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November 5, 2009
UPDATE: Board acts afresh on tuition plan's refund policy
UPDATED, 10:28 a.m.: The board that oversees the Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan, which was once called the Texas Tomorrow Fund, voted this morning to adopt State Comptroller Susan Combs’ proposal to back off an earlier declared change in how the pre-paid tuition program pays refunds. (Read our preview skinny here.)
I’m there and Twittered play by play via twitter.com/gardnerselby.
At least two additional twists developed that will be critical to more than 100,000 holders of the pre-paid tuition contracts.
First, the board agreed to extend until Jan. 31 the time period during which participants can still request lump-sum refunds reflecting their initial investments plus earnings, less administrative fees.
Second, the board directed the plan’s staff to enable about 5,000 participants who have already received refunds to re-join the plan, evidently without getting penalized. Participants who have already rolled their refunds into out-of-state 529 funds would face tax penalties for re-joining the plan this year; the board told staff to offer these participants a return to the plan if they say they want back in by Dec. 31 and then re-join by making installment payments through 2010. (If you’re in the plan, watch for a letter spelling this out in detail.)
No board members objected to these moves today, though two asked questions of Combs, its chair.
Combs said she plans to ask the 2011 Legislature to consider injecting about $65 million a year into the plan to ensure its solvency. If that starts happening in the 2012-13 budget period, Combs said, and if such infusions continue for eight years more, the plan will close its projected shortfall, which (depending on investment returns) runs from $1.5 billion to $3 billion.
Combs said too she expects lawmakers to carry out an interim study of the plan’s financial challenges. If that happens, it’ll be announced either by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who orders such studies by the Texas Senate, or House Speaker Joe Straus, who does the same for the House.
“This is a legislatively created program,” Combs said. “I do believe the Legislature will craft a solution in the 2011 session.”
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October 30, 2009
UPDATED: Combs reverses course on tuition plan; legislator rejoices
State Comptroller Susan Combs has decided to urge a board she heads to cancel plans to change the way refunds are handled for customers of the state’s original pre-paid college tuition plan.
Presuming the board adopts Combs’ recommendation, families in the program will no longer need to decide by Nov. 30 whether to cancel their contract in order to receive earnings from their investments. Combs will also present recommendations to allow families who cancelled contracts during an ongoing opt-out period to resume their contracts if they choose to do so, the agency said.
I hope to visit with Combs this afternoon. Feel free to fire a question my way at wgselby@statesman.com, but do so soon if you can.
“Praise be to God,” reacted Rep. Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin, who had asked Attorney General Greg Abbott to review the legality of the board helmed by Combs changing the refund policy.
“I appreciate what she’s done,” McReynolds said. “I’m proud of her.”
After some complaints, Combs concluded the refund policy is properly a legislative issue, meaning any such move would be up to lawmakers, who aren’t expected back in session until the regular session in 2011.
On Monday, the American-Statesman published a look at the May 12 decision to change the refund policy for the Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan, what was originally called the Texas Tomorrow Fund. See that article here.
The board is expected to have meeting to shift its gears next week.
In her announcement, Combs says: “I am very pleased by the interest and attention shown by legislators and their willingness to address the financial stability of the guaranteed tuition plan. I ask that the Legislature conduct an interim study of the projected $1.7 billion - $2.1 billion shortfall, which may start to appear as soon as 2015. This is an issue that should be addressed sooner than later, and I believe the Legislature needs to start funding the plan in 2011 to fix the projected plan deficit.”
Saying she still thinks the plan needs help to stay solvent, Combs added that she’s heeding an outcry from more than 100,000 holders of contracts in the program and more than 40 legislators.
“My first obligation is to protect the state’s assets, especially in this economic climate. I commend the board for its hard work and focus on their efforts to fix a hard problem,” she said. “A recent decision to limit refunds for cancelled contracts was due to a grave concern over the solvency of the TGTP and my commitment to fiscal responsibility. At the same time, I have listened to the concerns of legislators and contract-holders, and I am recommending any changes to the program be postponed until the Legislature convenes in 2011.”
Fetch Combs’ press release here.
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October 29, 2009
TV ad on property-rights proposition doesn't violate law, agency says
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples won’t be on Tuesday’s ballot, which consists of proposed constitutional amendments. Still, Staples taped the commercial below which the Texas Department of Agriculture says is being run, at no charge, by TV stations — like any public service announcement.
The ad:
I asked an agriculture department spokesman to elaborate on the agency’s conclusion that the spot doesn’t edge into outright advocacy in favor of the proposition.
Bryan Black, the spokesman, gave his preliminary summary Wednesday:
The ad is a public service announcement for educational outreach and we worked with TDA attorneys to ensure we adhered to state law. In this PSA, Commissioner Staples does not tell Texans to vote for or against Prop. 11. He informs voters of an important issue facing Texas and ask(s) voters to go to the polls to ensure their voices are heard. There was no cost for production, since the producers offered in-kind services, and cable stations are running it free of charge since it is a public service announcement.
Other lawyers might have their own interpretations of the ad, which to my eyes lacks any information that might prompt someone to vote against the proposition. My sense is that if it was considered advocacy, there’d be a political disclaimer in the video and stations would charge for the air time — meaning it wouldn’t be airing much at all.
There’s a solid political punch line to this episode.
Staples, who could be seeking a second term next year, coincidentally landed this TV spotlight at no cost to his political kitty, and at a time no other statewide elected officials are showcasing themselves in TV advertising.
At the least, that’s crafty. And maybe — just maybe — it signals that Staples is as eager as any Republican for a chance to move on to another high office. If I was forced to bet, I’d single out lieutenant governor.
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September 16, 2009
Texas AG confirms ACORN probe
Attorney General Greg Abbott is investigating the Texas activities of the advocacy group ACORN, an aide confirmed this afternoon.
“We are investigating various aspects of ACORN activities in Texas,” Abbott spokesman Jerry Strickland said in an e-mail. “However, because of that ongoing inquiry, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
In New York, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo earlier today announced a state investigation into allegations against ACORN in a Brooklyn office.
Strickland declined comment on whether Abbott’s investigation was new or an inquiry that had been going on previously.
ACORN is embroiled in a national controversy over hidden-camera videos released by conservative activists posing as a prostitute and a pimp showing ACORN employees in four cities advising them to lie about her profession and launder her earnings to receive housing assistance.
The U.S. Senate has voted to cut off Department of Housing and Urban Development funding to the group, House Republicans are calling for an FBI probe and Texas politicians have joined the calls for a thorough review of all government funding to ACORN.
Several Texas lawmakers had called Tuesday for a state investigation into ACORN’s Texas activities, and whether it receives state funding. R.J. DeSilva, a spokesman for Comptroller Susan Comb, said the organization received no state funding in 2008 or 2009.
In Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley, the group has been active in recent years in assisting low- and moderate-income Texans with mortgage foreclosures and tax advice, and assistance with FEMA claims and citizenship issues, voter registration and coping with high summer electric bills.
Late this afternoon, ACORN officials announced they have temporarily suspended intakes into some programs and are undertaking an independent review of the allegations brought forth by the controversy.
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August 14, 2009
$800 payment assured for job-switching state workers
State workers that had changed agencies in the past few months can breathe a sigh of relief because they will getting the one-time $800 payment approved by the Legislature this spring.
The way Comptroller Susan Combs’ read the law, some 420 state employees who had jumped to a different agency since the end of March would not receive the money. Legislative leaders argued that Combs’ reading did not comport with their intent.
After a Friday confab, Combs’ spokesman R.J. DeSilva said those workers will get the payment though the details have not yet been hammered out as to how and when that will happen.
The payment will go to 110,000 employees who earn less than $100,000 and did not receive a raise elsewhere in the state budget.
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June 9, 2009
Assured by Perry, racing commission sees no shutdown on horizon
Yes, the failure of lawmakers to send Gov. Rick Perry legislation continuing several agencies including the Texas Racing Commission means the commission, like four others, should start winding down at the start of the 2011 fiscal year on Sept. 1.
But no, that’s not about to happen, commission members were told today.
“We are to continue our work as usual,” the commission’s executive director, Charla Ann King, advised. “I anticipate that we will be back in special session in the coming months. We will be ready when the time comes.”
Perry told reporters today he will call a special session to clean up the legislative breakdown, but he didn’t let loose of his intended timing. Personally, I’m keeping my August calendar clear on a hunch that Perry will want this thorn plucked before the start of the new fiscal year (and before the brunt of campaign season).
The commission chairman, Rolando Pablos, similarly said he doesn’t expect any closure-related actions to roll out that would affect horse and dog tracks overseen by the commission.
Pablos referred to a letter the agency fielded from Perry just after the session ended this month. Perry wrote June 3 that “Texans will be taken care of and employees of the affected agencies will continue to go to work every day.” (Fetch his full note here.)
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June 2, 2009
Straus, in a calm vein, says he has no worries about agencies or road bonds
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus struck a characteristically calm tone this morning after the chaotic end of the 140-day regular session Monday, insisting that the failure of the House and Senate to agree on a resolution doesn’t mean much.
Straus said agencies will continue to operate and a special session may not be necessary. “It’s possible we could avoid one,” he said, deferring the topic to Gov. Rick Perry, who has the sole authority to call special sessions.
“I don’t consider this a crisis,” Straus said.
Perry, who has scheduled a news conference for 11:30 a.m., is not expected to call a special session.
Straus pointed out that it was the Texas Senate that failed to approve a House concurrent resolution intended to keep several agencies in business.
And he said some $2 billion in road bonds that didn’t get addressed by the House aren’t due to be issued until about the time lawmakers come into their 2011 regular session.
“Overblown,” he said of senators’ frets about the bonds.
There’s been no word today from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Fetch Straus’s list of legislative accomplishments 81ST SESSION ACCOMPLISHMENTS.pdf”>here.
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Agencies wouldn't shut immediately, if at all
With the Senate action on Monday night not to reauthorize five state agencies, all but one of the affected departments would be subject to closing by Sept. 1, 2010 in accord with the Texas Sunset Act.
The Texas Racing Commission, subject to a different law, could stay in business at least a year longer.
At the Office of Public Insurance Counsel, the agency’s public counsel, Deeia Beck, said earlier Monday that if necessary, shut-down preparations would start as soon as the session ends.
Beck said the agency, a consumer watchdog group for the insurance industry, would still take new cases and try to finish up old ones, she said.
“Unless somebody can prove to me I can’t do it,” Beck said. “I’m going to continue to earn my salary. I’m going down swinging.”
Her office is still waiting for a decision on a suit against the State Farm Insurance Company over residential rates, and Beck said the likely appeal will take more than a year. She said with interest, the settlement could top $1 billion.
“Obviously we think insurance should have a degree of regulation,” she said. “People typically don’t understand what they have until they have a claim, and then they don’t have what they though they had.”
Rolando Pablos, who chairs the Texas Racing Commission, expressed disappointment that lawmakers didn’t act on legislation affecting the commission’s survival, but said he’s not worried about a shut-down.
“We will continue to regulate without skipping a beat,” Pablos said.
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May 29, 2009
Several agencies to live or die based on House Bill 1959
A “catch-all” House measure, posted here, will likely determine whether several state agencies live or die—including the Texas Racing Commission and an agency devoted to affordable housing.
The American-Statesman’s Mike Ward has learned that the proposal, sponsored by Sen. Glenn Hegar and Rep. Carl Isett, could be used to preserve the Texas Department of Insurance for at least two years (giving lawmakers a fresh crack at reviewing them in the 2011 session) if the agency’s authorization dies — and it may also keep alive the Texas Youth Commission if a new dispute over several items in its own sunset bill cannot be resolved.
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April 17, 2009
DIR: Data center jobs staying in Texas
Concerns surfaced this week that IBM Corp. might move management of Texas’ consolidated data centers — and the jobs involved — out of state as a way to save money under the $863 million contract.
The Department of Information Resources said while IBM had presented the state with a “national strategy to manage services remotely,” DIR told the company that the state is not interested in such a change.
According to the contract, IBM must operate the state data center operations out of facilities in Austin and San Angelo or get DIR approval to do it elsewhere. Word was that IBM was looking to shift the work to its mammoth facility in Colorado and save some money on staffing, equipment and other expenses.
An IBM spokesman, asked for comment, referred back to the DIR statement.
IBM is in the middle of merging the data center operations of 27 agencies into the consolidated facilities with the aim of saving the state money and improving efficiency and security.
Last fall, the state issued an ultimatum to IBM to fix the data backup that had plagued the project or possibly lose the seven-year contract. While the ultimatum is technically still active, IBM’s performance has reportedly improved.
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February 26, 2009
Otto concerned data center project too big
IBM Corp. might have bitten off more than it could chew with the $863 million data center consolidation contract, State Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, said Thursday at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
The company cannot be making the amount of money it expected when it bid the contract to merge the data centers of 27 state agencies, said Otto, chairman of the general government subcommittee.
And the state needs to be prepared should IBM walk away, Otto said, because almost every state agency would be affected “if something bad does happen.”
Last fall, Gov. Rick Perry halted the data centers’ merger after the loss of some key data and IBM’s failure to backup some servers came to light. IBM scrambled to respond to the rebuke and improve its service.
A company spokesman said IBM remains committed to working with the state “to address Texas’ backup and recovery issues and ensure the security of the state’s data.”
Brian Rawson, executive director of the Department of Information Resources, said the consolidation effort is still expected to save the state money over the life of the seven-year contract, which began in 2007.
A reporting from the accounting firm Grant Thornton released this week says the state realized a 15.4 percent savings on growth in services in the first year of the data center consolidation.
State agencies, however, have been telling Otto during budget talks that they are not seeing the savings and need more money to pay for the rising costs of data center services, he said.
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January 12, 2009
House panel to advise against statewide office of inspector general
State Rep. Bill Callegari, R-Katy, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, said the panel plans to issue a report today saying that there is no need for a statewide inspector general. The committee was directed to study the issue during the period between legislative sessions.
“I think it would cost more than it might gain,” Callegari said. “If you set up a giant department to solve a problem that may not exist, I think we’re causing taxpayers to pay money they don’t need to pay. In addition, we do have the state auditor’s office that can perform that function.”
Gov. Rick Perry has called for a statewide office of inspector general, and several lawmakers are pushing for more independence for Texas’ inspectors general. Four agencies now have offices of inspector general embedded in them: the Texas Youth Commission, Texas Education Agency, Health and Human Services Commission and Texas Department of Criminal Justice. State Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, told me last year he doubts that inspectors general can properly do their jobs if they have to work through the agency they’re overseeing.
After the jump, see our full 2008 story on the issue.
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December 16, 2008
Michael Williams: The first Senate race is for Gov. Perry's attention
Michael Williams conceded today what aspirants for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s might-be-vacated seat all know: There’s no seat to seek until Hutchison resigns.
But every candidate—at least every Republican like Williams—would love to get a leg up for her seat by being appointed interim senator by GOP Gov. Rick Perry after Hutchison resigns (if she does so).
“Everybody would,” Williams said after announcing his candidacy for the Senate. “That’s the first part. The first race, assuming he (Perry) gets the opportunity to make an appointment, the first race is for the vote of one. Then there’s the second race” at the ballot box, likely in a special election.
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November 21, 2008
IBM denies it breached data center contract
IBM Corp. on Friday denied that it had failed to live up to the terms of the $863 million contract to consolidate the data centers of 27 state agencies.
The letter from Ken Weiss, IBM vice president for the data center project, was a response to a Nov. 4 official notification that the company had breached its contract with the state and gave 30 days to fix the problems with backing up the data on the agencies’ servers.
That notification was the first step required to terminate the contract, if the state chose to pursue that option.
Weiss wrote that the IBM disagrees with the state’s characterization of the company’s responsibility under the contract.
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November 3, 2008
Austin State School superintendent leaving
Austin State School Superintendent Ross Robinson resigned last week and will take a job at the Department of State Health Services.
The Austin school houses more than 400 adults with mental retardation and other disabilities. Robinson, who held the top job for two years, oversees the facility, the residents and approximately 1,000 employees. The school is operated by the Department of Aging and Disability Services.
“This was a professional and personal decision made by him,” said department spokeswoman Laura Albrecht.
Robinson has about 31 years in social services and has been with the state 23 years, Albrecht said. He will leave the school in mid-November. A replacement has not been named.
No word on what Robinson will be doing with the health services agency.
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July 31, 2008
UPDATE: State sues Sunmart over gas pump problems
UPDATE: Earlier today, Attorney General Greg Abbott said that it should be “fairly easy” to win the civil lawsuit that he has lodged against Petroleum Wholesale LP, whose Sunmart gas stations were found last week to be overcharging consumers by giving them less gas than they paid for.
“Put yourself in the position of Sunmart,” Abbott said. “Is the kind of case you really want to go present to a jury and have a jury and Harris County decide whether or not a gasoline station that was overcharging customers should be fined or not? I don’t think so.”
Nonetheless, it looks like Petroleum Wholesale plans on putting up a fight. Here’s the text of a statement the company released this afternoon:
We disagree with the opinions and conclusions announced by the Commissioner of Agriculture last week leading to the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s office today. We adamantly deny that PWI has “intentionally cheated consumers.” Nevertheless, because of the misinformation put out by the Agricultural Commission last week, we expected the filing of this lawsuit. We are additionally concerned that some of the testing methods utilized by the TDA inspectors do not comply with the testing protocol set forth by applicable statutes designed to ensure test result accuracy. Throughout this investigation we have provided documents to the Department of Agriculture, have responded to every request for information, and will continue to offer our assistance in the process. We anticipate a satisfactory outcome to this matter.
EARLIER: A gasoline retailer that overcharged Texas consumers by giving them less fuel than they paid for could be fined millions of dollars under a lawsuit filed by state attorney general Greg Abbott today.
Petroleum Wholesale LP, the company that operates gas stations under the Sunmart name, was named in the civil suit, which Abbott filed after a Department of Agriculture investigation found last week that almost 50 Sunmart stations across the state were “cheating” customers.
Abbott said he is seeking $20,000 in penalties for each instance that a Sunmart pump dispensed less gas than a costumer paid for, a “potential financial death penalty” that could result in millions of dollars in fines.
The nearly 1000 pumps found in violation by last week’s “Operation Spotlight” have been shut down, Agriculture Commission Todd Staples said. Once the pumps are recalibrated by licensed technicians, the pumps will be allowed to dispense gas again, he said.
Department of Agriculture spokesman Bryan Black said that some pumps have already been restarted, but that he didn’t know how many.
Evelyn Adair, a receptionist for Petroleum Wholesale, said the company will be releasing a statement regarding the violations later today.
Abbott said he will also seek charges against the company for attempting to obstruct the Department of Agriculture’s investigation. Some Sunmart stations had told department representatives that pumps were out of order to prevent them from conducting their investigations, Staples said. Sunmart also dispatched technicians to several of its locations to recalibrate pumps before investigators arrived, he said.
Last week, Staples said it was “likely” that Sunmart had deliberately tampered with the pumps because the violations were so widespread.
Austin-area Sunmart stations found in violation included one in Northeast Austin on Berkman Drive, one on Texas 71 in Bastrop and another on Interstate 35 in Georgetown.
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May 6, 2008
Bullock bio stirs Jan Bullock and longtime aides
My story in Wednesday’s editions about the Bob Bullock biography by Dave McNeely and Jim Henderson—peek here—yields the first post-publication comments by Bullock’s widow, Jan Bullock, on the book, which is in its third printing and has drawn favorable reviews. It is viewable here.
Several longtime aides to the late lieutenant governor are similarly disappointed in “Bob Bullock: God Bless Texas,” with some saying the authors made an insufficient effort to tap their knowledge and experiences of Bullock. McNeely told me they deliberately did not do so partly because they didn’t want to cause one of the Bullock-ites to hurry their own book into print.
Glen Castlebury, who worked for Bullock for 20 years starting in 1974, said the authors could have started their research by querying people closest to Bullock.
“I would have thought they would have gone to the Bullock loyalists probably first (for interviews); it would have been most obvious (approach),” Castlebury said. “Then you would have gone out to talk to all the other turkeys walking the street to see if they had something to say.”
My sense is that Henderson was permitted to listen to a few oral histories given by Bullock friends and associates, as reported, because librarians at Baylor University didn’t initially know he was teamed with McNeely, who had a testy relationship with Bob Bullock.
Jan Bullock cut off public access to the histories until the year 2009, she told me, because she figured McNeely wanted to finish his book before President Bush left office that same year.
Bullock and Ben Rogers, director of Baylor’s W.R. Poage Legislative Library, said the authors did not delve into thousands of available pages of materials in the Bullock collection including newspaper clippings and “opposition research” Bullock’s campaign put together that put him in a vulnerable light.
McNeely and Henderson said they were told by Rogers in 2004 that bound newspaper clippings were not available. The library said it has no record of the request; Rogers initially said he didn’t remember the authors visiting together in 2004, later insisting they did not visit together.
The authors did not interview Jan Bullock, but they contacted her.
Henderson called her in 2006, saying he tried again later, without leaving messages. He said he expected she would call him if she wanted to visit.
McNeely delivered a draft manuscript to Bullock in February 2007. She shortly e-mailed Henderson, saying: “I can tell you two certainly did your research.”
McNeely then solicited her corrections, suggesting they get together.
If “there are things that are inaccurate, we want to get them corrected,” McNeely said in a March 30, 2007 e-mail. “…So let’s do get together as soon as possible.”
On May 4, 2007, Bullock wrote him to say she couldn’t help. She made her decision after sharing the manuscript with aides to Bob Bullock. Her letter states that she found mistakes, urban legends, gossip and distortions.
Henderson, speaking to the negative reactions, said in a recent e-mail to me: “Jan wanted to write her own book about Bullock. Didn’t happen. Get over it. Then she did her best to obstruct the writing of this book. Didn’t happen. Get over it. Then she did her best to block publication. Didn’t happen. Get over it. She apparently wanted to control everything written about her late husband. Didn’t happen. Ain’t gonna happen. Get over it.”
Bullock earlier told me: “I would have loved to see a grand book about Bob. He certainly was not an angel. And he was difficult, temperamental - my god, he was every adjective in the book… I mean, I have great stories. I have love letters that he’s written me that people wouldn’t even believe.”
A longtime Bullock aide, Mary Jane Wardlow, identified factual errors in the book including a reference to one senator serving in 1991 who took office in 1993.
In another part, Bullock is described as introducing senators to his forceful leadership style by rushing through measures. It’s placed in 1991 though it occurred in 1995. And, Wardlow said, the book mischaracterizes the late action in a legislative session catching the Senate up after the death of its parliamentarian.
Wardlow also said the book incorrectly describes Bullock’s funeral. Bullock did not repose on a floral altar; his body was in his coffin next to sprays of flowers.
Carolene English, another longtime aide, inquired last year into the UT Press’s method of fact-checking as the book approached publication. The UT Press said the book was vetted by two outside experts it did not identify and cleared by its Faculty Advisory Committee, which unanimously approved publication.
English said this year that details were muffed such as the fact that Bullock had surgery to remove one third of a lung (not most of it), and that he had deeper Texas roots than stated. She said the authors also missed Bullock intervening in the 1980s to ensure that Democrats created legislative districts winnable by black and Hispanic candidates.
McNeely said the record isn’t so simple. And, he noted, Bullock is credited in the book with hiring and promoting minorities.
Castlebury and John Moore, a longtime Bullock aide, told McNeely last year that he mistold episodes from the years during which Bullock was a heavy drinker. The two also did not specify what was incorrect.
Their stance, Castlebury said, amounted to “don’t feed the snake.”
John Keel, a Bullock protégé, presented McNeely with letters from individuals last year saying incidents in the manuscript didn’t happen; two stories were removed before publication.
McNeely informed Jan Bullock—who knew Bullock for 22 years and married him in 1985—of the excisions with a comment she did not appreciate, writing: “I might remind you that all of these things happened before you and Bob were married and before he quit drinking, and do not involve you.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: Agencies, Comings and goings, Democratic politics, Senate, Texas Senate
January 23, 2008
Two Perry aides have spouses on state boards
A reader said Austin lawyer Franklin S. Spears Jr., appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the board of directors of the Lower Colorado River Authority, is husband to Teresa Spears, Perry’s deputy appointments director.
True. And it turns out, Perry’s appointments director, Ken Anderson, is married to Elizabeth Anderson, who’s been a Perry appointee to two boards. Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said Elizabeth Anderson was a Perry appointee before her husband went to work for the governor. In September 2001, Perry named Elizabeth Anderson to the board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which she lead starting in November 2003. The governor named Elizabeth Anderson to the Texas Public Safety Commission on Nov. 21.
Two Perry appointees with spouses in Perry’s appointments office looks like an intriguing coincidence — maybe nothing more.
Castle noted there’s no law against the governor naming relatives of staff members to boards. Generally, she said, “appointments are based on qualifications and capabilities of the individuals.”
Friendship may have contributed to Spears’ appointment. Franklin Spears said he and his wife are old friends and fans of Perry. And before joining Perry’s state staff last year, Teresa Spears had worked for Perry’s campaigns.
Spears, whose LCRA term expires Feb. 1, 2013, noted that Perry asked him to join the 15-member board in July. That was before Perry asked Teresa Spears to work for him in state government, Franklin Spears said.
Teresa Spears went to work in Perry’s state office in September, Castle said, after Franklin Spears’ appointment had been settled internally. Castle said Teresa Spears subsequently recused herself from office discussions of her husband’s appointment, which was announced Oct. 19 along with four others to the LCRA board.
Franklin Spears said: “There is no quid pro quo in this situation.”
LCRA board members are paid $150 a day for the days the authority meets. The board typically meets about 33 days a year, according to Robert Cullick, an authority spokesman.
Every applicant for a state board fills out an application including questions on whether they or their spouse are related to any public officials and if they or their spouse has business before the Texas Legislature or any state agencies and, if so, which ones.
The point of the questions?
Castle said: To alert the appointments office to potential conflicts of interest.
