The Collin County Observer

Candidates spar over conservative credentials in Collin County judge race

Thursday, January 28, 2010
By ED HOUSEWRIGHT / The Dallas Morning News

John Muns is running for the top office in Collin County government, so don't call him a moderate.

"I am a conservative Republican," Muns said at a candidate forum Thursday. "I've always been a conservative Republican. I believe in low taxes, fiscal responsibility, transparency and limited government."

Muns is trying to unseat Collin County Judge Keith Self, who says he's the real conservative in the March 2 Republican primary.

"There's a stark difference," Self said at the forum, sponsored by several local Tea Party chapters.

Self and Muns, political veterans with die-hard supporters, are each trying to win over party loyalists by touting their conservative credentials.

Self, a retired Army officer who is seeking a second term, said he's shown he's a fiscal conservative by helping to lower the county tax rate and slow the growth of county spending.

"Four years ago, I said I would stand with the taxpayers, and I did," said Self, who as county judge heads the Commissioners Court that approves the county budget and tax rate.

Muns, who has served on the Plano school board for 17 years, counters that the county budget has "been cut to the bone."

He said spending has been slowed at the expense of adding courts and sheriff's deputies, which he said are desperately needed.

"We must be proactive in keeping up with resources for law enforcement and the courts to keep our neighborhoods safe," Muns said.

The winner faces Democrat David Smith in the November general election. But a Democrat hasn't held Collin County office in more than 20 years, so the stakes are elevated in the March primary.

Both of the Republican candidates have lined up heavyweight endorsements. Self is being backed by local state Reps. Jodie Laubenberg, Jerry Madden and Ken Paxton. He also has the endorsement of the Collin County Association of Realtors.

Muns, by comparison, has been endorsed by the Real Estate Council, which represents Dallas-area commercial real estate companies. He also is supported by former Collin County Commissioner Phyllis Cole and former Plano Mayor Pat Evans.

Ties to Plano

Muns, a real estate developer, has strong ties to Plano. He graduated from Plano Senior High School in 1978 and has served on the Plano Economic Development Board and the Plano Symphony Orchestra board.

Muns' father, James Muns, was Plano mayor from 1992 to 1996. His mother, Betty Muns, serves on the Arts of Collin County Commission.

Muns said he would work more closely with local mayors. Some were angered by Self's opposition to a 2007 county bond proposal that included money for city projects, he said. Voters overwhelmingly approved the $328.9 million bond program.

"We must be better partners with city, regional and state leaders," Muns said.

He said the county should work with cities to attract businesses to the area.

"We have to be proactive and give businesses incentives to come to Collin County," Muns said.

Self, however, said keeping the county tax rate low is the best way to draw and keep businesses.

"It's been proven again and again and again that business goes where it is welcome and stays where it is welcome," he said.

Self lives in McKinney. He moved to the county in 2000 after retiring from a 25-year career in the Army. He's a graduate of the United States Military Academy and was a Green Beret and a Ranger.

He serves on the boards of the Samaritan Inn homeless shelter and the Prestonwood Pregnancy Center.

read the rest of the article at The Dallas Morning News....

All candidates for public office in Texas are required to file periodic campaign finance reports listing their contributors and expenses. The January semi-annual report was due on January 15, 2010. It covers all contributions and expenses from July 1 through December 31.

Candidates for the Texas Legislature are required to file their reports electronically with the Texas Ethics Commission in Austin. These reports can be accessed by voters with a simple search tool.

In furthering the interests of open and fair campaigns, The Collin County Observer is publishing summaries of the state legislative candidates' filings.

Listed here are the contributions, expenses, and campaign account balance as of December 31. Also listed are any loan balances to the campaign.

To help the voter judge where a candidate gets support, also detailed are any contributions of $1,000 or more.

Collin County is represented by 4 Texas Legislators whose districts are include large portions of the county. Our state legislators are elected for 2 year terms. This year only one state representatives position is contested - District 66. Jerry Madden, Ken Paxton and Jodie Laubenberg are the 3 incumbent state representatives who are running uncontested in both the primary and general elections.

District 66 encompasses west Plano, generally west of Custer and south of SH 121. Brian McCall has served as the representative for District 66 since 1991. He recently announced his retirement, setting the stage for a contested primary.

Texas Legislature - District 66

MABRIE GRIFFITH JACKSON

http://www.mabriejackson.com/

Contributions July - Dec. $41,466
Expenditures July - Dec. $14,281
Campaign account balance Dec. 31 - $106,635
Loans - $80,000

Major contributors (+- $1,000):
Harry Bauge - $1,000
Blackridge - $1,000
Bruce Gibson - $1,000
Nan Griffin - $1,000
Allyn Harris - $1,200
Nancy Harvard - $1,000
Hillco PAC - $1,000
Martin and Mack Jackson - $1,000
Bill Kramer - $1,000
Charles Kramer - $1,000
Michael Loehr - $1,000
Mabrie Jackson for City Council - $2,441
David McCall - $2,500
Jenny McCall - $1,000
Andy Pierce - $1,000
Bobby Ray - $2,500
Joe Rice - $5,000
TEXPAC-Tx Medical Association PAC - $1,500

-----------------

WAYNE S. RICHARD

http://www.standwithwayne.com/

Contributions July - Dec. $104,772
Expenditures July - Dec. $15,736
Campaign account balance Dec. 31 - $106,635
Loans - $4,731

Major contributors (+- $1,000):
Scott Conrad (in-kind) - $2,100
Sharon Ketko - $1,500
LEAD Enterprises LLC (in-kind) - $50,000
Jason Luse (in-kind) - $7,500
Peter Morrison (in-kind) - $11,433
Peter Morrison - $1,200
Paul Owens (in-kind) - $21,332
Patricia Richard - $2,000

-----------------------------

VAN TAYLOR

http://www.vantaylor.com/

Contributions July - Dec. $18,835
Expenditures July - Dec. $83,524
Campaign account balance Dec. 31 - $15,311
Loans - $80,000

Major contributors (+- $1,000):
Louis Beecherl - $1,000
Micheal George - $1,000
John V. Lattimore - $5,000
John Tatum - $1,000
Nicholas Taylor - $10,000

-----------------------------

In this series on campaign finance reporting:

The Races for County Chair

District Court races: Campaign contributions

Bill

3 Republicans, 2 Libertarians seeking McCall's Plano seat

Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Brandon Formby, Theodore Kim and Ian McCann / The Dallas Morning News

The hottest legislative race in Collin County will be in House District 66. Three Republicans and two Libertarians will vie to replace longtime state Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, who is not seeking re-election for the western Plano seat.

They include former Plano City Council member Mabrie Jackson; Wayne Richard, founder of an advertising technology firm and a group called the National Coalition for the Defense of American Sovereignty; and Van Taylor, a real estate financier and former Marine.

Libertarians Josef Novak and Benjamin Westfried will face off in a party convention in March for a spot on the November ballot.

No Democrats filed to run in any legislative races in Collin County.

In other races:

• In House District 67, veteran state Rep. Jerry Madden of Plano drew no Republican challengers. No Democrat filed for the seat, either.

• In House District 70, incumbent Republican Ken Paxton will be challenged by Libertarian David A. Johnson.

• In House District 89, incumbent Republican Jodie Laubenberg had no challengers in any party.

• In state Senate District 8, longtime Republican Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, will face David Hall, a former Plano school board candidate and self-described futurist, in the GOP primary.

link to article at The Dallas Morning News....

Collin County is represented by 4 Texas Legislators whose districts are include large portions of the county. I list here all those candidates I know about. If I've missed someone, it is inadvertent. Please send me a note and I'll make the correction.

District 66

Brian McCall has been the District 66 representative for the last 20 years. In the last legislative session, McCall was appointed chair of the House Calendars Committee, making him one of Texas' most powerful legislators. Nevertheless, this weekend, he announced he would not be seeking re-election.

WAYNE S. RICHARD

Wayne Richard is founder and CEO of ICglobal, a provider of new media and advertising technologies. Mr. Richard received his Bachelors of Business Administration in 1980 from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He is Chairman of the SMU Cox Alumni Board of Directors and sits on The Salvation Army Plano Advisory Board.

Richard's campaign aims to appeal to the exreme right wing Republican. He has been campaigning at numerous local "Tea Parties" on a platform against secularism and socialism and for sovereignty and limited government. His campaign website features videos of his speeches at several local Tea Parties. In one he stands on a street corner with a bullhorn, as Collin County Judge Keith Self offers encouragement.

Richard is the founder of National Coalition for the Defense of American Sovereignty (NCDAS), whose mission statement is, "to educate and encourage Americans who are hungry for a factual account on domestic and international events and the subsequent governmental actions that frequently undermine the US Constitution."

Richard has been endorsed by the North Texas Tea Party.

MABRIE GRIFFITH JACKSON

Mabrie Jackson resigned her seat on the Plano City Council to make a run for the District 66 seat. She was elected to the City Council in 2008, upsetting long term incumbent Loretta Ellerbe. Jackson earned a degree in communications from the University of Texas. She works for Microsoft Corp. as an account manager. She has previously served as a Legislative Assistant to the Texas Legislature.

Jackson was the former chair of Collin County's Child Protective Services Board, and has served on the boards of the Collin County Assistance Center, and the Visiting Nurses Association. She has been active in community affairs in the city, county and schools and was named one of the “21 Leaders For the 21st Century” by Inside Collin County Business.

District 67

JERRY MADDEN

Jerry Madden has served Plano's 67th district in the Texas Legislature since 1992. He is the former chair and now the vice-chair of the House Corrections Committee. He also serves on the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudene Committee.

Madden has retired from the ownership of Jerry Madden Insurance.

He is a West Point graduate, and a Viet Nam veteran. In 1979, he earned a Master of Science in Management and Administration Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas.

In 2007, Rep. Madden was designated by Texas Monthly as one of its 10 Best Legislators. He is the first recipient in 2007 of the Carmen Miller Michael Mental Health Advocate Prism Award, a University of Texas at Dallas Distinguished Alumnus Award, was named as a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of State Government’s Justice Center, and was nominated to serve as Chairman of the Law and Criminal Justice Committee of the National Council of State Legislatures.

Madden's campaign web site has not been updated yet for the 2010 campaign, and touts his accomplishments in the passage of, "highly successful 2007 criminal justice system reforms which sought to divert individuals from prison through mental health and drug treatment programs, provide more opportunities in prison for rehabilitation, and properly utilize probation and parole mechanisms to avoid greater costs if new prisons were built."

JON COLE

This is Plano resident Jon Cole's second attempt to unseat Jerry Madden. In 2008, Cole ran a much criticized campaign which included "push polling", misleading flyers and mean-spirited attacks.

The Collin County Observer wrote of the 2008 campaign, "This is old-fashioned, shoot-em-up, nasty Texas politics." Cole's tactics almost worked; he garnered 48.27% of the votes in the March, 2008 GOP primary.

Jon Cole received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin with a double major in history and government and graduated from the Institute of Comparative Political and Economic Systems at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is the Marketing Director for Total Physician Review, a healthcare consulting group based in Collin County. He has served as a legislative aide in the Texas House of Representatives, has worked in the Governor's Criminal Justice Division analyzing Texas' drug court system and assisting the Texas Crime Stoppers program. He also assisted the Governor's Office of Homeland Security produce the state's emergency communication network.

Mr. Cole's campaign web site is "under construction". He is endorsed by the North Texas Tea Party.

District 70

I am not aware of any challengers to 4 term incumbent Ken Paxton. There are, however persistent rumors that Rep. Paxton is wanting to toss his hat in the ring for Shapiro's Senate District 8 seat. We shall see.

District 89

I am not aware of any challengers to 4 term incumbent Jodi Laubenberg.

Bill

========================================

In this series of previews of the 2010 election:

* Collin County Court at Law #2
* Collin County Court at Law #3
* Collin County Court at Law #4
* Collin County Court at Law #6
* Collin County District Attorney
* Collin County Legislative races
* Collin County's 219th District Court
* Collin County Commissioners Court
* State Board of Education

From a press release by Judge Greg Willis:

For immediate release

Judge Greg Willis Resigns Judgeship, Announces Candidacy For Collin County District Attorney

McKinney, Texas, October 12, 2009 – Surrounded by family and supporters on the Collin County Courthouse steps, Republican Greg Willis announced today his campaign for Collin County District Attorney. The County Court at Law Judge resigned his bench and is seeking to fill the seat of current District Attorney John Roach, who recently announced that he was not seeking re-election.

In his announcement, Willis outlined his plans to “aggressively prosecute crimes against children, sexual and domestic assaults, and drunk driving.”

“My experience as a private practice attorney, as well as a Collin County prosecutor and then judge, provide me with the background to serve in an effective and efficient manner from day one,” said Willis, who was twice listed as a Texas Monthly SuperLawyer®. “Now I ask the citizens of Collin County to give me the opportunity to build on the strong foundation established by John Roach and his high-caliber staff. It will be my goal to serve as Collin County District Attorney with the utmost personal and professional integrity.”

“I’ve seen the devastation wrought by those who prey upon our children and our elderly, by those who assault our sisters and our mothers. I’ve seen the senselessness of innocent victims who’ve been maimed or killed by those who refuse to drink responsibly,” Willis continued. “I ask that you give me the chance to lead the fight to keep our families safe, our neighborhoods secure, and our sense of justice intact.”

Joining Willis for the announcement, and offering their public endorsements, were State Representatives Jodie Laubenberg and Ken Paxton and County Commissioner Joe Jaynes.

Willis has also earned the endorsement of numerous mayors from across the county, including Brian Loughmiller of McKinney, Steve Terrell of Allen, Maher Maso of Frisco, Eric Hogue of Wylie, Charles Niswanger of Prosper, Don Smith of Farmersville, Bill Carmickle of Lucas, Jim Lewis of Celina, Joe Cordina of Parker, Reed Greer of Melissa, Johnny Hamm of New Hope, Norma Martin of Lavon, and Johnny Stevenson of Nevada. All four elected Collin County Constables, Paul Elkins, Joe Barton, Johnny Todd, and Chuck Presley have also endorsed Willis.

“I have known Greg Willis for over twenty-five years. He is a true conservative, an excellent judge and attorney, and a dedicated husband and father,” says Representative Paxton. “Collin County taxpayers would be well-served to have Greg Willis as their District Attorney.”

Willis commented, “I’m honored to have earned so many key endorsements in the beginning days of our campaign, and look forward to building an even stronger campaign organization in the weeks ahead.”

Greg Willis was first appointed judge of the Collin County Court at Law #6 in 2005 and was elected for a full term in 2006. In April 2009, Judge Willis was awarded the Patriot Award by the Employers Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense organization that promotes a culture of employers who support and value the military service of their employees.

Before his appointment as judge, Willis was in private practice with his wife, Jill, at The Willis Law Firm in Plano. He handled primarily criminal, employment, and family matters. Prior to opening The Willis Law Firm, Willis served four years as a misdemeanor and felony prosecutor for the Collin County Criminal District Attorney. Before that, Willis practiced employment law in the Dallas offices of Haynes & Boone, L.L.P., and Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, L.L.P.

Willis, a 1991 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, and an honors graduate of Baylor University, served as President of the Collin County Bar Association (2001-2002), and was named a Texas SuperLawyer® 2004 and 2005 (Texas Monthly). He is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

Willis and his wife, Jill, live in Allen with their son and daughter. He is a charter member of the Allen Sunrise Rotary Club and previously served on the Leadership Allen Alumni Board. The Willis family is active at Chase Oaks Church in Plano.

Collin County's State House Representative Jodie Laubenberg serves on three legislative committees. Most committees meet in the morning. Texas House records show that this session, she has missed morning committee recorded quorum calls over 85% of the time, including over 60% of the meetings of the House Public Health Committee.

Most of the 8:00 AM Public Health Committee meetings were recessed after the House was called into session and met again later in the day. Rep. Laubenberg did show up for most of the afternoon sessions of the committee.

Of the 11 meetings of the Public Health Committee held since February 24 and for which minutes are posted on the Legislature's web site, Rep. Laubenberg was absent for 2 and missed the morning session on 5 more.

Because of her attendance, Ms. Laubenberg was marked "absent" for 60% of the roll call votes in the committee. Since the legislative session began, the Public Health Committee has voted to pass 70 bills to the full House. Laubenberg was marked "absent" on all but 28 of those 70 roll call votes.

Rep. Laubenberg also sits on the Natural Resources and on the Local & Consent Calendars Committees.

The Natural Resources Committee has posted minutes on 10 meetings, 6 of them began at 8:00 AM. Ms. Laubenberg missed 6 of the 10 quorum calls, including all but one of the 8:00 AM calls. However, since she did eventually make it to most of the committee meetings, she was marked "absent" in only 13 of the 85 roll call votes on bills.

The Local & Consent Calendars Committee has met 4 times this session. Ms. Laubenberg was marked absent in 2 of the 4. In those 2 absences, she also missed the recorded votes to pass bills to the House floor.

I have sent the following email to Representative Jodie Laubenberg:

Rep. Laubenberg,

I have noticed that you seem to have a hard time making roll calls in the morning.

In the three committees on which you serve, I note that the minutes show you missing 12 out of 14 morning quorum calls.

Like most of your constituents, I work for a living. In order to pay my bills and taxes, I must wake up and be on my way early every morning.

If you would send me your phone number, I would be happy to offer you wake up calls at 6:00 AM. Perhaps that would help you better represent our district.

Sincerely,

Bill Baumbach
The Collin County Observer

Rep. Laubenberg (R-Parker), who is serving her 4th term as representative from District 89 in south-eastern Collin County, was the past chair of the Public Health Committee. After the previous chair, Dianne Delisi decided not to run for re-election, then Speaker Tom Craddick appointed Laubenberg chair in July of 2008 after the 80th Session ended.

When the current session began, new Speaker Joe Straus demoted her and appointed Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) as the new committee chair.

The Collin County Observer has criticized Ms. Laubenberg for not issuing a report to the legislature on regional health care.

Last session, Laubenberg authored HB 3154 , which called for a series of public hearings on regional approaches to public health. She held only one meeting, which was highly orchestrated and allowed no public testimony. No public hearings were ever held, and the committee report that her bill mandated to be submitted to the legislature by September 1, 2008 has still not been released.

Bill

Two State Senators and four State Legislators represent the voters in the Texas State Legislature from districts that include parts of Collin County.

We the voters elect these folks to represent our interests, yet many of our local governments believe they have to hire expensive and well-connected lobbyists in order for their voice to be heard.

It would be near impossible to determine exactly how much of your tax money has been spent by local Collin County governments and quasi-governmental bodies to lobby the current session of the Legislature. However, the Texas Ethics Commission does require lobbyists to register and to reveal who they are representing, along with an estimated billing of their efforts.

I have listed below those lobbyists who have reported that they represent local government bodies, as well as government associations that our tax money pays dues to, and quasi-governmental bodies that operate with your tax dollars.

All this lobbying begs the question, Why do we need to pay others to insure that our elected officials look out for us?

Your elected State Senators are:
District 8, Florence Shapiro
District 30, Craig Estes

Your elected State Representatives are:
District 66, Brian McCall
District 67, Jerry Madden
District 70, Ken Paxton
District 89, Jodie Laubenberg

Bill

The following list is distilled from Texas Ethics Commission Reports. The list shows the client, followed by their lobbyist(s), along with the lobbyists registration number and the anticipated reportable revenue from that client.

City of Allen
Hill, Fred (00020297) $25,000 - $49.999.99

City of Celina
Scott, Rider (00035064) Less Than $10,000.00

City of Frisco
Aghamalian, Brandon T. (00059188) $10,000 - $24,999.99
Carr, Snapper L. (00039466) $10,000 - $24,999.99
McCartt, J. (00050674) Less Than $10,000.00
Russell, Kerry E. (00017375) Less Than $10,000.00

City of McKinney
Erben, Randall H. (00013689) $25,000 - $49.999.99
Wakefield, Kakhi Huffaker (00062269) Less Than $10,000.00
Yarbrough, Brian G. (00037475) Less Than $10,000.00

City of Richardson
Hill, Fred (00020297) $50,000 - $99,999.99

Collin County, Texas
Hudson, James Greg (00036094) Less Than $10,000.00

Conference of Urban Counties
Hill, Fred (00020297) $50,000 - $99,999.99

County Judges & Commissioners Association of Texas
Allison, James P. (00050989) $100,000 - $149,999.99

Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Brown, Jay P. (00039172) Less Than $10,000.00
Gibson, Machree Garrett (00028312) Less Than $10,000.00
Graydon, Galt (00013173) Less Than $10,000.00
Hill, Fred (00020297) $10,000 - $24,999.99
Propes, Jay W. (00014474) Less Than $10,000.00
Swan, Shannon Lea (00014744) Less Than $10,000.00

North Texas Municipal Water District
Embrey, Ty H. (00056282) Less Than $10,000.00
Lewis, Ron E. (00020172) $25,000 - $49.999.99
Martinez, Mindy M. (00060781) Less Than $10,000.00
Rochelle, Martin C. (00053106) $10,000 - $24,999.99
Russell, Kerry E. (00017375) Less Than $10,000.00
Sledge, Brian L. (00041086) Less Than $10,000.00
Valdez, Gerald A. (00053423) $25,000 - $49.999.99

North Texas Tollway Authority
Acevedo, Julianne (00053651) Less Than $10,000.00
Cain, Randy C. (00025263) $25,000 - $49.999.99
Eschberger, Brenda (00029854) Less Than $10,000.00
Johnson, Michael J. (00055885) Less Than $10,000.00
Kelley, Russell T. (00013737) Less Than $10,000.00
Kemptner, Sara (00057952) Less Than $10,000.00
McCarley, James Bradley (00034739) $50,000 - $99,999.99
McGarah, Carol (00051437) Less Than $10,000.00
Waldon, Barbara (00057030) Less Than $10,000.00

Texas Association of Counties
Boethel, Carey (00013205) Less Than $10,000.00
Brown, Timothy W. (00060546) Less Than $10,000.00
Casteel, Carter (00051154) $50,000 - $99,999.99
Emerson, Paul K. (00060548) Less Than $10,000.00
Erskine, Candis B. (00035590) $ 0.00
Erskine, John M. Jr. (00012969) $25,000 - $49.999.99
Flores-Ortiz, Aurora (00060541) Less Than $10,000.00
Forbes, Nanette (00056550) Less Than $10,000.00
Ford, Victoria C. (00060035) $10,000 - $24,999.99
Garcia, Laura (00060547) Less Than $10,000.00
Hill, Fred (00020297) $150,000 - $199,999.99
Leo, Myra (00034631) Less Than $10,000.00
McGinnis, Larry D. (00013432) $25,000 - $49.999.99
Nicholes, Laura (00053596) Less Than $10,000.00
Norris, Karen A. (00013179) Less Than $10,000.00
Roberts, Cary L. (00033594) $50,000 - $99,999.99
Sugg, Paul J. (00050735) Less Than $10,000.00
Thompson, John (00053597) Less Than $10,000.00

"It's not going to be for sissies." That's how County judge Keith Self cautioned the members of the court on testifying before a Texas House Committee. Self was relating to his experience at the Texas House Committee on County Affairs hearing on HB561 last Monday.

In his description of the hearing he said "it was all there, the politics of destruction and demonization." What he meant to say was, "There were a lot of witnesses there who disagreed with me." He then charged that he was chastised by two counties whose IT efforts were still in the dark ages.

In fact, there were no personal or nasty attacks. HB561 is a bad bill; it drew a determined opposition from auditors from around the state. The County Affairs Committee saw the bill as an attempt by the county to circumvent the verdict of the court in Collin County vs. Collin County Auditor

Self noted that he "learned a lot" from the experience. He was warning the court that Collin County efforts to support a bill allowing a county to require engineers, architects and surveyors to compete for county business by competitive bid would face strong opposition.

Self was speaking about the county's support for HB1105. That bill, authored by Jodie Laubenberg and Ken Paxton was written at the request of the Collin County Commissioners.

Self is right, he's going to face some very stiff opposition to HB1105. And he'll likely lose.

He might as well get used to it. It would appear that none of the county's legislative agenda will make it into law.

Collin County has defined these bills as its Legislative Agenda:

HB561
Author: Jerry Madden, Plano
"Relating to the authority of county auditors with respect to computer software and data of other local officers or departments."
This bill aims to strip the county auditor of the ability to monitor software. It was filed at the request of Collin County, and was presented in public hearing on Monday. It will not get out of Committee.

HB562
Author: Jerry Madden, Plano
"Relating to certain employment functions of county government."
This bill is also seen as an attack on the Collin County Auditor. It was debated in Monday's public hearing. I suspect its only chance of getting enacted will be if all mention of the auditor are removed.

HB1480
Author: Jerry Madden, Plano
"Relating to the use of video teleconferencing systems in certain criminal proceedings."
This bill would allow video testimony in grand jury proceedings and in certain plea hearings. It is generally considered unconstitutional, and will not get out of committee. It was written at the request of the Commissioners Court.

HB1105
Author: Jodi Laubenberg, Parker | et al.
"Relating to procuring contracts for certain professional services by a governmental entity."
This bill would allow the county to add a competitive bid dimension to the process of selecting engineers and architects for large construction projects. It was also filed at the request of the commissioners court. While the bill has some merit, it will draw powerful opposition. I doubt it will survive.

SB855 & HB9
Author: John Carona, Richardson & Truitt | et al.
"Relating to local options regarding transportation and mobility improvement projects in certain counties."
These bills would allow citizens to hold an election to form a mass transportation district that could levy a variety of taxes. It has wide support of most of the larger cities, and of DART and the RTC. It is expected to pass. The County opposes the bills.

HB2334 & SB882
Author: Geren & Carona
"Relating to the powers and duties of a regional tollway authority, including the establishment of an administrative adjudication hearing procedure; creating an offense."
These bills would gut the ability of the Collin County Toll Road Authority to build any toll road without getting the approval of the NTTA. The bills are seen as an aggressive self-defense move by the NTTA after Collin County tried to take over a portion of the Dallas North Tollway. By grasping for a piece of the DNT, the commissioners may lose the ability to build the Outer Loop. The bill sets the stage for a David and Goliath political battle. The problem is that the county forgot to bring their sling. Or as I remember from the "Untouchables", the county brought a knife to a gun fight. The commissioners are asking NTTA to negotiate a truce.

Bill

Joe Straus, the new Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives published his list of committee appointments today.

The Collin County delegation lost 2 chairmanships while picking up one.

The local winner was Plano's Brian McCall, who gained the chair of the powerful Calendars Committee.

As expected, Parker's Jodi Laubenberg lost her gavel on the Public Health committee.

Rep. Jerry Madden of Plano was also demoted. He will not be chairing the Corrections Committee. However, Madden will continue to have a powerful voice in prison and justice reform issues as he remains on the Corrections Committee and will serve as its Vice-Chair. In an article on Burkablog, Texas Monthly's Paul Burka notes that Madden and the new chair Rep. Jim McReynolds, (D-Lufkin) will be able to work together smoothly.

Rep. Ken Paxton from McKinney was a big looser - Straus stripped him of both his committee Vice-Chairmanships.

Here are the committee appointments of the Collin County delegation to the 81st Texas Legislature:

Rep. Jodi Laubenberg

• Local & Consent Calendars
• Natural Resources
• Public Health

Rep. Jerry Madden

• Corrections, Vice Chair
• Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Rep. Brian McCall

• Calendars, Chair
• Culture, Recreation & Tourism
• Higher Education

Rep. Ken Paxton

• Land & Resource Management
• Ways & Means

Sen. Craig Estes

• Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Chair
• Business & Commerce
• International Relations & Trade
• Natural Resources, Vice Chair
• Veteran Affairs & Military Installations
• Select Comm. on Base Realignment and Closure

Sen. Florence Shapiro

• Administration
• Education, Chair
• Finance
• Transportation & Homeland Security

It would seem that Madden and McCall will be able to wield considerable influence in the 81st, while both Paxton and Laubenberg have been sent to well deserved exiles in Siberia.

Both local state senators will chair important senate committees: Sen. Shapiro retained her gavel in the Senate Education Committee and Sen. Estes (whose sprawling 30th Sen. District is mostly rural) will chair the newly created Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee.

In the opinion of this writer, both Speaker Straus and Lt. Governor Dewhurst did a reasonable job in their committee appointments. If Collin County citizens want more influential representation in the next legislature, those voters will just have to elect better representatives.

Bill

Notes:
List of all Texas House committees and members
List of all Texas Senate committees and members

The news today is that Tom Craddick will not be re-elected Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

The election of a new speaker will affect many state house committee assignments, and especially committee chair appointments. Craddick is well known for freezing out those that displease him and rewarding his faithful with powerful committee assignments.

Following the election of a new speaker, two Collin County legislators may loose their powerful committee chairmanships.

Plano's Jerry Madden, [unfortunately] a loyal Craddick supporter, has become a highly respected expert in prison and criminal justice reform. He was the chair of the Corrections Committee, Co-chair of the committee for oversight of the Operations and Management of the Texas Youth Commission, and co-presiding officer of the joint Criminal Justice Oversight Committee.

Rep. Madden earned high marks for his handling of the TYC scandals that broke onto the news as the last legislature was just beginning. I hope the new speaker will recognize Mr. Madden's work and expertise. Texas needs substantial prison and criminal justice reform. Jerry Madden has proven that he can build consensus, and look beyond rhetoric in seeking innovative approaches to making our state safer on a limited budget.

Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, another Craddick sycophant, is chair of the Public Health committee. Frankly, I hope the new speaker recognizes that she is utterly unqualified and is ill-suited for such an important position.

I first met Ms. Laubenberg shortly after the 79th legislature killed much of the CHIP program. I attended a town hall meeting she had called. We listened to her read from a Craddick playbook and blame all budget cuts on prior democratic rule (even though the last legislature had left a huge surplus). Answering my question, she asserted that, "not one Texas child would loose benefits" under the stripped down CHIPs appropriation she voted for.

In fact, over that year and the next, more than 100,000 Texas children lost their medical benefits.

The Dallas Morning News is currently publishing an investigative series that, in part, details the horrific effects of Craddick's policy to privatize public health benefits. Ms. Laubenberg has not the intellectual heft, independence, nor the imagination that will be required to reform a broken healthcare system.

An example of her handling of difficult issues: In the last legislature, Ms. Laubenberg authored HB 3154, a bill that called for a task force to hold public hearings on seeking a regional solution to indigent public health care. As I detailed in "Laubenberg throttles regional health care committee", there were no public hearings, the committee only met once, and the report which was due on September 1st has still not been written.

The whole process was a sham, as is Jodie Laubenberg's concern for the millions of Texas' uninsured.

Plano's Brian McCall is not a committee chair - he made the mistake of challenging Speaker Craddick a few years ago for the speakership. McCall presently serves on the Financial Institutions committee and is vice chair of the Education Committee. Rep. McCall is a seasoned legislator and is highly regarded by his peers.

He is well positioned for advancement after being one of the "Gang of 11" Republican legislators who chose and pledged support for Joe Straus of San Antonio to be the next Speaker. Look to see his star ascend in the upcoming legislative session. My guess is that he will pick up a very important committee chairmanship.

Rep. Ken Paxton has shown little to recommend himself to either the past or future leadership. He currently is Vice Chair of the State Affairs committee and Vice Chair of the Property Tax relief and Appraisal reform committee.

Now if just one of these guys could get back our SH 121 billions.....

Bill

Here are the latest updates on a couple of the subjects covered in the Collin County Observer:

Collin County vs Collin County Auditor - expect much more writing from me on this.

On the 22nd, visiting Judge Calhoun ruled in favor of the auditor. This is the second time Judge Calhoun has granted summary judgments against the Commissioners Court. His final written ruling is expected in a few days.

While the ruling may be final, the turf war is most certainly not.

Laubenberg and HB 3154 - The report on regional healthcare was due on the first of September. I contacted Rep. Laubenberg's office about getting a copy and was told that the report was "running late", and not withstanding the statutory deadline, to expect it in about 30 days.

Bill

In 2007, the Texas legislature passed HB 3154. Written by Rep. Jodi Laubenberg of Parker, HB 3154 called for the creation of a "Review Committee" or task force to, "to conduct public hearings regarding, and to study the implications of, implementing regional health care service to address indigent health care in the region.".

The committee was charged specifically to:

• "(1) examine whether a regional system to provide indigent health care should be offered throughout the region;
• (2) examine whether there should be a mechanism for additional counties to participate in the regional health care system;
• (3) perform a review of funding and financing options, including a review of funding indigent health care in the region."

In simple English - many counties, including Collin, are deathly afraid that public hospitals, such as Parkland will try to expand and regionalize their reach into suburbia. Yet simply because of where they live, thousands of Texans are denied decent health care due to lack of access to these public hospitals. The committee was to bring together institutional stakeholders to discuss and propose solutions.

From the beginning, HB 3154 was criticized because while its membership included all State Representatives, all County Commissioners and all Hospital CEOs in 19 county North Texas Health Region 3, only 2 of its members represented public hospitals. There were no representatives from the charitable clinics, nor from the public itself. The committee was a stacked deck in favor of the status quo.

Laubenberg's bill required that, "The initial meeting of the committee must take place before September 30, 2007. At the initial meeting the committee shall:

• (1) adopt rules governing the committee; and
• (2) establish a work plan and schedule for future meetings."

With much media attention the committee did hold its first meeting at UTD on September 20, 2007. I was there, so was the media.

The conversations were interesting and diverse opinions were heard, but no conclusions reached. Rather, the tone of the discussions seemed to be more in the nature of opening statements. I'm sure everyone present believed there would be more meetings - just as the law required.

While there was discussion among the members of the committee, the public was not permitted to speak. I wrote Ms. Laubenberg after the meeting:

Rep. Laubenberg's response was terse:

Since I had asked to be informed of future meetings, and since I knew that the committee report was due by September 1, 2008, I recently asked Suzanne Bowers, the Chief of Staff for Ms. Laubenberg why I had not received notice of any other meetings. "There were no other meetings", she told me, "but the committee was working hard on getting the report done by the deadline".

Wow!

Laubenberg's bill calls for the committee to:
"issue a report on indigent health care that summarizes:

• (1) hearings conducted by the committee;
• (2) studies conducted by the committee;
• (3) any legislation proposed by the committee; and
• (4) any other findings or recommendations of the committee."

It will be interesting to see what a committee that only met once, and never held hearings will write in the report since:

• The Committee never held hearings.
• They never conducted studies.
• They never proposed legislation.
• They never proposed recommendations.

The committee existed only to obfuscate the real issue of access to public hospitals that beg for real answers. This is old fashioned "Good ol' boy politics" at its worst.

So I ask, Who is writing this report? There's nothing to write unless Laubenberg's staff simply writes her opinion.

It is becoming obvious that this committee existed only to further the agenda of those who do not want indigent health care to be debated in the public forum.

Any report issued in the name of this committee must be presumed discredited. The committee was a sham, and because of that, any real discussion on the need to improve the indigent health care system has been stifled.

In an editorial today, the Dallas Morning News noted that Speaker Tom Craddick just appointed Rep. Laubenberg chair of the House Public Health Committee. Her actions in throttling the North Texas review committee does not bode well for the plight of the millions of indigent and uninsured in Texas.

The fox is in charge of the hen house.

Bill

Notes:

Apres Delisi, le deluge - Bukablog, Texas Monthly August 10, 2008

Editorial: Laubenberg's new assignment - The Dallas Morning News Aug. 10, 2008

Laubenberg: Citizen input not allowed - CCO Sept. 27, 2007

Regional Healthcare & HB 3154 - CCO Sept. 5, 2007 (also published in the Dallas Morning News as A healthy discussion)

HB 3154 - Text of Enrolled bill

HB 3154 - Bill analysis State of Texas Senate Research Center May 16, 2007

Editorial: Laubenberg's new assignment

Sunday, August 10, 2008
The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board

State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg has reflected the political philosophy of her high-wealth, high-growth Collin-Rockwall County district during three terms in the Texas House. Her voting record last session earned her a 96 percent approval rating from the conservative Heritage Alliance, the highest score among 150 state representatives.

But Ms. Laubenberg has just been assigned a new constituency – the entire state of Texas. Speaker Tom Craddick last week promoted her from vice chair to chair of the House Public Health Committee, a job that broadens her responsibilities.

Ms. Laubenberg must adjust if she is to effectively mold public policy for a state with chronically high levels of poverty and children without health insurance.

In a column published in this newspaper last year, Ms. Laubenberg accused Dallas' Parkland Hospital of having an "insatiable appetite for more taxpayer dollars" and a goal of "socialized medicine."

Parkland, in fact, is not the enemy. It is the foundational public health provider for much of the region and often struggles financially to fulfill its mandate. If anything, the Legislature must find a way to ensure that surrounding counties pay a fair share when their residents receive treatment at Parkland. Another Republican committee member, Jim Jackson of Dallas, advocates that kind of regional approach; if Ms. Laubenberg keeps the chair next year, she should help him shape that concept.

For her part, Ms. Laubenberg tells us she knows her new role requires openness to all viewpoints, and she pledges that approach – a positive sign.

Another lawmaker from North Texas, Lewisville Republican Jane Nelson, has shown it is possible to stick to conservative principles while molding compassionate health policy. As chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Ms. Nelson has developed into a reformer with a grasp of the complexity of health law and finance.

The job takes zeal for the subject matter and the willingness to govern with the interests of more than 24 million Texans in mind.

Pegasus News reprinted a post from Scott Henson at the criminal justice blog, Grits for Breakfast, listing a series of Collin County law and justice scandals.

I would add the alarming increase in suicides at the Collin County jail to Henson's list

Bill

-----------------------------------------------

Plano and Collin County in midst of series of ugly scandals

By Scott Henson of Grits For Breakfast
Published in Pegasus News

Has anybody else noticed the steady stream of ugly law enforcement scandals and allegations of corruption coming out in Plano recently, some of them dating back two decades? Taken together, they paint quite a portrait of the Collin County justice system. Here's my own hastily compiled short list, and I'll bet Bill Baumbach could add to it:

Judge and DA Slept Together? According to an affidavit filed by a former Assistant DA in the Charles Hood capital murder case, from 1987 - 1993 then-Judge Verla Sue Holland carried on an affair with then-District Attorney Tim O'Connell, including in cases where the DA personally acted as an attorney before the judge. (She later went on to serve on the Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas' highest criminal court.) Both Holland and O'Connell have refused to confirm or deny the explosive allegations.

Setting Up Innocent People? Last fall a federal civil rights lawsuit alleged that four Plano officers conspired with a man's wife in a bizarre scheme to set him up on on a DWI charge.

Steroid Use by Police? Steroid dealer David Jacobs alleged steroid use by five Metroplex police departments including Plano PD. Dallas police implemented steroid testing in response but the others did not.

Highest Probation Revocation Rate: Though the numbers appear somewhat overstated, Collin County's probation department reported the highest rates of revoked probationers of any large county in Texas.

Sweetheart Pharma Contract? A district judge lost his bid for re-election in March after requiring probationers to use an unproven anti-addiction medication but keeping no records about the program.

Pandering to NIMBYism: State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg from Collin County led the charge last year to chase one of the area's few halfway houses out of existence.

Hounding Gay Employee? After Collin County ousted its well-regarded teen court coordinator allegedly because he's a homosexual, the Dallas Morning News asked, "What can be said about an employer who runs off a solid worker because he is gay? Nothing good."

False Conviction Overturned by DNA: The man convicted for a high-profile child rape and murder in Plano from the '90s that spawned Texas' sex offender registration laws turned out to be innocent, and the Collin DA acquiesced in his release from death row after DNA proved someone else committed the crime.

These stories don't tell the whole tale - e.g., I know there are good programs going on at the Collin County probation department and their DWI court - but doesn't that seem like quite a bit of dysfunctionality arising from a single locale?

The Collin County Commissioners Court will host a
special transportation workshop on Monday, Jan. 14, 2007, at 1:30 p.m. and
will feature detailed updates and briefings on the county's transportation
funding needs for the next 20 years.

The workshop, which will be held in the central jury room of the Collin
County Courthouse at 2100 Bloomdale Road in McKinney?, will include
detailed presentations on federal, state and local transportation funding
forecasts.

Also attending will be U.S. Reps. Ralph Hall and Sam Johnson; Texas
Senators Florence Shapiro and Craig Estes; State Reps. Brian McCall?, Jerry
Madden, Ken Paxton and Jodie Laubenberg; plus, mayors and city managers
from at least 10 Collin County cities.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Texas Department
of Transportation, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the
North Texas Tollway Authority, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the Collin
County Regional Airport will participate in discussions with Collin County
leaders.

The public is invited.

Two Collin County legislative incumbents face GOP primary opposition.

In Senate district 30:
Craig Estes, Wichita Falls Incumbent
Charles Stafford, Plano developer

In House District 67:
John Madden, Plano Incumbent
Jon Cole, Dallas businessman

Incumbents with no primary opposition:
Brian McCall, Plano District 66
Ken Paxton, McKinney District 70
Jodie Laubenberg, Parker District 89

No Collin County Democrat filed for any of the legislative positions.

Voigtsberger set to challenge tax assessor-collector

By Brandi Hart, McKinney Courier-Gazette
Thursday, November 1, 2007 / The McKinney? Courier-Gazette

Karl Voigtsberger, of Richardson, has announced he will be a candidate for the county tax assessor-collector position in the Collin County Republican Party primary in March.

He will run against current the county tax assessor-collector, Kenneth Maun, who will run for re-election.

One reason Voigtsberger is running for office is to work with state legislators to reform how people are chosen for the Collin Appraisal District’s board of directors. He would like to see CAD board members elected, rather than appointed.

“I believe it’s time for a change at the tax assessor-collector’s office. I am going to actually work for appraisal district reform and to increase the efficiency and customer service of the tax assessor-collector’s office,” Voigtsberger said.

Making sure the voters have the ability to hold their elected officials accountable is important, he said....

....Voigtsberger has also worked on the campaigns of Collin County Judge Keith Self, Collin County Commissioner Jerry Hoagland, State Rep. Laubenberg and Justices of the Peace Johnnie Glenn Lewis and John Payton.

Hoagland is listed as Voigtsberger’s campaign treasurer per the campaign treasurer report filed at the Collin County Elections Office.

read more....

This last Monday was the first meeting of a task force on regionalizing indigent health care in North Texas. The task force is made up of all the county commissioners, CEO's of non-profit hospitals and State Representatives in the 19 county Health Region 3.

The mission of the committee is to report to the legislature on region-wide approaches to providing indigent health care.

While much of the discussion at the first meeting was constructive (and enlightening), I was put off by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg's opening statement that no members of the public would be permitted to address the committee.

I spoke to Ms. Laubenberg after the meeting and she repeated that there would be no opportunities for public input. I then wrote her the following letter. Her reply follows.

From: Bill Baumbach
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 1:03 AM
To: Jodie Laubenberg
Subject: Regional Health Care Task force

Ms. Laubenberg,

I want to revisit the conversation I had with you after the Task Force meeting on Monday.

I mentioned that I thought the Task Force had made some progress towards bringing together some of the different stakeholders in Health District 3. I asked you to have your office update me on future meeting schedules and agendas.

When I said that I was looking forward to the public hearing phase of the Task Force meetings, you replied that there would be no public hearings - that the purpose of the Task Force was to allow only "policy makers" to participate.

You further asserted that HB 3154 made no provision for public hearings.

I must respectfully disagree and protest.

First, Section 1 (b) of HB 31254 (as signed by the Governor) contains the following language - "(b) The regional health care systems review committee is created to conduct public hearings regarding, and to study the implications of, implementing regional health care service to address indigent health care in the region."

Section 1 (d) begins with the following -
"(d) In conducting hearings and studies,..."

The "Bill Analysis", written by the Senate Research Center re-states the language of the bill - "(b) Provides that the regional health care systems review committee is created to conduct public hearings regarding, and to study the implications of, implementing regional health care service to address indigent health care in the region."

I think the meaning of the Act is clear. The Task Force is to hold public hearings. In fact, by being listed first, I would maintain that holding hearings is it's PRIMARY purpose.

Second, You stated that only policy makers would be allowed to participate. I believe that creates a fundamental unfairness. Notably absent on the Task Force are 3 major stake holders who should be included in the discussion:

1. the indigent

2. private and charitable clinics already providing care

3. the taxpayer who will ultimately pay for any changes or lack of changes.

Rep. Laubenberg, I ask you to reconsider your position on holding open meetings, and I ask you to publicly publish schedules and agenda for the Task Force.

I look forward to your reply,

Respectfully,

Bill Baumbach

From: Jodie Laubenberg
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 3:06 PM
To: Bill Baumbach
Subject: RE: Regional Health Care Task force

Bill,

Thank you for your email. Please let me clarify the issue. I was the author of HB 3154. I know the intent and purpose of this legislation. All meetings are open to the public. However, because there is no specific legislation filed, there will not be outside testimony beyond the parameters of those participants as outlined in HB 3154.

Sincerely,

Jodie Laubenberg

Laubenberg is wanting to use tired old "good old boys" tactics to solve the real human issues of health care for our poor and uninsured. These meetings need to be advertised and they need to allow for public input.

Bill

A healthy discussion
Dallas Morning News Community Opinions
Regional talks should focus on finding a just, fair solution, says BILL BAUMBACH of Wylie

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, September 20, 2007

In the Bible, the devil's name is legion, but in the Collin County Commissioners courtroom, the evil one has a name – Dr. Ron J. Anderson.

He is no devil. What he is, to the chagrin of Collin County commissioners, is a doctor who treats the sick and injured people who come to his hospital. Dr. Anderson is the president and CEO of Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

Collin County Commissioners believe he is a demon who wants to swallow entire county budgets in a quest for a regional hospital district.

Unfortunately, many of those who do come to his hospital are the poor and uninsured from suburban counties, such as Collin. Dallas County taxpayers naturally do not want to pick up the tab for counties who won't pony up for a hospital. And Collin County commissioners shudder at the thought that they should pay the bills for their poor.

A few years ago, Commissioner Phyllis Cole told the Houston Chronicle, "Parkland believes anybody who shows up should get health care. It's not our problem they don't qualify patients before they admit them. I wish they would get off my back."

The sad fact is that often the uninsured and poor have nowhere else to go. So they show up at Parkland or other large public hospitals paid for by the citizens of those hospital districts. In 2006, Collin County residents left Parkland with more than $4.5 million in unpaid bills.

The public hospitals want help in meeting needs they believe are being shirked by suburban counties; the suburban counties live in terror of facing a bottomless pit of uncontrollable medical bills.

Last year the Legislature passed HB 3154 to begin a public discussion on the health care needs of those not served by a public hospital. In a statement filed with the bill, its author, Jodi Laubenberg of Parker wrote, "Much discussion of late has centered around the regionalization of indigent health care throughout the state. However, the discussion should include both public hospitals and local county officials.

"While regionalized health care is a possible solution to the state's indigent health care situation, all options should be explored. HB 3154 encourages such a study by establishing a regional health care systems review task force, which would include the local county governments and county hospitals."

HB 3154 calls for a regional conference made up of all county commissioners, county judges, state legislators and all public and private hospital administrators from the 19-county Texas Public Health Region 3. This committee will act as a task force, holding public hearings and then issuing a report by September 2008.

The first meeting of this committee is scheduled for Monday, from 8 to 11 a.m., at the McDermott? Suite on the UT-Dallas campus in Richardson

Of the hundreds of participants invited to be part of this, only two are from public hospitals – Dr. Anderson and Dr. David Cecero from John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

Dr. Anderson is probably up for the job, though. He has been named one of the most "powerful people in health care" by several magazines and journals, has served on the executive committee of the State Task Force on Indigent Health Care and, in 1985, played a major role in the passage of landmark legislation concerning indigent health care in Texas.

I hope you can make plans to attend this historic first meeting of politicians and doctors. I'll be there, and I'll be praying the committee finds a path of compassion, wisdom and justice.

Bill Baumbach is a Wylie resident and was the Democratic candidate for Collin County Commissioners Court, Precinct 2, last year. His e-mail address is bill@baumbach.org.A version of this column appeared on Mr. Baumbach's blog, The Collin County Observer.

In the bible, the devil's name is Legion, but in the Collin County Commissioners courtroom, the evil one has a name - Ron J. Anderson, M.D.

He is no devil. What he is, to the chagrin of Collin County Commissioners, is a doctor who treats the sick and injured people come to his hospital. Dr. Anderson is the President and CEO of Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

Collin County Commissioners believe he is is a demon who wants to swallow entire county budgets in a quest for a regional hospital district.

Unfortunately, many of those who do come to his hospital are the poor and uninsured from suburban counties, such as Collin. Dallas County taxpayers naturally do not want to pick up the tab for counties who won't pony up for a hospital. And Collin County Commissioners shudder at the thought that they should pay the bills for their poor.

A few years ago, Commissioner Phyllis Cole was quoted saying,"Parkland believes anybody who shows up should get health care. It's not our problem they don't qualify patients before they admit them. I wish they would get off my back."

The sad fact is that often the uninsured and poor have no where else to go. So they show up at Parkland or other large public hospitals paid for by the citizens of those hospital districts. In 2006, Collin County residents left Parkland with more than $4.5 million in unpaid bills.

The public hospitals want help in meeting needs they believe are being shirked by suburban counties; the suburban counties live in terror of facing a bottomless pit of uncontrollable medical bills.

Last year the Texas Legislature passed HB 3154 to begin a public discussion on the health care needs of those not served by a public hospital. The bill's author, Jodi Laubenberg of Parker wrote, "Much discussion of late has centered around the regionalization of indigent health care throughout the state. However, the discussion should include both public hospitals and local county officials. While regionalized health care is a possible solution to the state's indigent health care situation, all options should be explored.

H.B. 3154 encourages such a study by establishing a regional health care systems review task force, which would include the local county governments and county hospitals."

HB 3154 calls for a regional conference made up of all county commissioners, county judges, state legislators and all public and private hospital administrators from the 19 county Texas Public Health Region 3. This committee will act as a task force, holding public hearings and then issuing a report by September, 2008.

The first meeting of this committee is scheduled for:

Monday, September 24, 2007
8:00 am to 11:00 am
at the McDermott? Suite
UT Dallas in Richardson

Of the hundreds of committee members, only 2 will be from public hospitals, Dr. Anderson and Dr. David Cecero from JPS in Ft. Worth.

Ron Anderson is probably up for the job. He has been named one of the most "Powerful people in Health Care", has served on the executive committee of the State Task Force on Indigent Health Care and in 1985 played a major role in the passage of landmark legislation concerning indigent health care in Texas.

I hope you can make plans to attend this first, historic meeting of politicians and doctors. I'll be there and I'll be praying the committee finds a path of compassion, wisdom and justice.

Bill