AP Photo/Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

A long-standing legal battle between the state and supporters of Confederate flag license plate is getting its turn in the highest court.

The Supreme Court will determine how much power states have in regulating controversial messages on government-issued property. The case is expected to be heard in March.

The Department of Motor Vehicles board twice rejected the Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ application for a specialty license plate bearing the Confederate battle flag because of concerns that the plate would be offensive to many.

An appeals court ruled this summer that the DMV had engaged in “viewpoint discrimination” when it denied the group’s request. The state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, citing split decisions in similar cases across the country.

The court typically agrees to hear between 80 and 90 cases of the nearly 10,000 petitions it receives.

(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.

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(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

AUSTIN—It’s a winning week for the state lotto.

Lawmakers have considered phasing out the lottery, but in a new report a committee studying the issue recommended that the Legislature avoid its elimination because it would leave a hole in the state budget.

“The loss of state funding for education and other valuable programs, and the loss to Texas businesses, would be gravely detrimental to the state,” the report said.

According to the report, the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $22 billion in state revenue since it began in 1991, with $17 billion of that going to public schools. The game has brought in nearly $40 million to programs that support veterans and more than $176 million to the UTMB teaching hospital and other state programs, the report said.

In 2013, lawmakers spontaneously voted to abolish the lottery. House leaders quickly convinced members to reconsider, noting the multi-billion dollar gap that would be left in the budget.

The House eased off, voting for the continuation of the lottery and the Texas Lottery Commission, but demanded a joint committee be formed to study the impact of eliminating the games.

Lottery backers argue that the games are voluntary and that the tax revenue generated from ticket sales is too valuable to lose. Critics say state resources shouldn’t be used to promote gambling and call the lottery a hidden tax on the poor.

The 10-member committee sided with the former, apparently, but made recommendations that attempt to address some of the opponents’ concerns, including the possibility of disproportionate sales to poorer Texans.

–  ”The Legislature should instruct the Texas Lottery Commission to include a study of geographical lottery sales and retailer penetration by zip code, as part of its contracted demographics study, to gain better insight into the demographics of lottery players.”

–  ”The Legislature should instruct the Texas Lottery Commission to conduct an external study of its advertising media expenditures every other year to ensure lottery advertising is not targeted towards any specific demographic.”

The committee also recommended discontinuing print advertisements.

After concerns were raised about some charities receiving too little from charitable bingo games, lawmakers recommended the Legislature impose a minimum payout for charities and grant the lottery commission authority to cap individual payouts, among other things.

(AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner

AUSTIN–Outgoing Attorney General Greg Abbott, who was recently elected governor, said “odds favor” a suit against the Obama administration within the next two weeks over the president’s executive actions on immigration, but the state has not taken action yet.

In a press conference Monday, Abbott said his office is still analyzing the issue and will share information it gathers with governors and attorneys general of other states. But Texas’ decision is not contingent on other states joining the suit, he said.

Last Thursday, Obama announced his immigration plan, which may allow up to 5 million undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation. His actions will focus deportation efforts on immigrants who have a criminal record and will increase border security.

Abbott has sued the Obama administration more than 30 times. This would be the first lawsuit filed since Abbott was elected governor Nov. 4.

(AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner)

AUSTIN—Departing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Wednesday that the plan to extend the border surge will include gradually replacing more expensive Texas National Guard troops with Department of Public Safety officers who have the power to arrest and detain people.

Top state officials, including Dewhurst, Gov. Rick Perry and House Speaker Joe Straus, announced on Tuesday a proposal to spend $86.1 million to keep boots on the ground along the border through next August. The plan will go before the legislative budget panel for a vote on Dec. 1.

The proposal will “wind down” by March the role of the state’s National Guard at the border but increase the total number of DPS officers on the ground, Dewhurst said. The original mission deployed 1,000 guardsmen to the border.

“As that job is wound down we will be able to significantly increase the total number of boots on the ground by adding more DPS who have the ability to interdict, along with the border patrol, criminal activity and be able to arrest…and detain people,” he said during a press conference at the Capitol.

So far, the state has spent more than $50 million dollars on the mission, which some critics have called a wasteful use of taxpayer dollars.

“What’s the price to protect you and your family? There is no price,” Dewhurst said when asked how long the state could afford to continue its operations at the border.

The number of illegal immigrants apprehended has declined significantly since this summer. Dewhurst said a decrease in apprehensions and border crossings does not curb the need for law enforcement presence on the border.

“The cartels are not going to go home and all of a sudden start going to Sunday school…They’re going to try, just like the Taliban, just like al-Qaeda, to outlast us. The only way we can have success is by staying there until the federal government replaces us,” he said.

The Legislative Budget Board will vote on the proposal Dec. 1.

Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, Chairman of the Senate Redistricting committee leads a hearing, Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Austin, Texas. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wants lawmakers to adopt the court's maps as a bid to pre-empt yet another set of maps that could further hurt Republican candidates. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

AUSTIN—Republican Sen. Kel Seliger filed on Wednesday a bill that limits regents’ authority to fire a university president, requires more rigorous training for regents and clarifies a university’s autonomy in certain management areas.

Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a similar bill in 2013.

Bills filed now could be considered in the upcoming session, which convenes in January.

The proposed legislation comes after years of dust-ups between some members of the governor-appointed University of Texas System Board of Regents and UT-Austin President Bill Powers.

For more than a year, a House panel conducted an investigation into the actions of UT Regent Wallace Hall. Hall had been waging a personal investigation of Powers and lawmaker influence in the admissions process at the flagship. The UT system commissioned an outside investigation into admissions practices following Hall’s accusations. That inquiry is ongoing.

In August, the House committee voted to censure Hall for misconduct, leaving impeachment on the table depending on the result of a criminal investigation into Hall’s behavior.

Critics, including many lawmakers, have called Hall’s efforts a “witch-hunt” to oust Powers, who has clashed with some regents on higher education issues such as research and tuition.

Hall has said his actions were within the bounds of his role as a regent.

The Amarillo Republican’s bill makes clear the autonomy granted to university campuses and administrators. Regents must “defend each institution’s right to manage its own affairs through its chosen administrators,” it says. Additionally, it says that regents must “ensure that the powers and duties of the board are not controlled by a minority of its members or by organizations or interests that are separate from the board.”

The bill says regents cannot fire a university president without a recommendation from the chancellor.

Seliger co-sponsored a similar bill last session, which passed with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Perry vetoed that bill. Perry said then that a “lack of board oversight…diminishes accountability and provides fertile ground for organizational malfeasance.”

AUSTIN—The session is still two months away but lawmakers are making clear their priorities in the first day of bill filing.

Rep. Tom Craddick

So far, the list of freshly filed bills includes: issuing driver’s permits to undocumented immigrants, increasing the state’s minimum wage, legalizing same-sex marriage, ending certain transportation diversions and changing aspects of the franchise tax.

Former House speaker Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, again filed a bill that would institute a statewide a ban on texting for all drivers—a measure that previously passed in the Legislature in 2011 but was vetoed by now departing Gov. Rick Perry. He called the bill “a government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.”

Leadership will be different in the upcoming session.

It’s not entirely clear how Gov.-elect Greg Abbott will lead the state. Lt. Gov-elect Dan Patrick will preside over a more conservative Senate. Current speaker Joe Straus has many allies in the House and is considered likely to win reelection on the first day of session, but is being opposed by tea-party aligned groups such as Empower Texans.

Forty-four other states already have a ban on texting while driving. In Texas, state law bans texting for drivers under 18 and 38 cities have local regulations to ban texting while driving for all drivers, which Craddick said creates a confusing patchwork of local ordinances.

“The Texas Legislature has a responsibility to give our law enforcement officers the tools they need to make our roadways safer,” he said.

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, put forward a bill to increase minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10. Houston Democrat Rodney Ellis filed a companion bill in the Senate.

Rep. Craig Goldman, a Fort Worth Republican, proposed allocating all revenue received from the sale, rental or use of motor vehicles to the state highway fund, ending diversions to the school fund and general revenue fund.

Update at 5:00 p.m.: This blog has been updated with a response from the vice president of Denton Drilling Awareness Group.

AUSTIN–Railroad Commission Chairwoman Christi Craddick came out strongly against a fracking ban passed this week in North Texas, pledging to continue giving permits to companies that seek to drill in Denton.

Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick

Craddick discussed the state’s oil and gas boom, the agency’s needs and pitfalls, and her political future at a Thursday event sponsored by the Texas Tribune. The Railroad Commission is the state agency that regulates oil and gas.

Craddick called it a disappointment that the ban on hydraulic fracturing—the technique of drilling deep into the ground to release oil and gas—passed Tuesday in Denton. The ban is the first in oil and gas rich Texas.

But the Republican conceded that the oil and gas industry and her agency have likely fallen short on communicating with citizens about the processes happening increasingly near homes and schools as oil and gas production spikes and communities grow and sprawl.

“We missed as far as an education process in explaining what fracking is, explaining what was going on. And I think this is the result of that, in a lot of respects, and a lot of misinformation about fracking,” Craddick said.

“It’s my job to give permits, not Denton’s…We’re going to continue permitting up there because that’s my job,” she said.

Adam Briggle, vice president of the Denton Drilling Awareness Group, said that outcome should have prodded the commission to “adopt a more conciliatory tone” and to reflect on why citizens were opposed to fracking.

But, from the state, “it’s still just a heavy-handed, push-our-agenda through approach,” he said. “They should have got a wake-up call, but it’s like they’re still just sleeping.”

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Update 8:40 P.M.: Glenn Hegar, who will take over as comptroller in January, released his victory statement.

Glenn Hegar

“Together, we will continue to stand up for the principles we believe in by making government more efficient, eliminating wasteful spending, and putting more money back into the pockets of taxpayers,” Hegar said.

Update 8:08 P.M.: AP called it: Republicans bested their opponents in all statewide races.

Update 7:55 P.M.: With just over 2 million early votes in, Republican candidates are leading with wide margins in all statewide races.

Original post at 6:30 P.M.: Down-ballot races garner less attention in elections but the positions are often used as a stepping stone to higher office. Gov. Rick Perry, for example, served two terms as commissioner of agriculture before running for lt. governor.

Tonight, each seat will see a new occupant as there are no incumbents in the race. The conservative candidates are favored to win across the board.

Sam Houston, Democrat for AG, on left; Ken Paxton opposite.

Some notable items in this year’s race: George P. Bush, a member of the Bush political dynasty, is making his first bid for office; the Republican nominee for attorney general admitted that he failed to register as a financial agency and could face charges or disbarment; and Ryan Sitton, if elected, would be the first engineer to serve on the Railroad Commission in more than 50 years.

Here’s a glance at the candidates:

Attorney general

Tea party favorite and Republican nominee Sen. Ken Paxton, an attorney from McKinney who spent 12 years in the Legislature, has shied away from the campaign trail after winning his contentious primary race against state Rep. Dan Branch in May. Paxton admitted to violating securities law earlier this year.

Sam Houston, the Democratic nominee, is an attorney from Houston. He has said he would reverse the ruling that prevents Texans from learning which chemicals are stored in nearby plants. He has also vowed to end state appeals in the ongoing school finance case.

Jamie Balagia, a Libertarian, and Green Party candidate Jamar Osborne are also on the ticket.

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In the final days before the election, Sen. Glenn Hegar, the Republican nominee for comptroller, banked $120,000 in campaign contributions–namely from political action committees and high-dollar individual donors.

Mike Collier on the left, Glenn Hegar opposite

That figure is the same amount as his Democratic opponent Mike Collier garnered in contributions between Sept. 26 and Oct. 25, highlighting Republican candidates’ fundraising advantage in the state.

Mike Collier received $17,500 in the last week, according to finance reports.

The Zachry Corporation PAC, Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association and the Holts, the family that owns the largest Caterpillar dealership in the U.S. and the San Antonio Spurs, all cut $10,000 checks for Hegar’s campaign, according to new campaign finance reports.