SEVENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE — THIRD CALLED SESSION
AUSTIN, TEXAS
PROCEEDINGS
SIXTH DAY
(Continued)
(Tuesday, May 9, 2006)
AFTER RECESS
The Senate met at 2:12 p.m. and was called to order by the President.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
On motion of Senator Whitmire, Senator Carona was granted leave of absence for today on account of important business.
MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE
HOUSE CHAMBER
Austin, Texas
May 9, 2006
The Honorable President of the Senate
Senate Chamber
Austin, Texas
Mr. President:
I am directed by the House to inform the Senate that the House has taken the following action:
THE HOUSE HAS PASSED THE FOLLOWING MEASURES:
HCR 35, Designating July 21, 2006, as Frances Cox Henderson Remembrance Day.
HCR 39, Honoring Beatrice Marie Langehennig on her 35 years of outstanding service as county and district clerk for Mason County.
THE HOUSE HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORTS:
HB 4 (86 Yeas, 47 Nays, 2 Present, not voting)
Respectfully,
/s/Robert Haney, Chief Clerk
House of Representatives
BILL AND RESOLUTIONS SIGNED
The President announced the signing of the following enrolled bill and resolutions in the presence of the Senate after the caption had been read:
SCR 4, HB 4, HCR 18.
SENATE BILL ON FIRST READING
The following bill was introduced, read first time, and referred to the committee indicated:
SB 43 by Barrientos
Relating to appropriating money to pay for a judgment rendered in certain litigation.
To Committee on Finance.
SENATE RESOLUTION 147
Senator Zaffirini offered the following resolution:
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize Manuel Z. Montes of Laredo, who was selected Youth of the Year by a panel appointed by the United States Border Patrol, KGNS TV, and the office of Senator Judith Zaffirini; and
WHEREAS, Manuel was selected Youth of the Year from among nine Youth of the Month winners; the title is given to outstanding young people for academic achievements, community involvement, and determination to succeed; and
WHEREAS, A graduating senior at Dr. Leo G. Cigarroa High School, Manuel is a straight-A student and president of the National Honor Society and Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica; he has been a member of his school's academics teams for four years and has earned numerous awards in music, science, and mathematics; and
WHEREAS, Manuel has been a vocalist with the Mariachi Azteca Group I and has played with the Mighty Toro Band all through high school; he is a member of his church youth group and a volunteer in the community, and his goal for the future is to become a pediatrician; and
WHEREAS, It is indeed a pleasure for the Texas Senate to recognize this fine young man for his contributions to his school and community and his outstanding scholarly accomplishments; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 79th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby commend Manuel Z. Montes on his exceptional achievements and congratulate him on his selection as Youth of the Year; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for him as an expression of esteem from the Texas Senate.
SR 147 was again read.
The resolution was previously adopted on Thursday, May 4, 2006.
GUESTS PRESENTED
Senator Zaffirini was recognized and introduced to the Senate Manuel Z. Montes; his father, Manuel Montes; his mother, Maria Montes; nominating teacher, Nora Elia Soria; math teacher and teacher of the year, Maria Valverde; and Assistant Chief, United States Border Patrol, Rosa Nely Hernandez; accompanied by representatives from the United States Border Patrol and AT&T.
The Senate welcomed its guests.
126 79th Legislature — 3rd Called Session 6th Day (Cont.)
GUEST PRESENTED
Senator Staples was recognized and introduced to the Senate Logan West, President, Future Farmers of America.
The Senate welcomed its guest.
SENATE RESOLUTION 143
Senator Barrientos offered the following resolution:
SR 143, In memory of William Max Hale.
The resolution was again read.
Senator Barrientos was recognized and introduced to the Senate family members of William Hale: his wife, Karen, and his niece, Erin Purdy.
The Senate welcomed its guests and extended its sympathy.
The resolution was previously adopted on Thursday, May 4, 2006.
In honor of the memory of William Max Hale, the text of SR 143 is printed at the end of today's Senate Journal.
AT EASE
The President at 2:57 p.m. announced the Senate would stand At Ease subject to the call of the Chair.
IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The President at 4:03 p.m. called the Senate to order as In Legislative Session.
VOTE RECONSIDERED ON
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2
Senator Williams moved to reconsider the vote by which CSHBi2 was finally passed:
CSHB 2, Relating to the allocation of certain revenue from franchise taxes, motor vehicle sales and use taxes, and taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products to school district property tax relief and public education.
The motion prevailed by the following vote:iiYeasi20, Naysi10.
Yeas:iiArmbrister, Averitt, Brimer, Deuell, Duncan, Eltife, Estes, Fraser, Harris, Jackson, Janek, Lindsay, Madla, Nelson, Ogden, Seliger, Shapiro, Staples, Wentworth, Williams.
Nays:iiBarrientos, Ellis, Gallegos, Hinojosa, Lucio, Shapleigh, VanideiPutte, West, Whitmire, Zaffirini.
Absent-excused:iiCarona.
Question — Shall CSHB 2 as amended be finally passed?
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REMARKS ORDERED PRINTED
On motion of Senator Shapiro and by unanimous consent, the exchange between Senators Williams and Shapiro regarding CSHBi2 was ordered reduced to writing and printed in the Senate Journal as follows:
Senator Shapiro:iiI know you referenced this many times, but I just want to say as simple as I think you intended for it to be, the issue is very clear, and the problem that we have is, under the current law, what we call an enrichment tier is not what, under the new law, we're going to call a local enrichment tier, is that correct?
Senator Williams:iiThat is correct, Senator Shapiro.
Senator Shapiro:iiSo when we look at this verbiage that has been drafted for you, as all of us have, we look at that enrichment tier or enrichment tax, and we make an assumption it's the new third tier, and it's not.
Senator Williams:iiI understand why people are confused, and I had a similar question, as did you.
Senator Shapiro:iiGreat. And so your intent, as you have said numerous times, your intent, then, is that, not go to equalization at the local enrichment tier, but in the basic tier, which is what we call tier one and tier two, to raise the guaranteed yield, to raise the basic allotment.
Senator Williams:iiAnd that's correct, Senator Shapiro. And if you look at the section of the Education Code where we pulled these terms of art from, it is the basic tier language that we have.
Senator Shapiro:iiPerfect.
Senator Williams:iiThat's clearly what my purpose is, and I appreciate your questions.
Senator Shapiro:iiExcellent. Thank you.
CONSIDERATION POSTPONED
On motion of Senator Williams, further consideration of CSHBi2 was temporarily postponed to a time certain of 5:30 p.m. today.
Question — Shall CSHB 2 as amended be finally passed?
AT EASE
The President at 5:02 p.m. announced the Senate would stand At Ease subject to the call of the Chair.
IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The President at 5:48 p.m. called the Senate to order as In Legislative Session.
Question — Shall CSHB 2 as amended be finally passed?
Senator Williams offered the following amendment to the bill:
Floor Amendment No. 1 on Third Reading
Amend CSHB 2 on third reading in SECTION 1 of the bill as follows:
128 79th Legislature — 3rd Called Session 6th Day (Cont.)
(1)iiStrike added Section 403.109(c)(2), Government Code (page 1, lines 43-48), and substitute the following:
(2)iione-third of the money appropriated from the fund may be appropriated only for the purpose of increasing the level of equalization of school district enrichment tax effort to the extent that limits reliance by school districts on local property tax effort and decreases the enrichment tax rates of districts.
(2)iiIn added Section 403.109(d), Government Code (page 1, lines 56-57), strike "to the Texas Education Agency".
The amendment to CSHB 2 was read and was adopted by the following vote:iiYeas 20, Nays 10.
Yeas:iiArmbrister, Averitt, Brimer, Deuell, Duncan, Eltife, Estes, Fraser, Harris, Jackson, Janek, Lindsay, Madla, Nelson, Ogden, Seliger, Shapiro, Staples, Wentworth, Williams.
Nays:iiBarrientos, Ellis, Gallegos, Hinojosa, Lucio, Shapleigh, VanideiPutte, West, Whitmire, Zaffirini.
Absent-excused:iiCarona.
POINT OF ORDER
Senator Barrientos raised a point of order that CHSBi2 was in violation of Section 30, Article III, Texas Constitution, stating that the bill had more than one subject.
POINT OF ORDER RULING
The President stated that the point of order was respectfully overruled.
On motion of Senator Williams and by unanimous consent, the caption was again amended to conform to the body of the bill as amended.
CSHB 2 as again amended was again finally passed by the following vote:iiYeasi20, Naysi10.
Yeas:iiArmbrister, Averitt, Brimer, Deuell, Duncan, Eltife, Estes, Fraser, Harris, Jackson, Janek, Lindsay, Madla, Nelson, Ogden, Seliger, Shapiro, Staples, Wentworth, Williams.
Nays:iiBarrientos, Ellis, Gallegos, Hinojosa, Lucio, Shapleigh, VanideiPutte, West, Whitmire, Zaffirini.
Absent-excused:iiCarona.
SENATE RULES SUSPENDED
(Posting Rules)
On motion of Senator Ogden and by unanimous consent, Senate Rule 11.10(a) and Senate Rule 11.18(a) were suspended in order that the Committee on Finance might meet and consider SB 37 tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 9, 2006 SENATE JOURNAL 129
RESOLUTIONS OF RECOGNITION
The following resolutions were adopted by the Senate:
Memorial Resolutions
SRi167iby Hinojosa,iIn memory of Eduardo "Edward" Chavez of Edinburg.
SRi174iby Fraser,iIn memory of Juan D. Martinez.
SRi175iby Ogden,iIn memory of Sean Anselm Hayes.
SRi177iby Lucio,iIn memory of Juan D. Salinas, Jr., of La Joya.
SRi180iby Staples and Ellis,iIn memory of Arthur Temple, Jr., of Lufkin.
Congratulatory Resolutions
SCRi5iby Lindsay, Congratulating James D. Pitcock, Jr., of Houston for his selection as the 2006 Engineer of the Year.
SCRi6iby Barrientos, Armbrister, Ellis, Gallegos, Hinojosa, Lindsay, Lucio, Madla, Shapleigh, Van de Putte, Whitmire, and Zaffirini, Recognizing the cultural importance of Tejano music.
SRi168iby Hinojosa,iCommending John Flores for his work as a reporter.
SRi169iby Hinojosa,iCommending Maria Silguero for her volunteer work in behalf of the Robstown Senior Center.
SRi170iby Hinojosa,iCommending Marie Partington for her volunteer efforts with the Senior Companion Program in Corpus Christi.
SRi171iby Hinojosa,iCommending Roger "Red" Frank, Jr., for his volunteer efforts with KEDT-TV in Corpus Christi.
SRi172iby Hinojosa,iRecognizing Ignacio Acuna for his volunteer efforts at the Zavala Senior Center in Corpus Christi.
SRi173iby Harris,iRecognizing the Girl Scouts of the United States of America on the occasion of the organization's 94th anniversary.
SRi176iby Lucio,iRecognizing Cesar Gonzalez of San Benito on the occasion of his retirement.
SRi178iby Lucio,iRecognizing Maria Guadalupe and Leopoldo Palacios, Jr., of Pharr on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.
SRi179iby Lindsay,iCommending Rexton West of Houston for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.
SRi182iby West,iRecognizing Greg Street for his contributions to his community.
RECESS
On motion of Senator Whitmire, the Senate at 6:04 p.m. recessed, in memory of Bruce Walcutt of Austin, William Max Hale of Austin, and Sean Anselm Hayes of Cedar Park, until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.
130 79th Legislature — 3rd Called Session 6th Day (Cont.)
In Memory
of
William Max Hale
Senate Resolution 143
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas honors and commemorates the life of William Max Hale, who died March 17, 2006, at the age of 70; and
WHEREAS, Bill grew up in the Texas Panhandle; he was a passionate civil rights advocate, and he worked at the Mobilization for Youth program with Michael Schwerner in New York and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the South; and
WHEREAS, Early in his career, Bill served as director and area coordinator of the Volunteers in Service to America program; he was head of the Fort Worth Human Relations Commission and was instrumental in the passage of the Texas Fair Housing Act and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act by the Texas Legislature; and
WHEREAS, Bill was the first executive director of the Texas Human Rights Commission, a position he held for 17 years; under his direction, the agency was able to obtain the first successful enforcement of fair housing laws against the Ku Klux Klan; and
WHEREAS, Bill received numerous national and international honors for his work and was recognized by the Texas Senate and the House of Representatives for his contributions to the state; and
WHEREAS, He served as chair of the Austin Human Rights Commission and as president of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies; and
WHEREAS, A man of courage, strength, and compassion, Bill gave generously to others, and his wisdom, warmth, and valued counsel will not be forgotten by those who knew him; and
WHEREAS, He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and he leaves behind memories that will be cherished forever by his family and countless friends; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 79th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby extend sincere condolences to the bereaved family of William Max Hale: his wife, Karen; his son, Mathis Hale; his daughter, Lisa Coody; and his grandchildren, Britton, Paige, and Jace; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for the members of his family as an expression of profound sympathy from the Texas Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so in memory of William Max Hale.
BARRIENTOS
Tuesday, May 9, 2006 SENATE JOURNAL 131