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May 13, 2005
Democrats Come Up Empty on House
Conferee Teams on Schools and Taxes
By
Mike Hailey
Capitol
Inside Editor
It might have sounded like spin when State Rep. Al
Edwards implied that he'd voted for the school
tax bill in March in order to reserve a seat for the Democrats
on a conference committee that would hammer out a final
plan. The veteran House Democrat suggested then that Speaker
Tom Craddick would only appoint members
who had supported the legislation to the negotiating panel.
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Craddick
Chides
Senate for Late Start
on Key Negotiations
Speaker Tom Craddick got in a jab
at the Senate on Friday when setting his lineup for
conference committee negotiations on school finance
and taxes.
The Republican House leader pointed out that the
House has been ready to get down to business with
the Senate on the regular session's most prominent
issue ever since it approved HB 2 and HB 3 two months
ago.
But the Senate didn't move its own plans off the
floor until this week. While Craddick is guardedly
optimistic that deals can be reached, he suggested
that the task will be harder to accomplish as a result
of the relatively slow movement on the school and
tax plans across the rotunda. If the legislation dies
because time runs out, Craddick is making it clear
where he thinks the blame should be directed.
"We passed HB 2 on March 9 and HB 3 on March
15. House members worked long hours to get these two
bills to the Senate in a timely fashion, specifically
so we would have plenty of time to work out any differences
during conference committee," the speaker said.
"The short timeline is really going to put a
lot of pressure on the conferees as they begin working
on this piece of legislation.
"We are dedicated to working around the clock
to get the job done, but with only two weeks left
in the session, we've got a difficult challenge ahead
of us," the speaker said.
The Senate's defenders contend that Lieutenant Governor
David Dewhurst faces a more imposing
challenge in a chamber where two-thirds support is
required to pass legislation. By contrast, the House
only needed simple majorities, which GOP leaders there
secured with few votes to spare in the face of opposition
from Democrats and some Republican members. |
On Friday, the prediction proved true as the Republican
speaker chose five House members who'd voted for the tax
shift for the team of conferees who will attempt to negotiate
a compromise on taxes with the Senate during the final two
weeks of the regular session.
But Edwards - the only Democrat to vote aye on House Bill
3 - wasn't among them.
The speaker instead selected five House Republicans to the
conference committee on taxes. In addition to excluding Democrats
who'd opposed the bill, no minorities or women were named
to the House tax conference panel as well.
"The individuals that have been selected to sit on
this Conference Committee have shown a passionate dedication
to reforming our education finance system and have been
supportive of the processes along the way that got us to
this point," Craddick said in announcing the appointments
Friday afternoon.
The House conferees on HB 3 will be led by State Rep. Jim
Keffer, an Eastland Republican who's the chairman
of the Ways and Means Committee and the author of the bill.
The House tax team includes State Reps. Warren Chisum
of Pampa, Charlie Geren of Fort Worth and
David Swinford of Dumas.
Craddick took the extraordinary step of appointing a freshman
House member to the negotiating panel that will write a
plan for the first major overhaul of the Texas tax system
in 14 years. But the selection of State Rep. John
Otto of Dayton wasn't a major surprise because
he had spent more time on the floor explaining the intricacies
of the tax measure than any other member including the bill
sponsor. Otto is a certified public accountant who won a
Southeast Texas seat with a surprise victory over a Democratic
incumbent in the general election last year.
The speaker included a female on the conference committee
that will try to hammer out a final school finance plan
while negotiating differences between the two chambers on
HB 2. Led by State Rep. Kent Grusendorf,
an Arlington Republican who chairs the Public Education
Committee and authored the bill, the House's school finance
negotiators include State Reps. Dan Branch of
Dallas, Dianne Delisi of Temple, Rob
Eissler of The Woodlands and Bill Keffer
of Dallas. Bill Keffer is Jim Keffer's brother. Branch,
Eissler and Bill Keffer, who is Jim Keffer's brother, are
all members of the GOP's big sophomore class.
Edwards, the only Democrat to support the tax plan on its
initial trip through the House, had punched the white light
for present but not voting on the two key votes on the school
finance plan. The school bill passed the House without a
single vote from the chamber's 63 Democrats. House conferees,
as a result, will be trying to negotiate a plan that can
win 76 out of 87 possible Republican votes in the lower
chamber.
Senate conferees on HB 2 and HB 3 will probably be named
Monday. Whoever the Senate conferees may be on those two
pieces of legislation, the House can expect to outmatched
in terms of overall experience by conferees in paste conference
committee negotiations on major issues.
Grusendorf has been on numerous negotiating panels on
a variety of issues in his 18 years in the lower chamber.
He was a member of the conference committee that produced
a final congressional redistricting plan in special session
in 2003. Swinford and Delisi are the only two House conferees
on HB 2 and HB 3 to have served on major budget-related
conference committees. Delisi and Swinford were members
of the House team that negotiated a state spending bill
in 1997 - and they both served on the negotiating panel
that produced a major government organization bill during
special session in 2003. Delisi also was a member of the
House team that crafted a final state budget in 1995.
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst will
likely turn to State Senator Steve Ogden
to lead the Senate conferees on the tax bll. Ogden, a Republican
from Bryan, is the lead Senate conferee on the team that's
been working on a final appropriations bill in conference.
Other potential Dewhurst picks for the Senate conference
committee on the tax bill include State Senators Kim
Brimer, Robert Duncan and Ken
Armbrister. A Fort Brimer sponsored a floor amendment
that made substantial changes to the business component
of the Senate tax plan this week. Armbrister and Duncan,
who's a Senate conferee on the state budget, are considered
to be two of the Senate's most skilled tacticians on the
development and negotiation of legislation. Armbrister,
a Victoria Democrat, led the team of Senate conferees that
attempted to negotiate a property tax relief plan during
the last major fight on the issue in 1997. Duncan and Armbrister
would also be logical picks for the conference committee
on HB 2 as well.
State Senator Judith Zaffirini would be
a logical choice for the conference committees on schools
or taxes or both. The Laredo Democrat, who's vice-chair
of the Senate Finance Committee, is playing a key role already
as a conferee on the state budget. She's a member of the
Senate Education Committee as well.
The Senate's conference committee team on the school bill
will be led by State Senator Florence Shapiro,
a Plano Republican who's sponsoring the legislation as the
Senate Education Committee chair. Other potential Senate
conferees on HB 2 include Democratic State Senators Leticia
Van de Putte of San Antonio and Royce West
of Dallas. West is the Senate Education Committee's vice-chair.
Republican State Senators Todd Staples of
Palestine, Kyle Janek of Houston and Tommy
Williams of The Woodlands might be in the running
for spots on the panel that will negotiate HB 2.
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