January 23, 2007

New Texas War on Cancer Features
Ensemble Cast Led by Former Rivals

With Help from Cycling Champ, Bureaucrat and Others, Tax
Panel Creator and Chairman Take Aim at Cancer for Encore

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

The front line in the new state war on cancer includes a bipartisan group of legislators, one of the world's most celebrated athletes, a legendary state bureaucrat, officials from top research institutions and the same Republican governor and ex-Democratic comptroller who teamed up in the search for a school finance cure at this time a year ago.

The concept for the concerted Texas effort appears to be the brainchild of a former state agency head who was one of Ann Richards' best friends - and by the time it all falls into place - the price tag for the initial investment could be in the neighborhood of $3 billion. But the Texans who are organizing the state's cancer offensive and hoping to sell it to the Legislature this year are betting that the effort will pay dividends far greater than that.

Governor Rick Perry, Lance Armstrong, key lawmakers and other central cast members huddled Monday to work on a gameplan at a meeting that John Sharp hosted at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Austin. The meeting gave officials from major cancer research facilities such as MD Anderson, the University of Texas Health Science Center, Baylor University Medical Center and the Susan G. Komen Foundation the opportunity to meet some of the lawmakers who expect to be co-sponsors of the plan during the regular session.

While Perry appears to be prepared to take a lead role in the state's anti-cancer push, the group that's been working on the blueprint for the effort sprang to life on its own without an official proclamation or press announcement. Sharp reportedly got the idea for a team effort approach from Cathy Bonner, who was executive director of the Texas Department of Commerce under Richards after chairing the 1991 inaugural for her. Sharp enlisted technical expertise from Billy Hamilton, a longtime deputy comptroller who happened to be available after being forced out of his state job by Comptroller Susan Combs when she took charge at the agency after the November election.

Hamilton designed California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's cost-saving program based on the Texas Performance Reviews shortly after the actor's initial election. This time around, however, Hamilton and others involved in the effort here are trying to figure out how to attract research and development assistance to Texas with the same kind of success that California has enjoyed since voters there approved a stem cell initiative in 2004. While the Texas effort will not include stem cell research, it will be looking to some of the same sources for potential funding. California has been reaping the lion's share of such funding for the past couple of years. But Sharp made a point to steer clear of stem cell research, which would be a lightning rod for opposition from conservatives, when he drafted the legislative blueprint for the Texas effort.

State Rep. Jim Keffer, who's arguably the second most powerful Texas House member after Speaker Tom Craddick, has agreed to be a lead sponsor in the lower chamber in push for a cure for cancer in Texas. Keffer, an Eastland Republican who's chaired the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee for more than two years, has suggested that funds for the program could possibly come from general obligation funds backed by the state. That would require voter approval.

State Senator Jane Nelson, a Lewisville Republican who's the Health and Human Services Committee chair, appears to be on board as the chief Senate sponsor. Freshman State Senator Kirk Watson, a cancer survivor himself, may be a co-sponsor. Watson, a former Austin mayor, and Armstrong would give the effort a personal one-two punch from a public relations perspective as a result of their successful fights to overcome the disease.

State Rep. Patrick Rose, a Dripping Springs Democrat who's a Craddick ally. has signed on as a co-sponsor as well. Rose's influence could be on the way up as one of several Democrats who are expected to be in the running for committee chairs. The list of co-sponsors could also include State Rep. Donna Howard, an Austin Democrat who's also a nurse, and others on both sides of the aisle.

The war on cancer marks the second time in the past year and a half that Perry and Sharp have joined forces on a major initiative since burying the political hatchet that had been between them ever since they clashed in the 1998 lieutenant governor's race. At Perry's request, Sharp chaired the Texas Tax Reform Commission that recommended the business tax plan that legislators approved in special session last spring.

Sharp's supporters are hoping that he attempts a political comeback with a campaign in two years for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Sharp had contemplated a race for governor in 2006 before accepting the role on the select tax commission.