Perry kills full-day pre-kindergarten

Gov. Helmethair, aka Lil Ricky Perry, has released his final list of vetoes.

Besides killing HB 130 to fund full-day pre-kindergarten programs across the state, he also decided to get tough on crime by killing a Royce West bill, officially HB 3128 that would have allowed “statutory” sexual criminals not to have to register as sex offenders. He also vetoes SB 223, also with a West connection, which would have allowed a person completing deferred adjudication to be eligible for a pardon.

“Interestingly,” the Morning Snooze, in its story, while mentioning the “Romeo and Juliet” sex offender bill getting vetoed, says not a word about the full-day pre-K bill.

While the tough-on-crime vetoes may help him a bit with the GOP base against Kay Bailey Cheerleader, we’ve already seen that teachers and other educators can sway races, per a couple of state House races last year.

If he does beat Hutchison in the GOP primary, he just gave himself a deeper road to hoe in the 2010 general election.

Complete list of Perry final actions is below:

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From: "Governor's Press Office"
Subject: Gov. Perry Announces Final Decisions on Legislation

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
R i c k P e r r y


AUSTIN ­ Gov. Rick Perry today announced his final decision on major
legislation passed by the 81st Legislature.

³I am proud of the accomplishments lawmakers made this session and thankful
for their solid leadership,² said Gov. Perry. ³However, there was some
legislation that, in its final form, would have done more harm than good to
our citizens. After thoroughly and thoughtfully reviewing all legislation, I
am confident that the final outcome of all bills passed will move Texas in
the right direction, equipping our state to answer future challenges and
providing better opportunities for all Texans.²

Gov. Perry signed legislation allowing public schools to purchase electronic
textbooks (HB 4294), and issued an accompanying executive order (see link
below to view) supporting the State Board of Education¹s (SBOE) role in the
electronic textbook approval process.

³This legislation will further propel Texas schools into the 21st century
and ensure that our students have access to the most up-to-date information
available in each subject,² said Gov. Perry. ³For districts that are ready
for the transition to technology, it will provide the flexibility to choose
an alternative to traditional textbooks to effectively educate students,
bringing technological advances to the classroom and enhancing our
children¹s learning environment.²

The governor also announced his veto of legislation that would create a new
pre-kindergarten education grant program (HB 130); however, a similar grant
program already exists. Consequently, Gov. Perry encourages the Texas
Education Agency to ensure the $25 million appropriated for HB 130 be used
to expand the number of students served by the existing pre-kindergarten
grant program which could reach 21,000 more students (a 305 percent
increase) over the next biennium than would have been served under HB 130.

Gov. Perry also vetoed SB 1440, which sought to clarify narrow and uncertain
guidelines set by the Gates v. Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services (DFPS) court case. However, the bill goes too far. It creates
uncertainty about how DFPS would take children into custody which could
potentially infringe on the rights of parents and guardians.

³This court-created uncertainty is real and must be addressed, however I¹m
concerned SB 1440 overreaches and may not give due consideration to the
Fourth Amendment rights of a parent or guardian,² said Gov. Perry. ³I am
directing DFPS, to study the effect of the Gates decision on the ability of
the department to appropriately enter a residence and, if necessary, to
transport the child for interviews in a neutral location. I am also
directing the department to develop and recommend statewide procedures to
follow when seeking court orders without compromising the rights of parents
and families.²

To view the governor¹s executive order, please visit:
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order/12646/

To obtain statements regarding the governor¹s decisions, please visit:
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/bills/

The following bills and resolutions were filed without the governor¹s
signature:

HB 770 by Howard,Donna
Sponsor: Jackson, Mike
Relating to ad valorem tax relief for an owner of certain property,
including a residence homestead that is rendered uninhabitable or unusable
by a casualty or by wind or water damage, and to a restriction on the
authority to bring an action to remove a house that is partially located on
a public beach as a result of a meteorological event.

HB 1275 by Kohlkorst Sponsor: Hegar
Relating to the authority to impose a county hotel occupancy tax.

HB 3076 by Deshotel Sponsor: West
Relating to a parenting and paternity awareness program used in the health
curriculum for public schools.

SB 575 by Davis, Wendy
Sponsor: Shelton
Relating to the time for dissolution of crime control and prevention
districts and to certain taxes imposed by such districts or by fire control,
prevention, and emergency medical services districts.

SB 1219 by Averitt Sponsor: Deshotel
Relating to a parenting and paternity awareness component of the health
curriculum used in public high schools.

SB 1681 by Hinojosa Sponsor: Gallego
Relating to requiring the corroboration of certain testimony to support a
criminal conviction.

SB 1717 by West Sponsor: Davis,
Yvonne
Relating to regulation of owners of developments supported with low income
housing tax credit allocations and of housing sponsors of certain
multifamily housing developments.

HCR 237 by Hilderbran
Sponsor: Fraser
Designating the Brady World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-off as the official
Texas State Goat Barbecue Championship Cook-off.

HCR 282 by Coleman
Instructing the enrolling clerk of the house to make corrections in H.B.
3485.

The following bills and resolutions were vetoed by Gov. Perry:

HB 103 by Brown, Fred
Sponsor: Patrick, Dan
Relating to health benefit plans for students at institutions of higher
education and the operation of certain health benefit plans through student
health centers at certain institutions of higher education.

HB 130 by Patrick Sponsor: Zaffirini
Relating to an enhanced quality full-day prekindergarten program provided by
public school districts in conjunction with community providers.

HB 518 by Kohlkorst
Sponsor: Van de Putte
Relating to programs to provide student loan repayment assistance for
certain correctional officers, for certain speech-language pathologists and
audiologists, and for certain mathematics and science teachers.

HB 821 by Leibowitz Sponsor: Watson
Relating to the sale, recovery, and recycling of certain television
equipment; providing administrative penalties.

HB 1293 by Eiland
Sponsor: Ellis
Relating to the sale and marketing of life insurance and annuities.

HB 1457 by Hochberg
Sponsor: Duncan
Relating to procedures concerning verification of certain information
submitted in a voter registration application.

HB 2142 by McClendon
Sponsor: Carona
Relating to the promotion of toll projects by the Texas Department of
Transportation.

HB 2656 by Miller, Doug
Sponsor: Duncan
Relating to the composition of the board of trustees of the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas.

HB 2692 by Rodriguez
Sponsor: Watson
Relating to certain municipal requirements regarding sales of residential
properties in certain areas.

HB 2820 by Chisum
Sponsor: Wentworth
Relating to contracts by governmental entities for professional services
relating to geoscience and landscape architecture.

HB 2888 by Martinez
Sponsor: West
Relating to financial assistance administered by the Texas Department of
Housing and Community Affairs.

HB 3148 by Smith, Todd
Sponsor: West
Relating to exempting certain young persons who are convicted of an offense
involving consensual sex from the requirement of registering as a sex
offender in this state.

HB 3202 by Bonnen
Sponsor: Jackson
Relating to authorizing the transfer of certain real property held by the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

HB 3346 by Farabee
Sponsor: Averitt
Relating to gas utilities and gas storage facilities.

HB 3481 by Veasey
Sponsor: Harris
Relating to the expunction of records and files relating to a person's
arrest.

HB 3485 by Coleman
Sponsor: West
Relating to certain county, municipal, district, and other governmental
functions, procedures, powers, duties, and services, including certain
criminal procedures.

HB 3515 by Dunnam
Sponsor: Carona
Relating to the creation of the offense of failure to report barratry and
solicitation of employment.

HB 3983 by Rodriguez
Sponsor: Watson
Relating to the imposition of property taxes on the residential homesteads
of low-income and moderate-income persons.

HB 4068 by Gonzales
Sponsor: Hinojosa
Relating to the conduct of judicial proceedings and transaction of other
essential judicial functions in the event of a disaster.

HB 4685 by Homer
Sponsor: Eltife
Relating to the County Court of Titus County.

SB 223 by West
Sponsor: Thompson
Relating to allowing a person who successfully completes a term of deferred
adjudication community supervision to be eligible for a pardon.

SB 434 by Wentworth
Sponsor: Bolton
Relating to the establishment and operation of a public transit
motor-bus-only lane pilot program in certain counties.

SB 488 by Ellis
Sponsor: Harper-Brown
Relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in the vicinity of a vulnerable
road user; providing penalties.

SB 686 by Davis, Wendy
Sponsor: Orr
Relating to the installation, maintenance, or operation of natural gas
pipelines on state highways and highway and county road rights-of-way.

SB 978 by West
Sponsor: Elkins, Coleman
Relating to the creation and financing of public improvement districts.

SB 1206 by Hinojosa
Sponsor: Edwards
Relating to the release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of
certain inmates who complete a rehabilitation program.

SB 1343 by Hinojosa
Sponsor: Gonzales
Relating to the formula funding for public institutions of higher education
for certain credit hours that do not count toward a degree.

SB 1440 by Watson
Sponsor: Madden
Relating to orders and judgments rendered by associate judges in child
support and child protection cases and to the investigation of child abuse
and neglect.

SB 1760 by Watson
Sponsor: Branch
Relating to the administration of the Texas Save and Match Program to assist
qualifying beneficiaries under the state's prepaid tuition plans and college
savings plans and to the treatment of a beneficiary's assets under prepaid
tuition plans and college savings plans in determining eligibility for
student financial assistance and other assistance programs.

SB 2141 by Wentworth
Sponsor: Hughes
Relating to the statute of repose for engineers and architects.

SB 2169 by Ellis
Sponsor: Alvarado
Relating to the establishment of a smart growth policy work group and the
development of a smart growth policy for this state.

SB 2325 by Hinojosa
Sponsor: Madden
Relating to the confidentiality of certain information pertaining to the
State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

SB 2468 by Gallegos
Sponsor: Coleman
Relating to the postemployment activities of certain local government
officers in certain counties; providing a penalty.

SB 2558 by Gallegos
Sponsor: Thompson
Relating to the promotion and marketing of alcoholic beverages.

HCR 161 by Burnam
Sponsor: Davis, Wendy
Granting John Cook permission to sue the Benbrook Water Authority.

HCR 252 by Thompson
Sponsor: Averitt
Requesting the governor to appoint a Governor's Task Force on Horse and
Greyhound Racing.

SCR 59 by Jackson
Sponsor: Taylor
Granting MBP Corporation permission to sue the Board of Trustees of the
Galveston Wharves.