott said.
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Copyright August 12, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 12, 2019 11:11 AM
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Copyright August 12, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 12, 2019 10:19 AM
Chair Meyer says no witnesses will participate in the proceedings today
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Copyright August 12, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 11, 2019 8:40 PM
The Speaker has invited members of the Texas Capitol community to invest in his business over the years; one of Heritage Bank’s board members is now treasurer for Bonnen’s $3 million PAC
As Texas House General
Investigating Committee Chairman Morgan Meyer remains tight
lipped about exactly what may unfold during Monday’s hearing probing the June
12 meeting of Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Empower Texans
spokesman Michael Quinn Sullivan, Quorum Report has
learned where the speaker is scheduled to be instead that day: His bank in
Pearland for the annual shareholders meeting of his company.
Conceivably he could
appear at both meetings, but it doesn’t seem likely after some reporting this
weekend.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright August 11, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 11, 2019 8:38 PM
"Integrity is obviously compromised when chairman Meyer's single largest contributor this cycle is the subject of the investigation he is supposed to oversee," Cattanach said. She asked for Rep. Krause to recuse himself as well after also receiving nearly $20K for in-kind polling from Speaker Bonnen. No comment from either of them so far.
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Copyright August 11, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 9, 2019 10:30 PM
Hard to quantify as of yet, but agriculture, oil and gas could see sharp drops in demand
While Texas lawmakers were
off enjoying the National Conference of State Legislatures in
Nashville, national news may be providing unusual challenges in
the months to come.
A recent headline from CNBC’s news website caught my eye and brought back home how impactful the
new wave of tariffs and the Chinese retaliation could be to Texas.
Particularly since the Legislature
made a slew of expensive commitments last session based not on a predictable
revenue stream but largely on our robust rate of growth.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Harvey Kronberg
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Copyright August 09, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 9, 2019 9:13 PM
The letter shows Bonnen was notified on June 19 in writing that Sullivan “unequivocally” rejected Bonnen’s alleged offer
On the Friday night before
Monday’s scheduled Texas House General Investigating Committee
hearing into Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s June 12 meeting with Michael Quinn Sullivan,
the Office of the Speaker released a copy of the original letter
sent by Sullivan to Bonnen accusing him of a quid pro quo.
The office had originally
declined to release the letter, citing an exemption under Texas law that allows
for constituent communications to be kept confidential in order to protect personal
information. Gardner Pate, the speaker’s general counsel, this evening said
that Sullivan had waived confidentiality and sent the letter to media outlets
that had requested a copy including Quorum Report.
Here is the letter.
As a reminder, here
is the letter Bonnen sent in response, which has been in the public domain
since Sullivan took his accusations public on July 25.
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Copyright August 09, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 9, 2019 5:36 PM
One of the perhaps significant
unknowns in the whole dustup between Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Empower
Texans Spokesman Michael Quinn Sullivan is exactly what was said
in Sullivan’s original letter to the speaker about their now controversial June
12 meeting.
The letter from Sullivan was
what prompted this
response from Speaker Bonnen. Sullivan has declined to even release a copy
of it.
Quorum Report and other media outlets have asked the speaker’s
office for the original letter from Sullivan – which Bonnen confirmed exists in
his response (above) to Sullivan – but today we were denied.
“Our staff has conducted a
thorough search for information responsive to your July 29, 2019 public
information request, and we have no responsive information that is not
otherwise made confidential by Chapter 306 of the Government Code,”
wrote Gardner Pate, Director of Policy & General Counsel for the Office
of the Speaker.
Some have speculated that
the speaker might have also recorded the meeting. Pate’s response was the same to
a request for an electronic recording and any notes from the meeting.
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Copyright August 09, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 9, 2019 5:31 PM
If some of it does have to be in executive session: "As you know, the Texas Senate has on several occaisions held a "Caucus of the Whole" where all 31 Senators meet, but it is not open to the public. At minimum, it is my request and hope you would allow the same for House Members," Raymond said.
The letter from Rep. Richard
Raymond to General Investigating Chair Morgan Meyer can be downloaded
here.
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Copyright August 09, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 9, 2019 5:25 PM
Spot retailer growth: “If we go live this year with Dollar General, which is our first partner, we’re going to grow our retailer base in one year more than we have in the last 20 years.”
Texas is on a path to roll out lottery ticket sales in the
check-out lanes of retail stores, starting with Dollar General
this fall and expanding to CVS, H-E-B and Walgreens
by next year.
“For the last 24 months, we’ve been working on an
initiative we believe has the potential to dramatically expand our retail base,
allow our products to be more universally accepted in retail and, ultimately,
drive us to new sales and revenue records in the future,” Executive Director Gary
Grief told the three-member board of the Texas Lottery Commission
during their last meeting.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright August 09, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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