Latinos For Texas Blog

A helpful Texan writes in to make sure we all know who really is fiscally responsible and who just claims to be.

TEXAS GAS TAX GOING UP EVERY YEAR THANKS TO REPUBLICANS
SB 165 (Carona) adjusts October 1 annually the state motor fuels tax rate by a multiple of (a) the change in the HCI (highway cost index) during the preceding fiscal year and (b) the combined state and federal tax rate on gasoline and diesel fuel. HB 962 (Krusee) adjusts the state tax on motor fuels (gasoline and diesel) annually in accordance with the change in the consumer price index (CPI). Either bill helps transportation but SB 165 is far more beneficial.
The REPUBLICAN members of the Dallas (North Texas Delegation) are leading the charge on this bill to PERMANENTLY install an statewide annual gas tax increase. How times have changed in this red state.

So, i wonder, is there a comprehensive list of the subtle, semi-secret tax hikes in this year’s Lege offerings? Anyone know a source?

Quick, do you have your proof of citizenship on you? Do you even know what counts as proof? Would you be carrying it on you when you head to a music festival, a parade, or immunization day?

Well, certain House Republicans know this, and in an effort to combat unsubstantiated and fabricated ‘voter ID fraud,’ the House Committee on Elections is moving on Wednesday to approve a bill which make it harder for people to become involved, or stay involved. These bills will do three things

• Require proof of citizenship PLUS an additional ID just to register, at the time of registration.
• Require even long-term voters to re-register after moving, WITH proof of citizenship — even if they have been dutiful voters for years and years.
• Require two forms of ID at the poll.

THIS WILL EFFECTIVELY KILL VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES!
CONTACT STATE REPS AND TELL THEM TO REJECT HB 218 and HB 626

CONTACT INFO:
PHONE NUMBERS

Opposing:

Rafael Anchía
Capitol: (512) 463-0746
District: (214) 943-6081

Lon Burnam
Capitol: (512) 463-0740
District: (817) 924-1997

Joe Farías
Capitol: (512) 463-0714

Favoring:
Leo Berman (Chair)
Capitol: (512) 463-0584
District: (903) 939-2400

Dwayne Bohac (Vice-Chair)
Capitol: (512) 463-0727
District: (713) 460-2800

Charlie Howard
Capitol: (512) 463-0710
District: (281) 565-9500

Undecided:
Kirk England
Capitol: (512) 463-0694
District: (972) 264-4231

FAX NUMBERS

Opposing:
Rafael Anchía
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-0738
District Fax (214) 920-9996

Lon Burnam
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-1075
District Fax (817) 924-6788

Favoring:
Leo Berman (Chair)
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-3217
District Fax (903) 939-2402

Dwayne Bohac (Vice-Chair)
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-0681
District Fax (713) 460-2822

Charlie Howard
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-0711
District Fax (281) 565-1579

Undecided:
Kirk England
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-1130
District Fax (972) 522-5918

EMAIL ADDRESSES

Opposing:
rafael.anchia@house.state.tx.us
lon.burnam@house.state.tx.us
joe.farias@house.state.tx.us

Favoring:
leo.berman@house.state.tx.us
dwayne.bohac@house.state.tx.us
charlie.howard@house.state.tx.us

Undecided
kirk.england@house.state.tx.us

Shame on Mr. Navarette, for defending Alberto Gonzales and assuring us he is not a liar after 3 interviews (see http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/22/navarrette/index.html ). He should have done his homework. Mr. Navarette has stated that Gonzales assured him that the firings were related to performance. If that is true then why was David Iglesias, US attorney from New Mexico, ranked the # 4 best US attorney in the nation fired? It seems that Mr. Navarette doesn’t mind continuing to victimize another Hispanic’s reputations in defense of someone who dishonored himself, his country & Hispanics when he chose to carry the water for this less than stellar administration.

I am Hispanic, I am from Texas and I am aware of the long history Mr. Gonzales has at failing to do what is honorable & what is good. In Texas he looked the other way rather than intervene in the execution of a retarded man under then Governor Bush. After that came condoning & encouraging torture, his faults are endless. He is an embarrassment to Hispanics. He embodies the saying, “Por eso no sube la raza [that is why the raza (Hispanics) never progress]. It is not just white Liberals who want him gone. Fuera, Sr. Gonzalez.
Margie Medrano

in response to http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/22/navarrette/index.html

Passing this along:

Travis County Democratic Party’s Biennial Spring Fundraiser

Tuesday, April 10th
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
At the home of Dennis Karbach & Robert Brown
811 Congress Avenue, Austin

Please join us for a reception honoring our
Democratic Members of the Travis County Legislative Delegation

Representative Valinda Bolton
Representative Dawnna Dukes
Representative Donna Howard
Representative Elliott Naishtat
Representative Eddie Rodriguez
Representative Mark Strama
and
Senator Kirk Watson

SPONSORS

Luanne Cullen * Hon. David A. Escamilla * Mignon McGarry
Martha E. Smiley * O’Quinn Law Firm and Charles Soechting
Hon. Susan Steeg * Travis County Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Association PAC

Robbie & Tom Ausley * Ann Loupot Daughety * Cheryl & R. James George
Linda & Jim Hargrove * Diane Ireson & Rowland Cook * Ann Kitchen & Mark Yznaga
Elliot Kralj * Kuhn, Doyle & Kuhn, P.C. * Susan Longley * Brenda & Greg Olds
Janis & Joe Pinnelli * John Sharp * Texas AFL-CIO * Delane & Tom Weber

Steve Adler * Hon. Charlie Baird * Andy Brown * Hon. Darlene Byrne
Mary & Greg Ceshker * Democracy for Texas * Hon. Sarah Eckhardt
Hon. Bruce Elfant * Hon. Herb Evans * Hon. Raul Arturo Gonzalez
Hon. Guy Herman * Hon. Nancy Hohengarten * Leslie Hume & Steve Wood
Sam Johnson * Hon. Julie Kocurek * Ronya Kozmetsky * Lowell H. Lebermann
Hon. Mike Lynch * Hon. Richard T. McCain * Donna Beth McCormick
Lou McCreary * Beverly N. Nation * North by Northwest Democrats
Scott Ozmun * Deborah Peel * Moses Ruiz
South Austin Democrats * Taylor Dunham & Burgess LLP
Hon. Gisela D. Triana * West Austin Democrats * Nancy Williams

Sponsors:
$2500*
$1500*
$500
$250

(*$2500 and $1500 sponsors also receive a one-year Finance Council Membership to the TCDP)

Individual Tickets $100
Sustaining Member Tickets $75
Complimentary entry for current TCDP Finance Council Members

RSVP to Susan Harry at 542-9744 or susan@susanharry.com.
To make a credit contribution, please click on ‘Donate’ from our home page at www.traviscountydemocrats.org.

Pd. for by the Travis County Democratic Party, P.O. Box 684263, Austin, TX, 78768.

Passing this along from Alicia Maldonado:

Join us THIS THURSDAY!

Last Chance to RSVP!!

Hispanic Austin Leadership Graduation

Distinguished Keynote Speaker

Gus Garcia

Former City of Austin Mayor

Topic:  “No Coman Ansias”

 

March 22, 2007
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 pm.

Wyndham Garden Hotel

Townlake Ballroom
3401 South IH 35

Austin, Texas 78741

Advance Purchase: $25
Day of the Event: $30

Win 2 Tickets to the
Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival

Latin Sizzles, March 29th

 

HAL Applications will be available. HAL Tuition $500
Sign up at the HAL Graduation and SAVE $100

[HAL APPLICATION]

 

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors:

University of Texas at Austin

Bank of America

RSVP: ngallegos@hispanicaustin.com

 

Alicia Maldonado
Marketing & Communications Project Manager
Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
2800 South IH 35, Suite 260
Austin, Texas 78704
Direct: (512) 441-1543
Main: (512) 476-7502
Fax: (512) 476-6417
Email: amaldonado@hispanicaustin.com
Website: www.hispanicaustin.com

This is a full press release that I though was important to post. Normally I would just post the event on the calendar but the agenda for this event is pretty packed. If you can make any part of this event I think it would be worthwhile for better understanding of this situation.

———————————————————–

PlaticArte A Community Conversation on Immigration with Teatro Vivo’s
“La Victima”

Saturday March 24
9 am - 4 pm
ACC Riverside Campus
1020 Grove Blvd Bldg G 78741
Map

The public is invited to this free event.

This event that brings together artists, scholars, and community
activists for a full-day of open discussion on immigration issues with
Teatro Vivo’s bilingual theater production of
“La Victima” as a context for the conversation. “La Victima” originally
written by El Teatro De La Esperanza,tells the story of suffering,
injustice and fragile hope in the lives of Mexican immigrants in the
United States and it reminds us that we continue to live inside that
history.

Austin’s Teatro Vivo has brought “La Victima” back to the stage to
encourage reflection and activism in the arts and to build humanistic
understanding around the immigrant cause.

PlaticArte Program and Panelists
Saturday March 24

9:00 am Welcome and Introductions
Mike Martinez, Austin City Council

9:10-10:40 am
Necessary Theatre,The Role of Chicano Theatre in a Society in Crisis
Jorge Huerta, Professor, Theater Historian, UC San Diego
Deborah Paredez, Professor,Theater and Dance Dept., UT
Rupert Reyes, Artistic Director of Teatro Vivo / Former
Member of El Teatro de la Esperanza

Scenes from “La Victima”

10:45-12 noon
Immigration Issues
Nestor Rodriguez,Professor Univ. of Houston
Gloria Lopez Gonzalez, Professor UT Austin
Sandra Valenzuela, Travis County Immigrant Study

12 noon
Lunch Conjunto Aztlan performs songs from El Movimento

1:00 pm
Heather Courtney, Director/Producer,
“Letters from the Other Side” and “Los Trabajadores”

1:25 - 2:15
Immigrant Voices
Luis Orozco, Lanier High School
Rebecca Acuna, UT Austin graduate 2006

2:15 - 2:40
Jesse Salmeron Director/Producer,
Undocumented and Imprisoning Innocence

2:45-3:50 Immigration - Current Action
Rebecca Bernhardt, ACLU Update on Hutto Residential Facility
Ana Yan ez Correa, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
Angela Valenzuela, Professor, University of Texas

3:50-4:00
Concluding Remarks
Emilio Zamora, University of Texas at Austin

Teatro Vivo
PO Box 300028
Austin TX 78703
www.teatrovivo.org
www.myspace.com/teatrovivo

———————————-

Representative Trey Martinez Fischer’s HB 996 is up for a hearing this week in Elections. The early primary legislation would move the Texas Primary from March 4, 2008 to February 5, 2008.

Rep. Martinez Fischer’s bill was the only early primary bill on the hearing notice posted on Friday. HB996 has Representative Roberto Alonzo signed on as a joint author.
Late yesterday afternoon, two other primary related bills were added to the agenda for this week’s elections committee hearing. Representative Trey Martinez Fischer is on board all three of these bills as either the main author or a joint author.

HB 993 by Representative Roberto Alonzo, has four joint authors; Representatives Homer, Martinez Fischer, Yvonne Davis and Hodge. HB993 also has five coauthors in Representatives Escobar, Gonzalez Toureilles, Herrero, Raymond and Rodriguez.

Representative Helen Giddings’ HB 2017 is the other primary related bill with Trey Martinez Fischer signed on as a joint author. That bill has Representative Pena as a co-author.

Houston Chronicle article 2/15/2007
Texas may move up primary to Feb. 5

House Speaker Tom Craddick seemed to give his stamp of approval Wednesday.

“Most (House) members that have talked to me about it are pretty well into doing that,” Craddick said. “They would like to move it up.”

Several other big states, including California and Florida, also are considering moving their primaries to Feb. 5 in 2008.

The effect could be replacing the old Super Tuesday in March with a new slate of impact primaries a month sooner.

“Super Tuesday is no long super, it’s just Tuesday,” said Democratic Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, who filed legislation to move the primary date. “If it moves up to February 5th, it’s ‘Super Duper Tuesday.’ “

The committee hearing is this Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. in Room E2.028. The whole committee agenda is posted here.

The public is welcomed to speak at these hearings. These meetings haven’t been very short this year, so if you really want to speak, be prepared to stay a long time. You can however, fill out a witness affirmation form at the hearing and just voice your support for the bills. You have to fill out the forms in person, and they must be handed to the committee clerk at the hearing. The forms are available at the back of the hearing room when the hearing starts.

Here’s Matt Glazer’s Burnt Orange Report diary of Thu Feb 01, 2007 where he discussed the reasons we should support a primary move for Texas.
Lone Star Project: 5 Reasons to Move the Primary.

Let’s move that primary, Texas!