ustxtxb_obs_1986_10_10_50_00007-00000_000.pdf

book” on child care, he said, constitutes, in many instances, “government harassment.” Child Psychiatrists Foster Whaley had a different thought about Child Protective Services. “This program has increased by 300 percent,” he said. They’ve hired 23-year-old psychiatrists to counsel 50-year-old fathers who are sleeping with their daughters. They ought to take 90 percent of the money and put it in the D.A.’s office.” No Love Lost He probably thought they were voting on pesticide regulations again. Rep. Nick Perez of El Paso was seen leaving the capitol during a House session, tennis rackets in hand, tennis sweater tastefully slung over his shoulder. Herd. Mentality During both special sessions, the electric board for tallying House votes was inoperative. Roll call votes were long and tedious affairs. Members were, therefore, slightly less inclined to call for roll call votes. On one vote, during the budget discussion, House Speaker Gib Lewis said he’d call for a show of hands. To assist in counting, he called on the services of J. W. “Buck” Buchanan, D-Dumas. “Buck Buchanan is good at counting cattle,” Lewis explained. “He’s used to counting legs and dividing by four. This one will be easy. He’ll just have to divide by two.” Lewis said he was calling for a show of hands rather than a voice vote because “some of you have a louder voice than you have arms.” Illustrations by Gary Albright Just Say “Neigh” to Drugs Pandering to the alleged public fervor against drugs, Speaker Pro-Tem Hugo Berlango, D-Corpus Christi, came up with a way to make the horseracing bill more palatable to conservatives. He announced that the bill mandated drug-testing not only for the horse trainers but for the horses. Tequila Curtain During August 15 House debate of the budget bill, Mark “Bubba” Stiles, D-Beaumont, proposed an amendment to restore money to Child Protective Services of DHR by removing it from the liquor inspectors on the border. The representatives of the border districts hurried to the microphone. Among them, Dudley Harrison, D-Sanderson, who said: “Any time we can keep another law enforcement office between us and Mexico or another foreign country, I think it’s imperative to do so.” Great Moments of Frankness Mr. Special Interest this session was Rep. Bruce Gibson, D-Cleburne, who carried legislation demanded by the state’s big bankers and bank shareholders. During floor debate on his proposal to allow branch banking in Texas, Gibson wondered what use there was in having the public meddle in the decisions that should be left to the banking industry. “Members,” he said, “this was never a public issue . . . this is an industry issue.” Editorial Insight of the Month Taking Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby to task for becoming “insensitive to Texas taxpayers,” the Amarillo GlobeNews on August 3 spotted a little noticed political trend: “Hobby has moved from his party’s center and cemented his growing alliance with the Lloyd Doggett-Carl Parker left.” Lloyd Doggett, of course, is no longer a member of the state Senate, so the work of Carl Parker \(heretofore known to only a few as the left-wing nexus is all the more remarkable. Pampa HuMor . Prior to an August meeting of the House Appropriations , Committee, Foster Whaley, D-Pampa, told reporters about “the latest development” in discussions about state revenue. “We’re going back to a poll tax,” he said, as a few heads turned his way. “We’re going to put a $20 tax on every utility pole in Texas.” Pessimists’ Club Beaumont Rep. Al Price, speaking on the floor of the House on Sept. 27, on the need to find ways to solve the state’s budget crisis next January: “Things are going to become worse before they become even worse.” Now All Hell’s Gonna Break Loose Rep. Bill Hollowell, D-Grand Saline, rose on the day of final House passage of the tax bill to declare, “Let’s do something about fighting crime.” He moved to dedicate $108 million of the new tax revenue to building more prisons. Hollowell, who with 22 years in the House has been around the legislature longer than just about anyone else, said, “In all my time here there’s never been a more clear opportunity to vote on law and order.” The House took the opportunity to reject his amendment, 77-69. THE TEXAS OBSERVER