Special Secession

Gov. Perry calls special secession for July 1st.  So far the call is only for the state agencies that where not renewed in the regular secession.   We will have our SREC meeting this weekend I will give a report next week.   Thanks Dennis Paul SREC SD11

Upcoming events in our district

Well, the secession is over and the folks are coming home, for now.  The Governor has called a special secession so they will be back in Austin soon.  Lets hope they take care of voter ID as well as the other business left undone due to the democrats actions.   Also, Governor Perry will be in Galveston tomorrow morning at UTMB in Levin Hall at 10 am to sign the new Texas windstorm insurance bill (TWIA).  This has been revamped to help fund the program besides just the premiums paid by members of our district.  The doors open at 9:30 so get there early.   Also, State Rep John Davis will be speaking at Clear Lake Presbyterian Church Friday night at 7pm to discuss the session and how it went.  I am sure he will talk about what is coming also.   I hope you can make it to some of these events.  As usual call me if you have any questions.   Thanks and God Bless, Dennis Paul SREC SD11

Update on Voter ID

Here is a note from some of our folks working the voter ID issue.  We need to call Gov. Perry and ask him to call a special secession for voter ID.  Tell him to not reward the Democrats for their tactics and help give Texans what they want.   Thanks Dennis Paul SREC SD11   Dear Supporters of secure and fair elections,   You've probably heard by now that Voter ID is dead for this session because of the delay tactics ("chubbing") of the House Democrat Caucus, which blocked it from coming to the floor.     Three polls about Voter ID have been taken in Texas in the past 10 months. All three showed that Texans, Democrat and Republican across all ethnicities, overwhelmingly support Voter Photo ID.  The Democrats shut down the Texas Legislature in order to prevent a commonsense, popular bill from even being discussed on the House floor.    The only way Voter ID might be saved is if Governor Perry calls a Special Session and puts Voter ID on the agenda. Otherwise, Voter ID won't have another chance until 2011.   Action:   Call Governor Perry and ask him to call a Special Session for Voter ID. a.       Citizen's Opinion Hotline:  800-843-5789 b.      Office of the Governor Main Switchboard: 512-463-2000   Contact your State Senator and State Representative and tell them you want a Special Session for Voter ID. This is important because the legislators are the ones whose lives will be affected by having to return to Austin. Governor Perry likely will take some political heat for calling the Special Session, and it's important he know he has the support of the legislators. Find who represents you, along with their contact information at this link: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Zip.aspx   We are left asking, "Why did the Democrats fight Voter I.D. so hard?" J.P. Morgan once said, "A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason."   Democrat leadership says its "good" reason for opposing the Voter ID bill is that it would suppress the votes of thousands of people. However, their "good" reason doesn't hold up in the light of day. Both research and experience have shown just the opposite is true.*   We can only wonder what the Democrat leadership's "real" reason is.     If elections cannot be protected from fraudulent votes, then the people no longer rule.   Don't give up. Call the Governor and your legislators and ask for a Special Session on Voter ID.   Sincerely,   SAFETexas – Secure and Fair Elections- Texas   Melinda Fredricks, chairman Toni Anne Dashiell Russ Duerstine Barbara Larson Tom Mechler Bill Noble Eric Opiela Linda Rogers Skipper Wallace      *Indiana and Georgia, the two states with Voter Photo ID, had record turnouts compared with other states, demonstrating that Voter ID does not suppress the vote.  Go to www.SAFETexas.org  to find links to numerous research articles.

a message from State Rep Randy Weber about Voter ID

Here is a letter that State Rep Randy Weber sent out about what is going on in the house about Voter ID.  Basicaly the Dems are blocing the bill.  RPT and the SREC are working on moving this but keep calling your reps and the Dem reps to let the will of the people be done.   Thanks Dennis Paul SREC SD11     Here is what is happening in the Legislature. We take bills up in the order that they are put on our Calendar. The Democrats don't want us to get to Voter ID, which by the way, 70% of Texans are in favor of. They have begun to do what is called "chubbing" which could better be understood by saying it's the same as filibustering. They get at the front and back microphones and talk up to ten minutes per bill. Since there is over 200 bills on the Calendar, they will effectively tie up the House's Calendar for over 2000 minutes which equates to well over 34 hours, not even counting the time in between. Many bills are being delayed by this tactic, and are in jeopardy of dying when the last day of the Session rolls around. They could stop all the meaningless conversation at the front & back microphones and let the Calendar proceed. Then, all bills would come up on the floor for discussion, and that would include the Veterans Bill, the TWIA Bill, the Top Ten Percent Bill, and the Voter ID Bill. There is an attempt underway to paint the Republicans (who refuse to let the calendar be used to hold bills hostage) as "anti-veteran." Well, because the Democrats are basically filibustering the Calendar, does that mean that the Democrats are "anti" every other bill and every other group of people on the Calendar? Of course not, at least I hope not. This is simply an attempt to block our efforts on behalf of voter integrity and it is a tactic to try to make Republicans look bad.   Message to D's: stop stalling and let EVERY bill come to the floor!   If we give in to this ploy, it will set an extremely bad precedent.  The Calendar of the House of Representatives will be turned into a form of the "Blocker Bill" and used every session to those who want to hold the majority hostage and hold up legislation. We Republicans are committed to standing strong and stay the course while they do their stalling tactics. We will be here night and day if necessary.  I don't believe that our Vets would want us to be held hostage in this manner. Too many of them fought, sacrificed and even died to preserve our way of life. Giving in to blackmail and "hostage taking" is NOT part of our way of life. I believe that of all people, our Vets, would understand. House Republicans will stand strong to prevent such future hostage taking.   Here is an article one of our Members, Will Hartnett sent to the Quorum Report.    Blessings…. Randy Weber     From: Will Hartnett Sent: Sun 5/24/2009 2:37 PM Subject: The current Calendar crisis     More than the Voter ID Bill is at stake in the current political crisis.  The greater question is whether we will allow the Local and Consent Calendar to be turned into a blocker bill and, more importantly, a chronic hostage.  If the House Republicans give any concession to free up the Local and Consent Calendar, we will create a precedent that will haunt all future Legislatures.       Because the large majority of bills each session pass through the Local and Consent Calendar, it is imperative that we keep it as free from partisan politics as possible.  We face a historic test.  If we do not stand firm, the Local and Consent Calendar will be abused every session to hold the entire legislative process hostage.  Any concession will effectively create a Super Calendar Committee composed of whatever group of Members are brazen enough at any particular time to seize control of the Local and Consent process.       Since the inception of the Ten Minute Debate Rule in 1975, the Local and Consent Calendar has never been abused like what we are seeing now.  We must send a loud message of "hands off."  As all know, paying one kidnap ransom inevitably fosters more ki

Important Bill today in house

Here is a message from RPT for action today, help if you can.   Thanks Dennis Paul SREC SD11   Call Your State Representative Now!! TODAY the State House will take up Senate Bill 855, which has already passed the Senate.  This unwise act would open the door to raising taxes on gasoline in Texas by as much as 15 cents per gallon statewide, AND locally by as much as 10 cents per gallon. Taken together, that's 25 cents per gallon on every gallon of gas you buy to operate your family car, your business truck, your lawn equipment, and your recreational vehicles.  Senate Bill 855 is bad economics and bad politics. The State Republican Executive Committee has gone on the record opposing this bill, and so should you.  Call your state representative NOW and ask them to help stop this job-killing bill in its tracks.  There is nothing conservative about this bill.  It does nothing to address highway fund shortfalls, but would increase the cost of fuel and soon after that, the cost of everything else will rise too.  Our state's economy will suffer if this bill passes. Call THIS MORNING and urge your representative to vote NO on Senate Bill 855. Find the phone number for your State Representative here: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

Tea Party info

SD11 folks, here is the information that I have found for Tea Parties in our area.  There is one in Friendswood and the major one in Houston on Tax Day.  I saw something in Seabrook but could not get any information on that.  If you can make any of these great!  I have also heard that ACORN will be there to get folks to sign a petition but it will say that you love Oboma so be careful what you sign. Spread the word and maybe folks can drive up together or attend the one in Friendswood.   Thanks for all that you do! Dennis Paul SREC SD11     FRIENDSWOOD - CENTENNIAL PARK 2200 Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, TX April 14th between 5:00 pm & 7:00 pm   Houston - Jones Plaza 601 Louisiana, Houston, TX April 15, 2009 4:00pm

SREC Meeting last weekend

Ladies and gentleman, I hope all is well as can be now.  We had our March SREC meeting last weekend and had a full day of lobbying the legislature on our issues.  The members were glad to see us and hear from us.  We also developed a list of bills that we will be working on this session.  We passed a resolution at the SREC meeting to work on these bills and sent it to all of our members.  Please review them and see if you can help work on these issues.   Informed consent for abortion SB 182/HB 36,  Platform page -13 Voter ID SB 362/HB 125,  Platform page -10 Property tax relief HJR 38 and SB 700/HB 1575, Platform pages - 8,21 Margins tax cut HB 1825,  Platform page -21 Eliminate taxpayer-funded lobbying HB 2268,  Platform page -20 Regulating provision of benefits to illegal immigrants and ending "sanctuary city" policies HB 266 and HB 404, Platform page -23 State Sovereignty HCR 50,  Platform page -8 Eminent domain reform HB 402/HB 1483 Platform page -9   We also passed resolutions to stop gaming in Texas, supporting our republican SBOE members, and opposing the local option transportation fund, and thank you's to President Bush and Speaker Craddick and congratulating Speaker Strauss.   I will try and get the full resolutions on the web site soon.   Thanks for all that you do, Dennis Paul SREC SD11