(Brendan Smialowski/AFP, Getty Images)

President Barack Obama is meeting with several newly-elected governors at the White House today.

WASHINGTON — Texas Attorney General and Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said in Washington today that he and President Barack Obama did not discuss the lawsuit Abbott filed on Wednesday over the president’s recent executive action on immigration.

Abbott and governors-elect from six other states met with the president today, but the conversation centered mostly around jobs, infrastructure, and education

“Today was not the setting or the time to talk about legal issues that will be resolved in the courtroom by lawyers, so that issue was not addressed,” Abbott said.

Abbott, along with officials from 16 other states, filed suit on Wednesday against the Obama administration. The lawsuit marks the 31st time that Abbott has sued the president.

The executive actions would temporarily shelter over 5 million immigrants from deportation. They would also prioritize the deportation of illegal immigrants with a criminal record, and bolster security along the southern border.

Abbott and the other plaintiffs allege that Obama unilaterally changed the law and violated the Constitution.

The suit also claims that the administration’s actions “cause a humanitarian crisis” by catalyzing “an unprecedented surge of families crossing illegally into the U.S.”

Abbott also said that the actions would come at a steep cost to Texas and its taxpayers, since the state would foot the bill for increased border security, as well as social services for immigrants.

On Wednesday, Abbott estimated that the executive actions would cost Texas “well over $100 million,” a tally that includes expenses for law enforcement, healthcare, and education.

“It will be a lot of taxpayer dollars, which is exactly why we are seeking emergency relief to ensure that we get this issue addressed as quickly as possible,” Abbott said.

Members of the Obama administration have defended the actions’ legality.

“The law here and the precedent here is pretty clear as it relates to the legal authority that the president invoked,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Friday.

Even though Abbott didn’t speak to Obama about immigration, he said he raised “questions with multiple officials in the administration about the challenges that Texas is having on the border.”

President Obama said he was looking forward to working with the governors on issues like education, transportation, and health care.

“My main message to them is, ‘We’re here to help.’ The good news about governors is they usually don’t have time to be ideological because people expect them to deliver. That’s very much my attitude going into my last two years of office,” Obama said.

Though Abbott said he was “particularly pleased” by the some of president’s message — especially on reducing regulation to create jobs — he conceded that an ideological gulf still exists between him and the president.

“There are a lot of different connector points where we share common ground. Obviously there are differences,” Abbott said. “We will have to agree to disagree on those differences.”

Craig Watkins loves being Dallas County district attorney.

After he leaves office on Dec. 31, he’ll have to determine whether to continue on a political path or explore the private sector. At the moment, he doesn’t want to talk about his options.

“I know you have a job to do, Watkins said during a brief telephone conversation. “I’m not going to talk about that at this time, but everything we’ll be fine. My family will be fine.”

In November former state District Judge Susan Hawk beat Watkins in the general election for DA, becoming the first Republican to win a contested, countywide race since 2004. Watkins, the trailblazing Democrat, was heavily outspent and unable to mount an effective campaign.

Watkins made history in 2006 by becoming the first black candidate elected district attorney in Texas.

But because of various controversies and political clashes, his stardom eroded. By Election Day, a significant portion of the Democratic base had abandoned him.

Without assigning blame, Watkins said local Democrats were unable to effectively reach African-Americans, the party’s core voters. Turnout wasn’t what it had hoped to be for anyone.

During our conversation, Watkins told me that he had not decided to get involved in Dallas County Democratic Party politics in the wake of Chairwoman Darlene Ewing’s announcement that she’s leaving her post next year.

And he said that just because his wife, Tanya Watkins, had once toyed with the idea of running for party chairwoman, it didn’t mean that she would seek to replace Ewing. Here’s a recent column I wrote about Ewing’s plans.

Watkins didn’t discuss Hawk, but maintained that he had already proposed outfitting local police officers with body cameras. Hawk said this week she would use forfeiture funds to buy body cameras for police officers.

After his defeat, Watkins circulated a message to supporters proclaiming “I will be back.”

Here’s what Watkins said:

Thank you!
We appreciate your support. In the next 4 years you will understand that you can’t just say you have integrity, you have to live it. Stay informed your real DA will be back and ready to fight for justice for all Dallas County and Texas citizens. Fired up and ready to go!

So Thursday night I asked him about another run for public office.

“Everything will be fine,” he said. “And if I want to stay involved in politics, I will be fine.”

(File 2012/The Associated Press)

Critcs say new Railroad Commission rules aimed at making it harder for pipeline operators to secure eminent domain power as common carriers don't go far enough.

AUSTIN — Oil and gas regulators will soon require pipeline operators to provide sworn testimony and supporting documents in permit applications to verify claims of common-carrier status, which can confer broad authority to build pipelines across private land.

But the agency denied several requests from property-rights advocates and environmental groups, causing critics to say that the rules do not go far enough.

Common-carrier pipeline operators sell other companies access to their lines for market-rate fees. They are thus said to serve the public good are granted the power of eminent domain. Landowners can challenge common carriers’ eminent domain claims in court.

In a 2011 Denbury case, the Texas Supreme Court determined that a pipeline company did not have the right to invoke eminent domain to build across a Beaumont rice farmer’s property despite holding a common-carrier permit.

The court said then the agency’s method for granting common-carrier status — a matter of the pipeline owner simply checking a box on an application — makes it too easy for pipeline operators to secure eminent domain power.

The new rule is aimed at creating a more rigorous application process.

Starting in March, operators applying for or renewing permits and claiming to be common carriers will need to provide additional information and sworn statements on intended purposes for their pipelines. The commission may levy fines of up to $1,000 per violation for false filings, a spokeswoman for the agency said.

Christi Craddick

“The Commission’s new permitting procedure for common-carrier pipelines certifies a more vibrant, transparent permitting process for pipelines operating in the state of Texas,” Commissioner Christi Craddick said.

But some say the rules are still too shallow.

“Rather than step up to the plate, the Railroad Commission has once again struck out,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith of Public Citizen.

The new rule is too lenient on pipeline operators, he said. He also said that by arguing that it was not within its jurisdiction to determine whether a pipeline is indeed a common carrier, the commission had unnecessarily punted the issue back to the Legislature.

Several organizations and individuals had expressed in public comments that the rule was too vague and might not require substantial proof from pipeline operators that their pipelines would be open for hire.

Continue reading →

( (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News))

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings rides an escalator before speaking to media following his State of the City address at the Sheraton Hotel in Dallas Tuesday December 2, 2014.

On Thursday he said Texas lawmakers should spend much of the 2015 legislative session on public education.

“For me personally, their focus on education. Texas has got to have an environment that we graduate kids to compete in this world,” Rawlings said during a recording of KXAS (NBC-5) Lone Star Politics. “We haven’t been doing that. We haven’t done it in Dallas. We haven’t done it in the state of Texas.”

This week Rawlings announced that he would seek a second term as Dallas mayor. His election, seen by most as a slam dunk, would occur in May.

Meanwhile, state government has undergone a series of changes, including the election of Attorney General Greg Abbott as governor and Texas Sen. Dan Patrick as lieutenant governor. What’s more, north Texas will send three new Republicans to the Senate, including businessmen Don Huffines and Bob Hall. Tea party activist Konni Burton replaces Democrat Wendy Davis in the Fort Worth-based Senate district.

I asked Rawlings what he expected from the freshmen lawmakers.

“I hope that these new folks, and I hope that the new governor, and I hope the new Lt. Governor says, ‘How do we graduate stars for this world.’ And that’s what I’m going to be talking to them about all the time,” he said.

For his part, Rawlings said he would continue to make education his priority.

As for his re-election bid, he said he would not run the expensive, broad campaign he did when first elected in 2011.

And though the council is going to elect six new members, Rawlings said he would not endorse candidates in the race.

Lone Star Politics airs Sunday at 8:40 a.m. on NBC-5.

Tune in to hear Rawlings discuss his top priorities and how he arrived at his decision to seek re-election.

(AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon)

Gov.-elect Greg Abbott announces that Texas is leading a 17-state coalition filing suit against President Obama’s immigration executive action, during a news conference in Austin on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — A day after Texas Governor-elect Greg Abbott unveiled a 17-state lawsuit challenging President Obama’s immigration policies — and one day before Abbott meets with Obama — the White House forcefully rejected claims the president overreached his authority.

“I don’t know if they’ll have an opportunity to discuss that,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said at his daily briefing. But he added, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Governor-elect Abbott chose to raise that himself in the meeting.”

Abbott, the state’s attorney general, has boasted to voters that he views his job as an ongoing effort to use the courts to roll back regulations and federal power. This is his 31st lawsuit against the president.

But Earnest predicted it will fail because the immigration actions Obama announced Nov. 20 fit well within executive authority. Obama announced that he’ll shield about 5 million people in the country illegally from deportation.

“The law here and the precedent here is pretty clear as it relates to the legal authority that the president invoked,” Earnest said. “….We’ve heard from the Supreme Court who’s examined this issue and ruled that federal officials have quote `broad discretion over priorities in enforcing immigration law.’ The United States Congress in fact, not too long ago, directed the executive branch to set enforcement priorities. In creating the Department of Homeland Security, Congress charged the department with the responsibility for quote ‘establishing national immigration enforcement policies and priorities.’

“That’s exactly what the president has talked about in the course of this executive action,” Earnest said.

The president will meet Friday with a half-dozen governors-elect at the White House.

The others are Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Bill Walker of Alaska, Bruce Rauner of Illinois, Larry Hogan of Maryland, and Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, the lone Democrat in the group.

KTRE.com | Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas

Governor-elect Greg Abbott is still the state’s attorney general, and he isn’t about to miss an opportunity to defend Christmas — specifically, a nativity scene planted in front of the Cherokee County courthouse about 120 miles southeast of Dallas.

(Via KTRE-TV )

The nativity scene in question down in Cherokee County

On Thursday Abbott sent a missive to Cherokee County Judge Chris Davis (and, natch, media) in which he offers his full-throated support for the nativity scene, which the D.C.-based American Humanist Association claims is a “constitutional violation” worthy of a lawsuit. But the AHA (whose motto is “Good Without a God”) is willing to stay away from the courtroom if Davis will let them in front of the courthouse — with its own “HumanLight” display, intended to commemorate December 23 as a day “to celebrate and express the positive, secular, human values of reason, compassion, humanity and hope.” (And for more information on that 13-year-old holiday, here’s the Wikipedia page.)

According to a letter the AHA sent Davis last week, Cherokee County Commissioner Katherine Pinotti isn’t buying that “HumanLight” holiday.

“December 23rd is merely a date selected by your organization to make a political statement of your choice not to celebrate traditional Christian beliefs,” she told Ross. “Perhaps you should consider choosing another time of the year to demonstrate your secular support instead of attempting to infiltrate the Christmas holiday with a singular purpose to destroy and denigrate the beliefs of others. Try to live and let live.”

But she points out she’s speaking just as a citizen, not as a county commissioner. Abbott, on the other hand, is speaking as the AG … and the governor-elect.

“While the Texas Attorney General’s Office cannot represent Cherokee County in court, should the need arise, my office can and will file legal briefs supporting the County’s authority to retain the nativity scene display on the courthouse grounds,” says his letter sent to Davis (and the media). “My office has previously taken action in support of numerous Texas communities and school children who have been forced to defend their rights against similar legal attack.”

At which point he reminds Davis of The Great 2011 War on Christmas in which the the Freedom From Religion Foundation fired the first shot over a nativity scene in front of the Henderson County courthouse in Athens.

“I notified Henderson County that my office would support its defense of the inclusion of a nativity scene within the display if the litigation threat was carried out, and I write today to make the same commitment to the people of Cherokee County,” says Abbott. “The AHA has a long history of attacking entirely constitutional public acknowledgements of our Nation’s religious heritage, and my office is prepared to offer support to Cherokee County if the AHA follows through on its threatened lawsuit.”

(Andy Jacobsohn/Staff photographer)

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell gestures during a press conference about the Affordable Care Act at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas last month

Update at 4:58 p.m.: Have clarified that it’s more than 7 of 10 Americans, not Texans, who can cut costs while staying in same tier, if they comparison-shop. Also have included Dallas County data, deadlines for signing up and current Texas enrollment.

Original item at 11:30 a.m.: This fall, the federally run health insurance exchange in Texas has 15 insurance carriers participating, up from 12 last year, creating more choices and better prices, Obama administration officials announced Thursday.

On average, Texas consumers buying coverage for next year will be able to select from 31 health plans in their county — up from 25 for 2014, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a release.

In Dallas County, the number of available plans sold on the so-called health insurance marketplace increased to 64, up from 36. All 64 plans cover essential health benefits and preventive care, and don’t exclude anyone with a pre-existing condition.

More than 7 of 10 Americans now covered in the marketplace will be able to find a lower premium plan in the same metal level — bronze, silver, gold and platinum — if they return and compare products, the federal report said.

“For returning customers, it pays to shop,” a release from Burwell’s department said.

“The Health Insurance Marketplace is open for business, and Texas consumers have affordable choices for renewing their coverage and signing up for the first time,” Burwell said. “In today’s Marketplace, issuers are competing for business. With additional quality, affordable plans available, returning Texas customers may find an even better deal if they shop and save.”

Not all of the latest Obamacare news is good, however. On Wednesday, Texas insurance regulator Katrina Daniel spoke of rising prices to a GOP-dominated legislative committee, according to this (paywall protected) story in the Austin American-Statesman. Some premiums would increase as high as 9 percent, Daniel told a House panel. And a front page story in Thursday’s editions of The Wall Street Journal, citing a report from market data cruncher HealthPocket, said the Affordable Care Act is accelerating a trend toward higher deductibles and out of pocket costs for Americans.

The federal report said that in Dallas County, a 27 year old choosing the benchmark plan — the second-lowest cost silver plan — would be looking at a premium, before subsidies, of $230 a month. That’s up 3 percent from this year’s $223 a month price. Nationally, the average increase was about 2 percent. In a silver plan, the insurer pays 70 percent of costs; and the consumer, 30 percent.

Through last March, nearly 734,000 Texans enrolled in the exchange. The state insurance department said that as of July 31, the number shrank to about 602,000. Nonpayment of premiums, deaths and people moving out of state or finding other coverage may explain the decrease. Of the initially covered 734,000, about 616,000 — or 84 percent — received subsidies.

People can enroll for 2015 coverage through Feb. 15. Federal officials recommend, though, that they do so by Dec. 15 to make sure their coverage takes effect on Jan. 1.

WASHINGTON — The House easily approved legislation Wednesday that would restore dozens of expired tax breaks, including one that lets Texans deduct state and local sales tax.

By a 378-46 vote, lawmakers voted to extend that provision and a host of others. Most of the tax breaks expired at the end of 2013, and the legislation would let taxpayers claim them on 2014 tax returns due in April.

Under the bill, residents of Texas and six other states without a state income tax would be able to deduct state and local sales taxes. The legislation would also reinstate a popular provision that lets teachers deduct $250 for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled Tuesday that his chamber could take up the House bill, saying, “Let’s see what they send us, what’s in it, and we’ll make that decision then.” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the White House was “open to supporting shorter-term alternatives.”

The House vote came after plans for a larger $450 billion package were scrapped last week amid a veto threat from the White House. That bill would have made the sales tax deductibility provision permanent and extended others, like the educator expense, for two years.

In 2012, 2.3 million Texas filers used the sales tax deduction. More than 353,000 used the educator deduction.

Congress has regularly chosen to extend tax breaks a year or two at a time, instead of on a permanent basis. The sales tax deduction has united lawmakers along regional lines, with those from the states with no income tax banding together.

The short-term extension applies to a range of interests, including corporate research, green energy and even NASCAR track owners. The tax breaks affect about 1 in 6 taxpayers, according to The Tax Institute, the research arm of H&R Block.

(AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks in Washington on Sept. 26, 2014.

Updated at 5:47 p.m. with comment from Cruz’s office:

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier brushed off the attack Wednesday, calling it the work of lobbyists in “full force trying to raise taxes on the Internet.”

“Senator Cruz opposes new taxes on the Internet — is largely supported by Texans in this effort — and isn’t going to be deterred by baseless smears,” Frazier said.

Original post:

WASHINGTON — Leading retailers are hammering Sen. Ted Cruz for opposing a bill that would allow online sales taxes, accusing him of cozying up to the Chinese online site Alibaba at the expense of American small businesses.

In a blistering post on BuzzFeed, the Alliance for Main Street Fairness asserts that Cruz has flip-flopped on conservative principles by promoting special tax treatment for e-commerce companies. The alliance, which includes Best Buy, Target and other major chains, wants Congress to close tax loopholes for online merchants. Online sellers often enjoy a price advantage over brick-and-mortar competitors because they have lower overhead, and don’t automatically collect sales tax, even when the customer might owe it to a local jurisdiction.

“While Ted Cruz gallivants across the country giving speeches on the American dream,” the post reads, “he denies it to the local small business owners back home.”

Cruz’s office has not responded to a request for comment Wednesday.

In recent weeks, the Texas senator has trumpeted his opposition to legislation that would effectively end tax-free shopping online, called the Marketplace Fairness Act. The change could generate $340 billion in state and local tax revenue over 10 years.

Cruz has denounced the plan as a “massive new national sales tax,” though. He has joined a number of conservative House members who say it would crush small businesses with regulations, forcing them to grapple with hundreds of tax rates from cities and states around the country and to collect revenue on their behalf.

Backers say the change would level the playing field, forcing Internet retailers to abide by the same tax rules as brick-and-mortar stores. Currently, states can only collect sales taxes from sellers with a physical presence inside their borders.

The Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act with bipartisan support last year. But House Speaker John Boehner has vowed to block it from receiving a floor vote.

The Alliance for Main Street Fairness has made Alibaba a key part of their legislative push.

In an ad released by the group last month, a narrator states, “Thanks to the online sales tax loophole this Chinese company will decimate our local retailers. Unless Congress ends special tax treatment for Alibaba and other online giants, Main Street will never look the same.”

Cruz has said it would be the “height of lunacy” to impose the online sales tax now, with the GOP set to control both chambers in Congress in January.

Texas’ senior senator, John Cornyn, also opposes the legislation. Among Texans in the House, three Republicans and two Democrats signed on as original co-sponsors.

The BuzzFeed post highlights those complicated political dynamics, especially for Republicans. In pictures, it showcases small business owners, as well as a Texas tea party group, who are pushing for the plan.

The post quotes the head of the Texas Tea Party Coalition, Duane Ham: “I just can’t understand why Senator Cruz thinks a small business in Texas should be forced to play by a different set of rules than an out-of-state Internet retailer. That’s not fair and it is certainly not conservative.”

Backers had hoped to tie the plan to a moratorium on taxing Internet access, though Texas is exempt and currently has such levies.