ustxtxb_obs_1959_06_20_50_00005-00000_000.pdf

121-27 VOTE KILLS TAX BILL A ‘Bounty’ On Bastards? that committee room, if you’da lit a match it woulda blown the whole damn dome off the Capitol …. It’s a monstrosity of sales taxes …. it was evident that the was not sincere. I cannot account for that except those three members are constitutionally opposed to an increase in the natural gas tax or the change in the factors for the franchise tax.” Rep. W. T. Oliver, Port Neches, one of the three House conferees who signed the report and voted for it: “I’d say it’s about 85-15 to bring a bill back and just kill it over here overwhelmingly to show the Senate the situation.” Rep. Alonzo Jamison, Denton, the other conferee who did not sign and voted against the bill/ “On the severance-beneficiary the senators kept contending that if ever we got down to a vote, in their opinion the House would not be for it either None of the had ever voted for it in the House and it was difficult to deny … of the committee who are close to him. Naturally it did weaken the position of the House bill to have a majority on it who were against the severance-beneficiary tax and voted against the bill.” Lubbock, who voted for the bill, telling Oliver he agreed the bill NOW WHAT? \(Editorial Column Continued In the face of this, there are those among the Governor’s advisors who would be happy with a face-saving victory. They are new to fighting corporate lobbyists and have no stomach for the kind of fight that has been routine for American liberals since Thomas Jefferson first took on Alexander Hamilton. But happily one is also able to detect among the Governor’s troops some conservatives, unowned and free, who ha v e reached the simple conclusion that in. the process of soaking Texas companies and people, it would be proper to tax Eastern oil and gas goliaths. Such people serve the historic role of successful political conservatism. They face unpleasant facts and ward off sweeping reform by removing the more obvious injustices. The intransigent, F.I.A., Dallas News, damn-therabble type of conservative ends up like Louis XVIwith a revolution , in his hands and shortly after, his head there, too. As an intransigent Catholic Church nurtured the reformation, as the rampant Robber Barons nurtured the labor movement, as an unrelenting American Medical Association is today nurturing socialized medicine, so all hold-theline at all costs conservatives wreck the proper standing their movement deserves in a demo cratic society. It is the “moderates” who save the day for the conservatives, not the McKinleys. Jim Hogg was in reality such a moderate, defeating the corporate crowd on. the right and the populist farmers on. the left who wanted such “revolutionary” reforms as direct election of senators and a sub-treasury plan. Teddy Roosevelt played the same role, and Daniel, if he tackles the Senate in a language they understand, will play it too. L.G. should have been reported out: “Well, we get crucified either way, but we’ll get crucified less this way.” House Reacts When Rep’ Kennard returned to report to House members on the bill he and Jamison were refusing to recommend, he was surrounded by House members and reporters. When he described the package he and Jamison offered, only to have Speaker Carr’s three other conferees vote against it, Rep. Kika de la Garza, Mission, said incredulously, “The House voted three-to-two against that?” The emphasis was de la Garza’s. Kennard responded that they had, indeed, although it was somewhere in between the House and Senate bills. Rep. Bob Eckhardt, Houston, contributed: “But you were representing the majority of the House, you seeyou weren’t entitled to more than two votes on the conference committee.” Who’s on First There ensued a holdup of several ihours while the bill was reproduced so that all the legislators could have a copy. The senators received theirs first and promptly passed the bill with little debate, 19-12, thus, presumably, putting pressure ‘on the House to take the blame for killing it. While the representatives were still waiting for their copies, Rep. Homer Koliba, Columbus, excitedly called to Rep. Jamie Clements, Crockett, to look up at the oil and gas lobby clustered at the right side of the gallery. Bailey Jones, Lone Star Gas lobbyist, and Claude Gilmer, the telephone lobbyist, were turning through what looked like copies of the tax bill, which had not yet reached the House floor. !Speaker Carr led off the debate on the bill, saying it was “the best compromise we have been able to secure from the Senate. It is presented to you strictly in that spirit.” The “final correctness” of their decision was more important than whether the bill passed that night, he said. Rep. Ramsey said, “I’m not up here in the spirit of trying to sell you this conference report.” He called the cigarette tax “a very inflammatory section.” Koliba charged Ramsey was “taxing me to death.” “I’m not doing anything,” Ramsey replied. “You was on. the conference committee. Your name is on it. You signed it.” Ramsey laughed a little, and the House laughed back; Ramsey then immediately yielded the floor. Chapman Eyes Lobby Rep. Joe Chapman, Sulphur Springs, made the main address against the bill. Chapman, a segregationist and an economic liberal, blasted the bill’s $86 million in cigarette and tobacco taxes. “It’s rumored that the tobacco industry doesn’t maintain a lobby down here and there’s a rumor the gas industry does. It looks like the tobacco industry better buy a few airplanes,” he said. The bill, he said, was “a dose that we cannot take.” He believed the House would accept one percent on severance beneficiaries with seven percent production tax on gas. But “They are saying yes, you Texas people, you royalty owners and producers pay eight percent, but they’re not Wining for one percent on long linig transmission lines and gas AUSTIN An Observer editorial last issue and other criticism of the House of Representatives for voting to reduce aid to dependent children from $4 million to $1 million , \(which the Senate restored to $4 million without comment, and is expected to restore again during the second called Blanchard of Lubbock to take the House microphone to defend himself Tuesday night. Blanchard said he was taking the floor on “personal privilege” for the first time in his six terms because he needed to have his say and “might’ not be back” to say it if he didn’t say it then. The state welfare department makes aid payments for up to four dependent children, Blanchard said. “It has been the custom throughout this state for the peopleparticularly the women, who I understand are the only ones who can have illegitimate childrento have the four children on the free list. These are women who would not marry, would not work, would not do anything to AUSTIN The decision of the House revenue and tax committee to postpone hearings on new tax bills for four days received stiff comment in wire stories \(“an $800,000 torials in the state press. The appropriation bill, carbon copy of the measure passed in the first called session, was whisked to the Senate by a decisive vote before adjournment. The tax committee met on adjournment and quickly voice voted to begin. taking up tax bills on Monday. A substitute motion by Rep. John Allen to start hearings Thursday was resoundingly tabled by the committee before adjourning for the weekend. The 21-man committee is composed of 19 conservatives, one moderate and one liberal. Rep. Charles Hughes, Sherman, objected to a “runaround” on his rules change to permit switching bills from one committee to another by majority vote. This change is aimed at the revenue and tax committee’s handling of transmission companies and dedicated gas reserves.” ‘A Scrawny Cow’ Rep. Jerome Jones, Galveston: Interstate companies p rovide Texas payrolls. He is tired of “these people who haven’t got anything but a scrawny cow and a piece of corn in their area … standing up to Wall Street and making a scape-goat of out-ofstate industries.” Rep. Jamison: “This is not the best deal we can get from the Senate. The House so far has not put their feet to the fire.” He complimented the Senate conferees for standing by their bill. “The senators knew that on our conference committee we had a majority who were against the House version.” Carr himself put a motion to the House to shut off debate and was defeated on this 58-87. After Rep. Jerry Sadler made a few remarks, the Daniel team worked out an agreement with Carr to dispense with further argument. The bill was then sent to legislative limbo by the, vote of 117 to 23, with four additional “paired” votes on each.side. A start of surprise, and a general jubilation among the winners, ended the first called session shortly after midnight Wednesday morning. It D. support the children.” He noted he had had many letters of criticism, especially from San Antonio, where the News ran an editorial criticizing his position. “I have noticed an article in The Texas Observer concurring, saying the position I took was wrong,” he went on. “I am not picking on the needy, helpless children of Texas. I am not taking food out of their mouths. We are in effect giving a bounty to illegitimate children. Whether the Observer, whether the San Antonio News t h e Observer quotes from, or the other people say soif we want a welfare state let’s go all the way. I did not intend to take food from the needy children in the state.” Rep. Byron Tunnell, Tyler, said he spoke for “a pretty good ma, jority” of the East Texas delegation in supporting Blanchard. “We think it oughta be stopped,” he said. Rep. Franklin Spears, San Antonio, said he had voted with Blanchard and agrees with him. Rep. Bob Eckhardt, Houston, said, “I have never been able to understand why your bill would the tax bill, and also at subsequent legislative battles. The House refused, 47-91, to permit a meeting of the rules committee on the change. At present re-referral is parliamentarily difficult. Meanwhile, into the House hopper poured the new tax bills. In addition to Hinson’s $184 million graduated oil tax and severance beneficiary gas tax to raise $130 million for the biennium, by Bob TMA lobbyist Asks Sales Tax AUSTIN The Texas Manufacturers Association on June 17in a letter to its members marked “A Personal Message,” sent in an envelope marked “Personal and Confidential,” and received by the Observer June 19declares all out for a sales tax. , The letter, isigned by Ed BurriS, TMA vice president and lobbyist, refers to promises against “a general sales tax” and then says the people fighting “the broad-based tax bill” have been “advocates of spending.” “The issue here … is simply this: If a broad-based tax is to be passed, it must have ‘broad-based’ support … In addition, efforts should also be made to get the legislature to review, and reduce, all appropriations … A tax on business at the state level can destroy jobs while promoting inflation.” In an accompanying article Burris says “any state tax levied at the manufacturing level” can discourage industry from locating in Texas, reduce jobs, and cause inflation. Money for manufacturing payrolls, Burris says aiming at the arguments for taxing out-of-state corporations “comes very largely from other areas ‘ of the nation and the world.” Concluding in favor of taxes on consumers, Burris says: “A tax, however, levied at the ‘end use’ or consumer level tends to be more deflationary in its effect, and will, if kept within reasonable bounds, have no appreciable impact upon the economic growth of the state . The cow that gives the milk will not be destroyed.” decrease illegitimacy. When Met gitimacy originally occurs, people don’t think about what the appropriations bill has said. Do you really think your bill is going to decrease illegitimacy or is it going to take food. out of the mouths of innocent children?” Blanchard replied that it is as wrong to place a bounty on illegitimate children as to place “a,, bounty on wolves.” “Well,” Eckhardt replied in some anger, “I don’t consider children a bunch of pup wolves and I don’t think you should use that term any more from that mike for little children who were not responsible for how they were born.” Rep. Jerome Jones, Galveston, agreeing with Eckhardt, noted that only a small portion of aid to dependent children goes to illegitimate children and added, “This bill is designed for children who don’t have anyone to think for them:This is just a little way the state can take up for children whose parents didn’t give a damn for ’em.” vily sales tax-weighted bill, containing no severance tax and in general following the pattern of the Senate bill, by Wesley Robgeneral sales tax-selective sales tax-one per cent severance gas tax by Frates Seeligson of San poration net profits tax, by Dean ure replacing the five-cent gasoline sales tax with a one cent refinery tax, by Rep. Clyde Miller of Houston. The House passed Rep. Whitfield’s bill letting counties pay court-appointed attorneys $25 a day. Smith Declines Carpetbag Tag AUSTIN Senator Preston Smith of Lubbock took exception this week to his classification, in an Observer editorial last issue, with “the Senate carpetbagger” because he voted against a severancebeneficiary tax and Gov. Daniel’s proposed change in the interstate franchise tax allocation designed to cause interstate companies to pay more of the tax load. “I’ve always voted for the lit