HB 1919 Vetoed by Gov. Perry (Houston: insurance, trip , rent)

[blank]

Me too! I received an apology for the misinformation. The confusion was with the governor of South Carolina, not Texas. I was VERY irked about it. I did check the capitol's website, but it still says nothing.

That makes sense, and I saw that story too.

In the meanwhile, I'm working on my response to those who opposed HB 1919. I compiled a list of those who voted against it who also received less than 60% of the vote in 2006.

Betty Brown (HD-4)
Joe Crabb (HD-127)
Joe Driver (HD-113)
Dan Flynn (HD-2)
Linda Harper-Brown (HD-105)
Susan King (HD-61)
Sid Miller (HD-59)
Jim Murphy (HD-133)
Robert Talton (HD-144)
Bill Zedler (HD-96)

Not surprisingly, all of them (actually everyone who voted against HB 1919) are Republicans, and all of their 2008 challengers will receive small campaign checks from my wife and me. Of those in the list, my friends and family contacted Bill Zedler's office several times, since he's in a neighboring district, but apparently to no avail. In addition to this list, our own rep Diane Patrick (HD-94) voted against HB 1919, even though she is supported by Parent PAC, who's first guiding principle is supposedly "I Speak for Children". Well, apparently not ours, so my wife and I are drafting a letter to pull their support. Fiinally, of the representatives we contacted, Democrat Paula Pierson (HD-93) was most the knowledgeable and responsive, so we'll support her too.

[midnightbirdgirl]

Originally Posted by blank

Me too! I received an apology for the misinformation. The confusion was with the governor of South Carolina, not Texas. I was VERY irked about it. I did check the capitol's website, but it still says nothing.

That makes sense, and I saw that story too.

In the meanwhile, I'm working on my response to those who opposed HB 1919. I compiled a list of those who voted against it who also received less than 60% of the vote in 2006.

Betty Brown (HD-4)
Joe Crabb (HD-127)
Joe Driver (HD-113)
Dan Flynn (HD-2)
Linda Harper-Brown (HD-105)
Susan King (HD-61)
Sid Miller (HD-59)
Jim Murphy (HD-133)
Robert Talton (HD-144)
Bill Zedler (HD-96)

Not surprisingly, all of them (actually everyone who voted against HB 1919) are Republicans, and all of their 2008 challengers will receive small campaign checks from my wife and me. Of those in the list, my friends and family contacted Bill Zedler's office several times, since he's in a neighboring district, but apparently to no avail. In addition to this list, our own rep Diane Patrick (HD-94) voted against HB 1919, even though she is supported by Parent PAC, who's first guiding principle is supposedly "I Speak for Children". Well, apparently not ours, so my wife and I are drafting a letter to pull their support. Fiinally, of the representatives we contacted, Democrat Paula Pierson (HD-93) was most the knowledgeable and responsive, so we'll support her too.

Just curious and to why you personally think (or maybe you know) why the republicans were the ones voting against.
MBG

[bubba07]

Originally Posted by midnightbirdgirl

Just curious and to why you personally think (or maybe you know) why the republicans were the ones voting against.
MBG

http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/hjrnl/80...L.PDF#page=316

Nays:
Anderson (R)
Aycock (R)
Berman (R)
Brown, B (R)
Brown, F (R)
Crabb (R)
Creighton (R)
Crownover (R)
Darby (R)
Driver (R)
Eissler (R)
Geren (R)
Harless (R)
Harper-Brown (R)
Howard C. (R)
Isett (R)
Jones (R)
King, S. (R)
Kolkhorst (R)
Macias (R)
Merritt (R)
Miller (R)
Murphy (R)
Parker (R)
Patrick (R)
Paxton (R)
Riddle (R)
Smith, W. (R)
Talton (R)
Van Arsdale (R)
Woolley (R)
Zedler (R)

For future reference:

http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/pdf/biodata.pdf

[Mom2Feebs]

The funny thing is, the bill's author, Todd Smith, is a Republican from Tarrant County.

I guess we're not all evil.

[bubba07]

Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs

The funny thing is, the bill's author, Todd Smith, is a Republican from Tarrant County.

I guess we're not all evil.

Nobody said they were, I was simply answering MBG's question.

And while Todd Smith wrote the bill as it was introduced, Sen. Lucio authored the amendment mandating coverage for autistic spectrum disorders.

[Mom2Feebs]

You made a point that they were all Republicans, and I quote, "not surprisingly".

I was really just trying to be good-natured, and not start anything. Sorry if it seemed that way.

[hamiltonpl]

The current Republican leadership in Texas has been bought and paid for by the insurance lobby. There was no way this was going to pass.

And I agree, it is despicable.

[midnightbirdgirl]

My question was not who voted of for proof of who voted one way or another....but as to why you personally think (or maybe you know) why the republicans were the ones voting against.

MBG

[blank]

why you personally think (or maybe you know) why the republicans were the ones voting against

I was the one who originally said "not surprisingly", not bubba, so here's my explanation. My explanation is not meant to overtly support or attack either party. It is only meant to respond to the question as to why I was not surprised.

First, I live in Tarrant County, and I was really pleased that Republicans Todd Smith and Vicki Truit took leadership on HB 1919. Also Democrats Lucio and Van De Putte were the other leaders, so it had genuine bipartisan support for which I am thankful.

My comment was that I was not surprised that it was only opposed by Republicans, because I would have been surprised had a Democrat voted against it. Say what you want about the Democratic Party, but it staunchly supports health insurance for children. Here is the Texas Democratic Party Platform, which talks about creating the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIPs) (or SCHIPS if your on the Federal level):

Party Platform | Texas Democratic Party (broken link)

In addition, the platform also talk about protecting the disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. So, HB 1919, which requires insurance companies to pay for service for kids with autism spectral disorder, is a natural extension of this agenda.

Moreover, HB 1919's primary opponent was the Texas Association of Business (TAB) (see the article posted by Mom2Feebs), which is very close to the Texas Republican Party. Here are the TAB voting record scorecards in the Texas House and Senate:

The Texas Association of Business: Texas Association of Business Voting Record - Senate (broken link)
The Texas Association of Business: Texas Association of Business Voting Record (broken link)

Republicans vote overwhelmingly in TAB's favor, while Democrats generally vote against TAB's interests. Plus the Republican Party Platform is here:

http://www.texasgop.org/site/DocServ...pdf?docID=2001

It never mentions CHIPs, nor Medicaid, nor Medicare, nor health insurance in general. As for the American's with Disabilities Act, it says (bold emphasis mine):

We support amendment of the Americans with Disabilities Act to exclude from its definition those persons with infectious diseases, substance addiction, learning disabilities, behavior disorders, homosexual practices and mental stress, thereby reducing abuse of the Act.

Again, despite the TAB and the TX GOP platform, I was really happy that Vicki Truit and Todd Smith were so helpful in getting this passed. And again, this post was not meant to attack or support either party. Nonetheless, knowing what I knew about the TAB, the platforms of the two parties, the specifics of HB 1919, I was not surprised at all that a group of Republicans opposed it and that the Democrats were unanimously in favor of it.

[midnightbirdgirl]

Blank, thank you...things are a bit different here in Cali...I appreciate your well thought out answer.

MBG