From the very moment that Dan Patrick declared his candidacy for Senate District 7, he has faced overwhelming odds. Three polished, experienced and connected politicians ran against him in the primary. News media ridiculed him daily, laughing at the audacity of a radio talk show host daring to run for public office. There was no way, they said, that his “small” base of listeners could propel him to victory.
After crushing his three primary opponents, their message changed to “of course he won, he has the bully pulpit of a radio station every day”. And “even though he won, he’ll be a joke in the Senate, no one will listen and he won’t get anything done”. Or “Patrick is just grandstanding and won’t devote time or effort to legislation”.
And it continues even today. Sen. Patrick’s hometown newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, features this headline: Patrick loses appraisal vote.
What utter nonsense.
What Sen. Patrick managed to do last night and in the early morning hours of today was to force a recorded vote on appraisal caps!
Patrick attached an amendment to HB 438 which lowered the cap from 10{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} to 5{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. The senators present went bonkers, with Sen. Ellis calling two points of order (later dropped) and Sen. Watson begging Dan to pull his amendment so that there would not be a recorded vote.
The members were visibly angry that there would be a recorded vote, with the opponents huddling up to determine strategy. Sen. Patrick stood his ground, refusing to cave under the pressure. Sen. Hinojosa then made a motion to table (killing the amendment) which prevailed.
A loss? Hardly.
For the first time since the fight began, we now know exactly who is for homeowners and who is against them in the Senate.
Wouldn’t you have liked to have had this information years ago? We would have, except for the dreaded “Rosebush Rule” which allows Senators to hide from their constituents by saying they support significant property tax relief, but their misguided colleagues prevent them from delivering.
That game is over. Dan Patrick in the Senate means folks need to go on record. That fact alone is accomplishment enough (for now).
In the GOP primary last year, Republican voters overwhelmingly supported an appraisal cap referendum, with 92{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the voters favoring a cap of 5{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} or less. And yet the Legislature will finish this session without lowering the cap.
Because of Sen. Patrick’s maneuvering to get a recorded vote last night, a Senator will no longer be able to go home to the voters and tell them that he is for appraisal caps while at the same time sandbagging them in Austin.
Folks, that is a huge victory, and yet the Chronicle labels it a loss! Talk about Chronically Biased!
We now know who is on our side; click on their names for contact information, and then call or email to THANK them for doing the right thing. [Don’t know who represents you? Click here to find out.]
THE GOOD GUYS
- Harris – Republican friend of taxpaying homeowners
- Hegar – Republican friend of taxpaying homeowners
- Jackson – Republican friend of taxpaying homeowners
- Janek – Republican friend of taxpaying homeowners
- Nelson – Republican friend of taxpaying homeowners
- Nichols – Republican friend of taxpaying homeowners
- Patrick – Republican friend of taxpaying homeowners
- Williams – Republican friend of taxpaying homeowners
All of the Democrats and 10 Republicans voted AGAINST Dan’s amendment to lower appraisal caps.
Here is the list of “Republicans” who voted against the clear and explicit instructions of 92{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of GOP primary voters last year who demanded an appraisal cap of 5{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} or less.
THE BAD GUYS
- Averitt – “R”, District 22
- Brimer – “R”, District 10
- Corona – “R”, District 16
- Deuell – “R”, District 2
- Duncan – “R”, District 28
- Eltife – “R”, District 1
- Estes – “R”, District 10
- Seliger – “R”, District 31
- Shapiro – “R”, District 8
- Wentworth – “R”, District 25
(Fraser-R, Gallegos-D and Ogden-R were absent).
Oh, by the way, the bill passed because everyone was focused on Sen. Patrick’s amendment!
It’s a good bill, giving some relief to homeowners by doing away with the appraisal district’s ability to raise your appraisal by 30{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} if they skipped you for a couple of years. Now, if they want to stiff you, they have to do it yearly. That is a major improvement. Even if it was authored by a, you guessed it, Democrat Rep. Hochberg. It will now go to the governor’s desk for his approval.
All I can say is thank you Sen. Patrick. And thank you to the voters of SD 7 who put him there.
Ineffective freshman my arse.
Note: this post originally appeared on LoneStarTimes.com.