Perry Says TX Legislature Cooperative

Lubbock, TX, Avalanche-Journal ^ | 12-20-03 | AP

[Theodore R.]

Perry says Legislature cooperative

AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry said Friday he disagreed with anyone who says the redistricting battle that pitted Republicans against Democrats for months has caused long-term damage to the Texas Legislature.

Perry called reports that legislators stopped working with each other "highly overrated."

"Even during the session, I cannot think of one piece of legislation that passed with just Republican votes or just Democratic votes," Perry said.

Perry made his comments during a wide-ranging interview Friday in which he summed up the year as positive for the state, especially for the business climate, and looked ahead to 2004 when the topic of public school finance is expected to dominate the Capitol.

Perry, who said he was committed to running for re-election in 2006, said the redistricting debate took longer than it should have, but he did not believe there was anything he could have done to make it a "cleaner" process. The debate took months and sparked two boycotts of the Capitol by Democrats opposed to the map.

"This should have been done in 10 days, right after we got here at the end of June" for the first called special legislative session," Perry said. "It wasn't a highlight. It was a long grinding process that I am glad is behind us."

The map passed during a third special session. Democrats have sued over the map and three federal judges are hearing the case now.

On school finance, Perry would not commit to any particular plan to change the so-called Robin Hood system that relies heavily on property taxes. Lawmakers now are working to come up with a new plan for how the state pays for its schools.

Texas prohibits a state property tax and many schools have reached the legal local property tax limit, making it difficult to raise more money locally for school children.

Under the Robin Hood plan, funds from property-rich districts are sent to poorer ones in an attempt to give all students an equal chance for a basic education.

Perry said there are several ways to raise revenues to replace the current funding system, including service-oriented, business-oriented or "bad-behavior" taxes. He said he would not endorse any particular plan, adding that he agreed with Texans that there will not be a state income tax.

"I am not going to get locked into saying I am for or against anything at this early stage of the debate," said Perry, who said he believes he will be able to call a special session on the issue in the spring.

Perry said there is a clear intention that any new plan be a "zero-sum game," meaning it should not raise more money for education than is needed because of population growth.

Some have proposed a $1 per pack cigarette tax to help fund education. Perry said that he considered smoking "bad behavior," but noted that many funding mechanisms are being discussed.

Earlier this year, Perry said that a cigarette tax would be included in his pledge not to raise taxes to balance the budget.

Perry also was critical of the State Auditor's Office, which this week released a report criticizing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The report said that delays by the agency in enforcing pollution laws could be costing the state money and harming the environment and that the agency's enforcement process does not consistently ensure that violators of those laws are held accountable.

"It appears to me that the State Auditor's Office has now gone from auditing to trying to make statements on public policy and I would need to see (substantially) more evidence of what the state auditor's office is saying before I would be impressed one way or the other," Perry said. "That's not the state auditor's functions, in my humble explanation."

The auditor's office declined comment on Perry's comments.

[Tacis]

Perry is trying to put a good face on this. The childish behavior of the scumbag democrats when they snuck out of the state to avoid doing their jobs will NEVER be forgotten. It made Texas look as foolish as Florida or California and accomplished nothing for the weasels.

The sooner we get rid of the Willie loving, neocommunist, ultra-left wing dems, like Frost, in this state, the better. And, Perry knows it!