Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Obama regime renders E-Verify system unavailable

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The illegal alien coddling, First Amendment censorship supporting Obama regime has rendered the E-Verify system unavailable during the “government shutdown”. The choice made by the lawlessness-encouraging Obama administration is to help illegal aliens and the employers who hire them.

 

E-Verify

 

The ever-sympathetic administration has also closed E-Verify customer support and related services.

E-Verify is the system Norman Adams and Steve Hotze asked Texas Congressman Lamar Smith to expand back in December 2011.

During a recent press conference, Stan Marek, board member of the Greater Houston Partnership and CEO of Marek Construction asked “”What is so hard about following the law?”

Will law-abiding, middle-class taxpaying Texans and businesses get answer?

 

HCC District II trustee candidates go before Chron board

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A source intimately associated with the HCC District trustee races said Houston Community College District II Trustee Bruce Austin and challenger Dave Wilson met with the Houston Chronicle board last week. Unlike the City of Houston Controller race where incumbent Ronald Green and his “helper” met with the Chron board separately from challenger Bill Frazer, this meeting had Austin and Wilson in the room at the same time with the Chronicle.

Speaking under the condition of anonymity, the source stated Austin told the Chronicle board that HCC is looking into two accounts; one is associated with the Qatar campus and the second is associated with the 2008 bond election.

Through the Facebook page Missouri City Concerns, I suggested my fellow Missouri City residents ask Missouri City’s own HCC District VII trustee Neeta Sane if the results of the investigation …err, audit would be made public.

Statement: “HCC District II trustee incumbent Bruce Austin went before the Houston Chron board the other day. According to a source with intimate knowledge of the meeting, Austin admitted HCC is looking into two accounts; one is the account associated with Qatar and the second is related to the 2008 bond money….someone needs to ask incumbent HCC District VII Neeta Sane (Missouri City-area) if the results of the “investigation” will be made public….”

Neeta’s response: “The HCC bond program is designed to bring necessary courses and programs based on growing regional needs to produce an educated and skilled workforce. Implementation of the bond program will increase the educational offerings that are relevant to students and industry needs.
Over the past 20 years, one of the greatest accomplishments for our community has been that HCC has been offering low cost education that gets easily translated into employment or academic advancement.
Other trustees’ comments are their own responsibility. As your trustee for the past six years, I have ensured that HCC conducted its business with transparency and I will continue to do so. Again, my objective is to ensure that our students are college-ready and workforce-ready for the 21st century job market. More information about me is on www.NeetaSane.com“

One of my concerns with Ms. Sane’s response is her assertion that Houston Community College has been offering low cost education easily translated into employment or academic advancement.

Let’s parse out her statements.

First, her claim about HCC’s low cost.

Fort Bend County residents, especially those in Sienna Plantation, would be wise to pay close attention.

According to HCC’s own website, the in-district tuition rate for 6 semester hours is 410.40 while the out-of-district tuition rate for 6 semester hours is 842.40 and the out-of-state tuition rate for 6 semester hours is 941.40.

So if you live in Sienna Plantation outside the HCC taxing jurisdiction, like I do by less than one mile, you and I would pay DOUBLE the rate of an in-district student.

Low cost? To whom?

Phooey.

One of the things with a high cost to you HCC taxpaying residents that Neeta Sane should know about comes straight from her fellow HCC Trustee Carroll Robinson’s own website:

” HCC’s Contract with Qatar The Qatar contract was not reviewed by any lawyer before $43 million of local taxpayers money was committed to help a foreign government while tens of thousands of Houston area residents still need financial help to attend HCC to secure an associate degree or workforce retraining. This happened before I was elected last year – November 2011. I support terminating this contract immediately.”

C’mon Ms. Sane. Your other claim—easily translated into employment or academic advancement —-for whom?  Residents of a foreign country?

Phooey.

Fort Bend ISD made public initial results of the iAchieve program; surely instead of dodging the question Ms. Sane would support making public the results of an HCC Qatar and 2008 bond election account investigation.

Would the Chron board agree?

 

Proposition 3 designed for only one company

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When Texas voters go to the polls this November, nine proposed constitutional amendments will be on the ballot. Big Jolly Politics previously published information on Proposition 6 here where we outlined suspected coordination between a state agency employee and current elected officials & former state bureaucrats was being used to facilitate its passage. BJP argued in a prior post that it is not an essential role of government to be making bank revolving loans. In today’s’ post we look at Proposition 3 which is designed for the benefit of only ONE company.

According to the Texas Secretary of State website Proposition 3 or HJR 133 would:

“authorize local political subdivisions to extend the length of time that aircraft parts could remain temporarily in this state before being subject to ad valorem taxation. Under current law, merchandise, wares, and goods (including aircraft parts) may remain in this state temporarily for up to 175 days before being subject to ad valorem taxation; the proposed amendment would permit taxing entities to extend the exemption up to 730 days after the date that a person acquired or imported aircraft parts in the state.”

HJR 133, authored by Linda Harper-Brown (Irving) and its companion HB3121 sponsored by Senator Bob Duell (Greenville) would extend the “Freeport exemption” for an inventory of aircraft parts up to 730 days.

In its July 2013 Tax Wrapup for the 83rd session, The Texas Taxpayers and Research Association wrote:

“This narrow expansion of the Freeport exemption is designed to encourage aircraft parts supplier Aviall to locate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but will also encourage existing businesses to invest additional resources in Texas.”

Proposition 3 is designed for ONE company.

Texas Republicans incessantly whine about Congress writing laws resulting in the government picking and choosing the winners and losers. Here we have two Republican elected officials in Texas, Linda Harper-Brown and Bob Duell doing the same thing; Proposition 3 is designed for only one company.

On that principle alone I will vote NO on Prop 3.

Houston city controller candidates to go before Chron board

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Old promo picture of City of Houston skyline

A source closely associated with the Houston city controller race indicates current Houston city controller Ronald Green and challenger Bill Frazer will each meet separately with the Houston Chronicle board early tomorrow afternoon. Speaking under the condition of anonymity, this same source has learned the Houston Chronicle has agreed to allow Ron Green to be accompanied a “staffer”. Multiple sources indicate Ronald Green has been out of town; hopefully Green was not flying first class this time.

Bill Frazer of course, does not need help.

As an expert in the financial & accounting field for over 39 years, Bill Frazer knows the responsibility of the City Controller is to serve as a watchdog for taxpayer dollars, not spend those taxpayer dollars on first class airplane tickets or seek leniency for a five-time convicted felon who targeted African-American neighborhoods in a real estate and forgery scam, nor have personal financial ties to said scammer.

Tell Ron Green you know all about his record and want a CPA in the office of Houston city controller and that CPA is Bill Frazer.

 

 

 

 

 

Current, former Texas bureaucrats shill for passage of Prop 6

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The website of H2O4Texas is hosted by a former legislative director to Texas State Senator Kip Averitt, former State Senator Averitt himself is advocating passage of Prop 6, and a former Texas Water Development Board project manager emerged in support of Prop 6 passage. Is there coordination between former & current elected officials of Texas and current employees of Texas state agencies to shill for passage of Prop 6? Hard working, taxpaying middle class Texans need to know before going to the polls, as early voting begins in a few short weeks.

A search on whois.net using www.h2o4texas.org reveals the domain was created on August 6th, 2009 and was last updated on June 6th, 2013. A Josh Meeks of Austin, Texas is listed as the registrant of the domain. Last week BJP published this post reporting Texas State Senators Tommy Williams and Troy Fraser serve as honorary co-chairs of another group, Texans For Prop 6-Yes. That’s one clue that some advocates of Prop 6 passage are representative of elected officials of Texas and are anything BUT representative of middle-class Texans.

So who is Josh Meeks? Is his support of H2O4Texas impartial and truly representative of everyday middle class Texans? Or is he associated with a former elected official?

According to a LinkedIn profile, there is a Josh Meeks of Austin, Texas who lists his current role as “Legislative Director / Communications Director at State Senator Kip Averitt”

Tsk, tsk Josh. Time to update your LinkedIn profile; Texas State Senator Kip Averitt stepped down from his seat in March 2010 citing health problems.

There is a also a Josh Meeks serving as Director at ROSS Communications. The website for ROSS Communications contains a biography of Josh Meeks that reads ” …where he served a communications director and legislative director for state Senator Kip Averitt, and as communications director for the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.”

Josh Meeks profile

The Josh Meeks of ROSS Communications appears to be the same Josh Meeks listed in the LinkedIn profile I referenced earlier.

Former Texas State Senator Kip Averitt BTW now serves a team member of Averitt & Associates and as a Board of Trustee of the Texas Water Foundation. The H2O4Texas website also publishes the logo of Averitt & Associates under the section “Keystone Sponsors.”

Keystone sponsors

Lastly, one Angela Dean Kennedy posted a comment on this blog in support of Prop 6.

kennedy comment

Once again I headed to Linkedin and found an Angela Kennedy currently serving as an Engineer at DSHS since May 2013 after previously serving as Project Manager for the Texas Water Development Board.

kennedy linked in

Just your average, middle class Texans in support of Prop 6 passage right?

 

Missouri City, Texas – Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Rates

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Missouri City Texas

From missouricitytx.gov

The Missouri City, Texas City Council will hold two public hearings on a proposal to increase total tax revenues from properties on the tax roll in the preceding tax year by 7.21 percent (percentage by which proposed tax rate exceeds lower of rollback tax rate or effective tax rate calculated under Chapter 26, Tax Code).

Whew!

The first public hearing will be held on Sept. 19, 2103 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, Council Chambers, 1522 Texas Parkway, Missouri City, Texas.

The second public hearing will be held on Sep. 23, 2013 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, Council Chambers, 1522 Texas Parkway, Missouri City, Texas.

If you live in Missouri City or the ETJ, I encourage you to attend. Will a representative from the Fort Bend County Appraisal District will be in attendance as well?