86th Texas Legislative Session 01/08/19 - 05/27/19 thread of fail

[atomheartbevo 89778]

Quote

Todd Williams, a former Goldman Sachs partner who now serves as education adviser to Dallas' mayor, has been the main voice advising lawmakers to back what he calls "outcomes-based funding." Appointed by Abbott to the school finance panel, he quickly steered the bipartisan team of lawmakers, educators and business leaders toward proposals that would give school districts "incentives" to improve students' academic results.

Yeah, so how does this address the fact that there are a shit-ton of kids in Texas, both rural, urban, and suburban, who are poor as hell, and who have academic problems as a result of their parents not being able to help.   Not being able to help because of things like parents not having a better education, or single-parent households, or non-English-speaking parents, or parents working multiple jobs and too tired to help, etc.?

There are schools and areas that are going to have these problems, and it’s the elephant in the room.   No Child Left Behind wanted to move the problem around without addressing it.  This completely ignores part of that problem.  

I’m greatly in favor of things like them paying teachers more to tackle those schools and areas.   When my wife started teaching, she didn’t have much choice on where to go as a new teacher, and she ended up in one of the lowest-performing schools in the district, along with a lot of other new teachers. She found out the reason why those schools have such high teacher turnover and why new teachers keep being assigned there, is that it was the same pay as at a higher-performing school, and as soon as teachers could, they would transfer out to better schools for the same pay, but much less stress.  You have to make it worth their while, because it is a lot harder to raise the scores at those schools.  Those kids, and their parents, have a tough time as it is.  

And the whole water park fiasco.  Any district who is taking lots of Robin Hood money (or whatever it’s called now) should have to return X amount when they spend X amount on ridiculous facilities.  Buy a fancy $50 million stadium with local fund raising because you got $50 million from Austin, etc. to cover your academic infrastructure?  Return $50 million back to the state.  Etc.

[Brisketexan 105275]

^^^

On the topic of education, there seem to be a lot of guys with fancy resumes and degrees, but not a lick of common sense or battlefield experience.

Our legislators want to listen to guys with lots of shiny brass on their chests who never saw a day of combat.  They fail to realize that you live through a battle by listening to your sergeants.  

Treating human beings -- children, who are subject to multiple influencing dynamics, most importantly, family and home -- like widgets to be produced better by implementing productivity and efficiency enhancements -- is f'n stupid.

[gmr548 16607]

Todd Williams, a former Goldman Sachs partner who now serves as education adviser to Dallas' mayor, has been the main voice advising lawmakers to back what he calls "outcomes-based funding." Appointed by Abbott to the school finance panel, he quickly steered the bipartisan team of lawmakers, educators and business leaders toward proposals that would give school districts "incentives" to improve students' academic results.

Yeah, so how does this address the fact that there are a shit-ton of kids in Texas, both rural, urban, and suburban, who are poor as hell, and who have academic problems as a result of their parents not being able to help.   Not being able to help because of things like parents not having a better education, or single-parent households, or non-English-speaking parents, or parents working multiple jobs and too tired to help, etc.?
There are schools and areas that are going to have these problems, and it’s the elephant in the room.   No Child Left Behind wanted to move the problem around without addressing it.  This completely ignores part of that problem.  
I’m greatly in favor of things like them paying teachers more to tackle those schools and areas.   When my wife started teaching, she didn’t have much choice on where to go as a new teacher, and she ended up in one of the lowest-performing schools in the district, along with a lot of other new teachers. She found out the reason why those schools have such high teacher turnover and why new teachers keep being assigned there, is that it was the same pay as at a higher-performing school, and as soon as teachers could, they would transfer out to better schools for the same pay, but much less stress.  You have to make it worth their while, because it is a lot harder to raise the scores at those schools.  Those kids, and their parents, have a tough time as it is.  
And the whole water park fiasco.  Any district who is taking lots of Robin Hood money (or whatever it’s called now) should have to return X amount when they spend X amount on ridiculous facilities.  Buy a fancy $50 million stadium with local fund raising because you got $50 million from Austin, etc. to cover your academic infrastructure?  Return $50 million back to the state.  Etc.



It's a GOP Trumpkin governor advocating for an eduction proposal put forth by a former Wall Street exec. Fucking over poor kids, first generation immigrant kids, rural kids etc. isn't a bug, it's a feature. The former two won't vote as adults, and while the latter is iffy, it's a guaranteed R vote. It keeps the status quo in place - good for the wealthiest (Sachs partners), good for the GOP (Greg).

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Js1 85532]

My man.

[kevwun 15856]

Poor Danny Goeb.

[Pescado_Rojo 19428]

well no kids got raped by an illegal dressed like a woman, so Danny will claim victory and move on to some other bullshitery, like going halfsies with Donnie two scoops on the wall. 

[bolverk 29710]

I'm no education expert, but I did teach one year of high school and both of my parents were teachers. Among educators, it is common knowledge that the most experienced, best (and therefore highest-paid) teachers are usually assigned the best and the brightest in a school as an additional perk or reward. Meanwhile, the most inexperienced teachers are almost always given the lowest performing and hardest to teach students. Adding financial incentives for student performance into the mix makes the situation even worse, because it further encourages teachers to avoid the "bad schools" with the "bad students." If anything, the best teachers should be paired with the most difficult students.

This proposal just ensures that easy-to-teach, rich, suburban school districts will continue to get the best teachers and will further entrench the disparities in both educational opportunities AND outcomes. It's a fucking scam to not upset the societal applecart. 

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

Although the plan has major flaws and y’all are correct about better teachers moving to better schools, the formula does pay more for low income kids meeting their arbitrary standard than other kids. Theoretically you could end up with a shit load of money if your poor kids do well. Hmm, nobody would ever cheat, right?

[DanRydell 799]

I'm no education expert, but I did teach one year of high school and both of my parents were teachers. Among educators, it is common knowledge that the most experienced, best (and therefore highest-paid) teachers are usually assigned the best and the brightest in a school as an additional perk or reward. Meanwhile, the most inexperienced teachers are almost always given the lowest performing and hardest to teach students. Adding financial incentives for student performance into the mix makes the situation even worse, because it further encourages teachers to avoid the "bad schools" with the "bad students." If anything, the best teachers should be paired with the most difficult students.
This proposal just ensures that easy-to-teach, rich, suburban school districts will continue to get the best teachers and will further entrench the disparities in both educational opportunities AND outcomes. It's a fucking scam to not upset the societal applecart. 

I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not but I think the idea is incentives for improving scores, not for high scores. So a teacher in Eanes isn’t likely to get incentives because the students are coming in with good scores.

[atomheartbevo 89778]

Took out kids to the Play for All Abilities Park in Round Rock today (basically all ages, plus kids in wheelchairs, etc.).  

They had gender-neutral bathrooms.  

Hopefully Dannie Goeb doesn’t find out about the hippies in Round Rock, otherwise he’ll bog the legislature down with it.  

[SubliminalHorn 6811]

What’s the chance medical pot passes this session? I mean, come on, it’s 2019. 

[RPM 26341]

Better than they've ever been. But I'm still skeptical.

Good article:

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2019/01/03/texas-marijuana-advocates-get-fired-decriminalize-pot-2019

[RPM 26341]

On 1/18/2019 at 4:48 PM, bolverk said:

If anything, the best teachers should be paired with the most difficult students.

So you want the smartest kids to have the worst teachers?  Bold strategy, Cotton.

[bolverk 29710]

4 hours ago, RPM said:

So you want the smartest kids to have the worst teachers?  Bold strategy, Cotton.

Works in Finland, so there might be worse ideas (like our approach).

“Children from wealthy families with lots of education can be taught by stupid teachers,” Louhivuori said, smiling. “We try to catch the weak students. It’s deep in our thinking.”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/

[troph 24905]

Senate version of eye popping 3.whatever billion in state money only covers salary increases. School finance won’t be fixed without state money across the board for more than just teacher pay. The business of school districts is untenable. Revenue is capped and in many cases recaptured, and the expenses are extremely high labor, and extremely high capital costs. There is virtually no where to cut when upside down and no way to truly grow out of the cost squeeze. And god forbid the district population decline, then you’re really fucked.

Teacher pay increases are a great start but the Senate version needs about 2-3x the funding to make any real dent in the problem.

[Woland 749]

3 hours ago, bolverk said:

Works in Finland, so there might be worse ideas (like our approach).

“Children from wealthy families with lots of education can be taught by stupid teachers,” Louhivuori said, smiling. “We try to catch the weak students. It’s deep in our thinking.”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/

I am not arguing that Finland is not doing exceptional things, but...

Quote

There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school.
 

This is misleading and the truth is often glossed over in discussions about the education system in Finland. The "one exam" is actually a series of high-stakes tests that determine which universities you can enter and which fields you can study, narrowing down your choices of profession. Are you smart and want to be a lawyer? If all the Finnish mothers took genius pills the year you were born, you may be out of luck (each year, Finnish Universities only accept a set number of students in each discipline), or you might have to study abroad and pay for your higher education. Finnish students know this and are preparing for these exams from the time they enter their first grade in school. They know they have to master the material no matter how good the teacher.

[Brisketexan 105275]

7 minutes ago, Woland said:

They know they have to master the material no matter how good the teacher.

Or else.....they're finnished....

[Chooky 13317]

On 1/18/2019 at 4:43 PM, Pescado_Rojo said:

well no kids got raped by an illegal dressed like a woman, so Danny will claim victory and move on to some other bullshitery, like going halfsies with Donnie two scoops on the wall. 

The kids won't be getting raped in public bathrooms at the same rate they weren't raped last year and our legislators will do nothing.  

[relapse98 634]

On 1/11/2019 at 9:53 AM, relapse98 said:

tldr; bipartisan in austin or nothing is going to happen.

I think we figured out who the breakaway Republican is... Seliger.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pulls Sen. Kel Seliger’s chairmanship after Seliger suggested Patrick aide kiss his “back end”

Seliger lost his chair of HIgher Education, and actually isn't on the committee at all anymore, but was made the chair of some new agriculture committee, which obviously isn't near as important. Based on telling Goeb's senior advisor to kiss his ass.. he isn't chair of the new committee either. Without Seliger's vote, and I'm pretty sure he isn't going to get it easily, they have to play nice with the Democrats to get any bills passed.

<Insert Nelson Hah Hah.gif>

 

Edit, and as I said earlier:

Quote

Seliger could prove a thorn in Patrick’s side. After losing a Republican seat in the Senate in the 2018 midterms, Republicans hold a razor-thin supermajority; all 19 Republican senators must vote together to bring measures to the floor without Democratic support. A “no” vote from Seliger on partisan issues could jeopardize the lieutenant governor’s agenda.

This actually could hurt Goeb some. He'll spin it as the Democrats not wanting to go along with his plans blah blah, but yeah, he's gonna have a much tougher time getting bullshit through the Senate this session. Poor Danny. Wish I could go spit on your office again.

Edited January 22, 2019 by relapse98

[relapse98 634]

While lookup up Seliger's bills, came across this:

Agriculture (Chair)

1/18/2019 - 1/22/2019

Womp womp.

[Message Board User 12396]

 

[Llano Estacado 1257]

What’s crazy to me about the whole Goeb Seliger slap fight is that District 31 is one of if not the reddest districts in the state, and Kel is a hometown boy through and through.

Judging from FaceSpace, they’re all saying they’re aren’t going to forget. If they actually remember in the ‘22 primary or general election is TBD.

[Guest Lobo]

If Dan Patrick got any deeper in the closet, he'd be a hanger.  

[troph 24905]

The guy from the quorum report spoke at an event I attended last night. Sounds like the house and the governor don’t get along and the senate is on the verge of falling apart. This might be a fun session to watch.

[relapse98 634]

2 hours ago, troph said:

Sounds like the house and the governor don’t get along

I could see that, although I'd be willing to be Goeb and the Governor are less on talking terms than Hot Wheels and the House.

Quote

the senate is on the verge of falling apart.

I think the problem with the Senate is a lack of leadership. We have a potato head at the top that thinks he is a leader, but nobody respects except Donna Campbell (R-carpetbagger).

Oh, and did yall know she is a lesbian? Interdasting. She's not out, and I would hate to out anyone, but it's common knowledge around the capitol. I just wonder what her very red voters would think about that. Do they keep voting for her because (R) or do they go with their true hatred of da gayz?

[relapse98 634]

What began as a lieutenant governor's unusual admonishment of a state senator has turned into something else: A smear campaign.

 

I don't think Danny is being smart in this one. Learn to shut the fuck up, Yankee.

Because you don't have the 19 votes if Seliger or a Democrat agree. Which means you are going to have to work with Someone to get shit done. He's sorta been castrated this session and can't go on his little conservative bullshit trips down bathroom law lane.

[relapse98 634]

Hey, Texplainer: How do I know if my bill died?

Handy guide on how to follow a pet bill through the legislature.

Of course, keep in mind that in the end, it could still be vetoed anyways and just die at the governor's desk.


(must be a Texas Tribune kind of day for me - but they really are the best news source on our state government)

[Disco Strangler 1882]

1 hour ago, relapse98 said:

I could see that, although I'd be willing to be Goeb and the Governor are less on talking terms than Hot Wheels and the House.

I think the problem with the Senate is a lack of leadership. We have a potato head at the top that thinks he is a leader, but nobody respects except Donna Campbell (R-carpetbagger).

Oh, and did yall know she is a lesbian? Interdasting. She's not out, and I would hate to out anyone, but it's common knowledge around the capitol. I just wonder what her very red voters would think about that. Do they keep voting for her because (R) or do they go with their true hatred of da gayz?

How could she be lesbian? She sponsored a religious bill in 2014 that allowed for discrimination against gays.  Does not compute - need pics for confirmation.

[relapse98 634]

Just now, Disco Strangler said:

How could she be lesbian? She sponsored a religious bill in 2014 that allowed for discrimination against gays.  Does not compute - need pics for confirmation. 

See: Men running conversion therapy clinics that then come out as gay. They hate themselves so go hard against what they really want.

And you do not want pictures of Donna Campbell doing anything with her girlfriend. Based on what I saw driving one of Donna's Lexus SUV's - neither one is a pretty sight.

[DanRydell 799]

Hey, Texplainer: How do I know if my bill died?
Handy guide on how to follow a pet bill through the legislature.
Of course, keep in mind that in the end, it could still be vetoed anyways and just die at the governor's desk.


(must be a Texas Tribune kind of day for me - but they really are the best news source on our state government)

I don’t really know what the fix is but it’s absurd that the Governor can veto a bill after the session has ended and the legislature is then barred from overriding that veto for two years.

[kevwun 15856]

Change it to the same way it works at the Federal level.  Give the Governor 10 days to sign or veto the bill. After that, it becomes a law.

Edited January 28, 2019 by kevwun

[relapse98 634]

44 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Change it to the same way it works at the Federal level.  Give the Governor 10 days to sign or veto the bill. After that, it becomes a law.

Well that's actually the way it is (*) unless I am misunderstanding your suggestion.

Texas Constitution Article 4 Section 14

Quote

If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor with his objections within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature, by its adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall be a law, unless he shall file the same, with his objections, in the office of the Secretary of State and give notice thereof by public proclamation within twenty days after such adjournment. 

Governor has 10 days to sign (or fail to sign) or veto a bill unless it's 10 days before the end of the session, in which case he has 20 days after adjournment to do the same.
 

The problem (if there is one) is that the legislature waits till the very end of the session to past most bill. So when they get to the governor, they dont' have the ability to override those vetoes since only the governor can call them back to session.

 

Please someone, tell me again that old line about how our governor is weak. As Texas has been run the past couple of decades - it aint a weak position.

[DanRydell 799]

Right, the issue is that the lege is not longer in session when the veto occurs. It’s never been texted but some even argue the veto can only be overridden in the same session in which it originated, meaning the lege couldn’t override even when they come back.

 

The only real solution that would be at all workable would be a sort of peremptory veto override, whereby bills passed by 2/3 or both the House and Senate go into law without the Governor’s signature.

 

[Atx71 146]

3 hours ago, relapse98 said:

What began as a lieutenant governor's unusual admonishment of a state senator has turned into something else: A smear campaign.

 

I don't think Danny is being smart in this one. Learn to shut the fuck up, Yankee.

Because you don't have the 19 votes if Seliger or a Democrat agree. Which means you are going to have to work with Someone to get shit done. He's sorta been castrated this session and can't go on his little conservative bullshit trips down bathroom law lane.

I have been a friend and classmate of Seligers since the 7th grade. There is no straighter arrow in the legislative quiver. And he has more education funding expertise than any other senator. Patrick is a steaming pile of shit who need mental health assistance. Again. 

[UpperWestside 6186]

12 hours ago, relapse98 said:

See: Men running conversion therapy clinics that then come out as gay. They hate themselves so go hard against what they really want.

And you do not want pictures of Donna Campbell doing anything with her girlfriend. Based on what I saw driving one of Donna's Lexus SUV's - neither one is a pretty sight.

Not Texas legislature related, but I know a complete assclown of a human being I worked with who has renounced being gay due to his Jehovah's Witness faith, but is clearly still gay. Yes he now treats the gay folks as being below him that he manages.

[Js1 85532]

 

[SubliminalHorn 6811]

Haven’t read the article, but aren’t liquor store owners some of the ones most against selling on sundays?

[Js1 85532]

It says allow. Not force. They don’t have to but they can. 

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

7 minutes ago, Js1 said:

It says allow. Not force. They don’t have to but they can. 

If their competitors open up then they will realistically have to as well. The theory goes that they will sell a set amount of booze in a week. Doing it over 6 days is easier and more profitable than 7. Same with car dealers. I say fuck the nanny state and let them compete.

[CooterBrown 18022]

Haven’t read the article, but aren’t liquor store owners some of the ones most against selling on sundays?

Correct. They’ve said the increase in sales would be minimal and guaranteeing a weekend day off allows them to attract better workers. No idea if either is actually true.

[HenryJames 66160]

They should allow hard liquor to be sold in grocery stores.

[Llano Estacado 1257]

If their competitors open up then they will realistically have to as well. The theory goes that they will sell a set amount of booze in a week. Doing it over 6 days is easier and more profitable than 7. Same with car dealers. I say fuck the nanny state and let them compete.

They should allow hard liquor to be sold in grocery stores.

This.

Can’t buy a car on Sunday or a Tesla online from Tesla.com in this state. Can’t carry packaged and sealed beer off the premises of most of the breweries in this state. But, I’m sure the liquor distributors and store owner lobby will fight hard for the citizens and we’ll have liquor in grocery stores on Sundays by 2119ish.

[Guest Lobo]

^

The Tesla deal is due to the stanglehold that the auto dealers have on our legislature.  I've had to listen to the head of TADA tell a group of political leaders, with a straight face, that Texans need dealerships to provide affordable maintenance, after market parts, and competitive in-house financing.  I used to think they were greedy assholes, it turns out they're just dumb.  They think their captive, predatory "finance teams" are helping Texans.  They as well be managing Blockbuster videos stores.  The train coming to upend their industry is almost here, their existence can be measured in years, not decades.  The only business they'll be getting is warrant work on certain models.  

[Chad Fuck 17743]

 

Alcoholics and tailgaters rejoice!

[Js1 85532]

4 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Alcoholics and tailgaters rejoice!

Church pre-gamers too

[Llano Estacado 1257]

TADA tell a group of political leaders, with a straight face, that Texans need dealerships to provide affordable maintenance, after market parts, and competitive in-house financing.

It's like what Lenin said... you look for the person who will benefit, and, uhuh

https://www.texastribune.org/2019/01/30/texas-speaker-dennis-bonnen-has-ties-beer-distributor-lobbyists/

https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=N02

If the money craft beer has generated over the last 2 decades in this state is just now making progress against regulatory headwinds, I wouldn’t start holding my breath that the capitol will make a change to Sunday sales that benefits only their drunk constituents. (Rosemary L jokes aside)

[relapse98 634]

4 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

guaranteeing a weekend day off allows them to attract better workers. No idea if either is actually true.

Better workers? That implies that those that they have working in the future, if Sunday sales were allowed, would be not as good. At a liquor store? I mean, yeah I sometimes get recommendations but generally it's just a cash register monkey.. not sure how far the workers could fall.

And using their logic - why don't we also require grocery stores and fast food places to be closed at least 1 weekend day - so they can attract better workers. That doesn't really make any sense when they put down the shot glass and step back a bit.

[relapse98 634]

3 hours ago, Llano Estacado said:

Can’t buy a car on Sunday or a Tesla online from Tesla.com in this state.

Explain? I thought you were required to purchase using Tesla.com in Texas. They don't have independent dealerships so the salespeople at their stores can just tell you about the car but cannot assist you in purchasing it but you go to tesla.com to order.

[elfenix 34331]

4 hours ago, Llano Estacado said:

This.

Can’t buy a car on Sunday or a Tesla online from Tesla.com in this state. Can’t carry packaged and sealed beer off the premises of most of the breweries in this state. But, I’m sure the liquor distributors and store owner lobby will fight hard for the citizens and we’ll have liquor in grocery stores on Sundays by 2119ish.

walmart's suit on this is up at the 5th circuit right now, but we'll almost certainly have the supreme court's decision in https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/tennessee-wine-spirits-retailers-association-v-blair/ beforehand.  that will give some guidance as to what will happen with walmart. 

[Llano Estacado 1257]

Explain? I thought you were required to purchase using Tesla.com in Texas.

Whoops, typing slower than my brain was processing.

You are correct. You can’t purchase from the Texas “storefronts” or whatever they’re called. No direct sales from a local representative of the automaker.