When she rose to speak, did any of them say, “I’m sorry, I don’t hear women’s voices too well”?
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sen. Davis Survives Hazing, Passes First Bill
Freshman Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, passed her first bill through the Senate this afternoon. The scintillating Senate Bill 576 grants a municipality authority to grant tax exemptions to owners of historic homes in Tax Increment Finance Zones and allows the use of TIF funds for the construction of infrastructure leading into or out of the zone.
A number of Senators rose to speak, but most were less interested in SB 576 than they were in some traditional freshman hazing.
“When I read this bill, I thought Sen. [Kim] Brimer was back,” said Sen. Eddie Lucio, referring to Davis’ cigar-chomping Republican predecessor. “I must say he looks better as a woman, though.”
Lucio also took the time to ask if the inspiration for the bill was Austin cookie company, Tiff’s Treats.
Before the first Republican stood up to join the fray, Davis took steps to protect herself by donning a football helmet (blurry picture below). Sen. Bob Deuell’s facetious question, “Is this a bill to authorize the Trans-Texas Corridor?” bounced right off.
Only Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, rose to engage in a discussion about the actual workings of the bill, though he also noted, “Congratulations on getting a bill to the floor this fast. That’s really hard to do.”
For those looking for something to do while waiting for the House to take up a bill, they can work on repeating Davis’ response to Sen. Royce West’s attempt at wordplay (“Have you had any other tiffs besides this TIF?”) three times fast:
“I’ve had a tiff a time or two.”
Coming to a Texas highway near you: License plate readers
Deep in the Senate's version of the massive TXDoT bill is a provision that, if not stripped out in conference committee, will allow local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to install license plate reading cameras on Texas highways. The technology - already in widespread use in surveillance-crazy Britain - is very powerful, enabling the government to automatically photograph the license plates of moving vehicles and check the information against databases. If the system finds a "match," officers can be alerted.
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Senate Bill 690: Trimming the Grassroots
Karen Hall’s knees still haven’t recovered from gathering signatures door-to-door for an amendment to Bryan’s city charter. “Democracy is a messy business,” she says, “but we like it.”
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Women to Watch: Rep. Kristi Thibaut, D-Houston
After she lost her first campaign for a House seat from Houston in 2006, Kristi Thibaut showed up in Austin anyway. What she encountered, as she lobbied unsuccessfully for lower utility rates with fellow ACORN activists, was almost enough to make her wonder why she'd wanted that seat in the first place.
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One Weekend a Month, Two Weeks a Year, Five Years in Jail
Sometimes our legislators don't even know what's in their own bills. This morning, Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van) discussed his House Bill 1165 before the Defense & Veterans Affairs Committee and it was evident that he hadn't read - or maybe didn't understand - what all was in it.
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