The Big Buy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress

In a stunning 1994 interview, shortly after the now infamous Republican revolution, Tom DeLay sat down and laid out his vision for America: to destroy the Department of Education, HUD, OSHA, the NEH, the NEA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. His self-stated goal was to "completely redesign government." The Big Buy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress is the story of how he did just that.

Purchase the DVD

Continual Perks Slow Texas Courts

Thirty-two lawmakers invoked a special legislative perk to delay Texas court cases 431 times in the two years from September 2003 through September 2005, a new Texans For Public Justice study found. The study, “Continual Perks Slow Texas Courts,” analyzed the 431 “legislative continuances” that Texas lawmakers reported under a recent continuance-disclosure reform.

Read the media release and the full report.

32 Lawmakers Used Perk to Claim 431 Court Delays

Thirty-two lawmakers invoked a special legislative perk to delay Texas court cases 431 times in the two years from September 2003 through September 2005, a new Texans For Public Justice study found. The study, “Continual Perks Slow Texas Courts,” analyzed the 431 “legislative continuances” that Texas lawmakers reported under a recent continuance-disclosure reform.

Special Sessions Yield Continual Continuances:
32 Lawmakers Used Perk To Claim 431 Court Delays

Defendants Account for Most Delays, With One Case Stalled 5 Times
Rep. Alonzo Filed 241 Continuances in Two Years

For Immediate Release:	For More Information Contact:
May 15, 2006	Craig McDonald, Andrew Wheat
Download PDF	PH: 512-472-9770

Link to full report

Austin--Thirty-two lawmakers invoked a special legislative perk to delay Texas court cases 431 times in the two years from September 2003 through September 2005, a new Texans For Public Justice study found. The study, “Continual Perks Slow Texas Courts,” analyzed the 431 “legislative continuances” that Texas lawmakers reported under a recent continuance-disclosure reform.

Texas lawmakers who are attorneys in cases in state courts can delay proceedings in these cases from a month before a legislative session begins until a month after it ends. The seven special legislative sessions that Governor Rick Perry has convened in the past three years greatly expanded the normal legislative-continuance season. These special sessions helped to create more than two years worth of court blackout days during the two-and-a-half-year period starting in January 2003 (the new report does not analyze continuances that invoke the latest special session convened on April 17, 2006).

“Endless special sessions have created an open-season for legislative court delays that would have been hard to foresee when lawmakers created this perk for themselves in 1929,” said TPJ researcher Omair Khan. “The new disclosure law reveals that a few legislators are invoking this perk far more than we ever imagined.”

Rep. Roberto Alonzo (D-Dallas) filed an extraordinary 241 legislative continuances in this two-year period, accounting for 56 percent of all continuances. Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) came next, filing 53 continuances (12 percent). In both criminal and civil cases, lawmakers filed the vast majority of their continuances on behalf of defendants—many of whom may have had an interest in postponing a civil or criminal judgment against them.

Some lawmakers filed one continuance after another in the same case. Rep. Alonzo claimed the record, filing five delays in a six-month period in the State of Texas v. Omar Hernandez. Rep. King filed 11 continuances in five related cases involving a group of pawn-shop executives fighting over stock options.

At least six lawmakers claimed continuances in cases that named themselves or apparent family members as defendants. Reps. Craig Eiland (D-Galveston) and Robert Puente (D-San Antonio) claimed continuances in lawsuits that named them personally. Reps. Alonzo, Harold Dutton (D-Houston), Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio), and Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) claimed continuances in cases naming apparent family members as defendants.

DMN: It's a losing fight, but cigarette lobbyists won't quit

Cigarettes were supposed to be the easiest target of all, but when the high-powered Light 'Em Up Lobby hit the marble hallways of the Capitol, nobody saw what was coming. Legislators, once set on a simple $1-per-pack tax increase, began talking about a complicated bond program to phase in the hike. They brought up money-starved health programs and addicted veterans and faltering small businesses. Read the article at the Dallas Morning News

It's a losing fight, but cigarette lobbyists won't quit

Talented charmers make some legislators rethink $1 tax hike

May 12, 2006
By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Cigarettes were supposed to be the easiest target of all, but when the high-powered Light 'Em Up Lobby hit the marble hallways of the Capitol, nobody saw what was coming.

Legislators, once set on a simple $1-per-pack tax increase, began talking about a complicated bond program to phase in the hike. They brought up money-starved health programs and addicted veterans and faltering small businesses.

That gave the lobbyists an opening.

"I've noticed when they put on the big push," said David Marwitz, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society. "They get in the backroom ... decide a strategy, put ads in [lawmakers'] districts, [activate] phone banks ... and they've got the big lobbyists."

The biggest, in fact. Big Tobacco's toughest fight in years is being waged by a band of highly paid, talented and experienced former legislators, political appointees and close friends of the most powerful people in Texas. They're fighting an uphill battle with such finesse that they're actually, occasionally, winning.

Their effort shows the creativity and resourcefulness that lobbyists of all stripes bring to the Capitol. Their success is driven by personal charm, pushing the right buttons to motivate different lawmakers, and sheer relentlessness.

Tobacco lobbyists show all these qualities, managing to notch small victories despite representing an industry widely seen as no less than evil.

They seem destined to lose – a $1-per-pack tax has passed both the House and Senate, but it is held up over the Senate's desire to spend some of the money on stop-smoking programs. And they've had some stumbles, crossing other powerful lobbyists and losing ground when their clients launched ill-conceived radio ads.

Still, even their opponents are impressed by their effort.

"They're pretty resourceful," said Rep. John Smithee, an Amarillo Republican who successfully batted away the phase-in plan a few weeks ago.

Among those working for tobacco giants Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds are the intense and driven Mike Toomey, a former state representative and former chief of staff for Gov. Rick Perry; the imposing and raucous Stan Schlueter, former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee; Gwyn Shea, former secretary of state under Mr. Perry; former Republican Sen. David Sibley; and former Rep. Bill Messer, a friend and adviser to House Speaker Tom Craddick.

Tough sell

They are tasked with defending the indefensible against mom-friendly, pro-kid, anti-cancer advocates with an easy sound bite and overwhelming public sentiment on their side.

"They've got a bad product," said Rep. Ken Paxton, a McKinney Republican and member of the House Ways and Means Committee that approved a weakened version of the cigarette tax. "It harms people."

Some of the lobbyists have suffered cancer themselves or have loved ones battling it. Some are still struggling to quit smoking, while some gave it up years ago for health reasons.

But like a defense attorney trying to keep a confessed murderer off death row, a cigarette lobbyist finds an angle he or she can live with – firmly believing that it's pretty hard to sell something if you wouldn't buy it yourself.

"It's definitely an uphill battle, but everybody deserves to have their story told and represented," said one longtime tobacco lobbyist, speaking only on condition of anonymity to keep tobacco as a client. "Believe it or not, lobbyists will refuse clients if they don't agree with them or if they don't think it's a good thing to do.

"And it's not about whether you can smoke or not. A product is being singled out for a tax. You just stick to the tax."

Other lobbyists contacted for this story, either personally or through their firms, either did not return calls or declined to comment on the record, citing instructions from Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds.

Bill Phelps, spokesman for Philip Morris, said the company wants to talk about the overall message – that the tax hike is too much all at once – and let lobbyists talk to lawmakers.

That's where the arguments are carefully tailored for an audience of one.

Lobbyist Ed Lopez of San Antonio visited representatives from his city and urged them to think of the blue-collar workers that populate their districts.

"They're saying, 'Think of the working-class people who can't afford to get away, and taking a break and having a smoke is their version of a vacation,' " said Rep. Mike Villarreal, a San Antonio Democrat who is on the House Ways and Means committee.

Rep. Veronica Gonzales, D-McAllen, was approached by the friendly, popular and slightly shy lobbyist Mario Muñoz with a reminder about how convenience stores in her districts could suffer if people leave the state to find cheaper smokes.

He pushed for her support on a version of the bill that would hike the tax by $1.05 over three years.

"They're supporting the phase-in as a way to allegedly assist retailers, so they won't be hurt all at one time," she said. "I understand what Mario's saying, but I haven't heard from any retailers about it in my district."

Ice-cold retaliation

Trying to lessen the blow, tobacco lobbyists even suggested that the state phase in the tax but issue a bond to get immediate revenue. That approach won support in the House initially but then fell apart.

"They felt that ... knowing that some of us want to provide more funding for public schools, and everybody wants to provide some property tax relief, the tax on cigarettes seems to be an easy target," said Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio. "They're aware of that, and they felt they'd come up with a solution."

Sometimes, the lobbyists' aggressiveness gets them in trouble.

Last week, lobbyists for beer distributors got a rash of reports that a corporate-sponsored phone bank was instructing constituents to call their elected officials and demand to know why cigarettes were being taxed but not alcohol.

The beer guys struck back immediately. Lawmakers warned that the beer distributors were ready to pit their own talents and connections against Big Tobacco.

The tobacco companies backed off.

Ultimately, the tobacco companies might have been their own lobbyists' undoing.

Sen. Bob Deuell, a family physician and Republican from Greenville, was all set to block the tax by using a rule that requires two-thirds of the senators in the chamber to consent before a bill comes up for a vote. His main contact with the tobacco lobby had been Mr. Sibley, whom Dr. Deuell called "one of the most honorable people I've ever met in my life."

Then the senator heard a radio ad paid for by Philip Morris that he found "offensive," "demeaning," "sarcastic" and "condescending." The ad, which accuses legislators of "leaving their common sense behind" when they go to Austin, was so disrespectful, he said, that he changed his mind.

"I'm tired of the rhetoric and the nastiness," Dr. Deuell said. "In fact, some of their lobbyists told me they had advised them not to run those ads, and they did anyway. ... The only recourse I have is to send a message."

Lobby Watch:Mouth Cancer Trumps Lung Cancer In Lobby

The smokeless tobacco industry quietly but dramatically increased its lobby spending in first quarter 2006 as proposals to increase tobacco taxes smoldered in Austin. Updated data since last week’s Lobby Watch issue analyzing tobacco lobby data filed by New Year’s 2006 show that the tobacco industry as a whole increased its lobby spending 4 percent in the first quarter of this year.
Read the Lobby Watch

Lobby Watch:Dollar-A-Pack Tax Ignites Tobacco Hacks

There’s nothing like the dollar-a-pack tax on tobacco products—now pending in the Texas Senate—to smoke out the shameless tobacco hacks who have enveloped the capitol in recent months. With sin-taxes dominating Austin’s agenda, tobacco interests spent $1.4 million to $2.9 million on 52 lobby contracts by the first of this year.
Read the Lobby Watch

San Antonio Express-News: Tobacco legislation watched closely

They don't give much to candidates, but they do spend big bucks on lobbying. And for more than a decade, tobacco interests in Texas have managed to block a higher tax on cigarettes. This year, that long-running effort by the powerful tobacco lobby may turn to ash. A proposed $1-a-pack increase in the state's cigarette tax could well muster the votes to clear the Senate. It passed easily last week in the House.Read the article at the San Antonio Express-News

Tobacco legislation watched closely

San Antonio Express-News
May 1, 2006

AUSTIN — They don't give much to candidates, but they do spend big bucks on lobbying. And for more than a decade, tobacco interests in Texas have managed to block a higher tax on cigarettes.

This year, that long-running effort by the powerful tobacco lobby may turn to ash.

A proposed $1-a-pack increase in the state's cigarette tax could well muster the votes to clear the Senate. It passed easily last week in the House.

If the proposal makes it through the Legislature and Gov. Rick Perry signs it, as he has indicated he would, Texas would become the 43rd state in the nation, in addition to the District of Columbia, to raise its cigarette tax since 2002.

"This is a national trend," said Daniel E. Smith, national vice president of the American Cancer Society, which supports the tax increase. "No one likes taxes but the one tax (lawmakers) say OK to is the cigarette tax."

If the plan is enacted, come September each cigarette pack sold in Texas would carry a whopping $1.41 state tax, with the increase adding an estimated $750 million in annual revenue for the state.

Texas' neighbors impose significantly lower taxes: Oklahoma's tax stands at $1.03; New Mexico's at 91 cents; Louisiana's at 36 cents.

Tobacco interests last year spent $1.4 million to and $2.9 million in Texas to pay 51 lobbyists, according to the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice.

A handful of tobacco lobbyists refused to comment for this story, leaving others to describe their efforts.

Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, said he heard from tobacco lobbyists "constantly, every day" as the proposal made its way through the House Ways and Means Committee, on which he sits.

"They'd call me on my cell, they'd drop by my office. They were out in full force," said Villarreal, who voted for the tax increase despite the pleadings.

Over the years, tobacco interests have succeeded in keeping the cigarette tax at 41 cents a pack by arguing, in part, that raising it would create enforcement problems for the state.

"Excessive taxes can create an incentive for tax evasion," said Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA, adding that when taxes become too high, smokers simply make purchases over the Internet or travel to nearby lower-tax states.

He cited New York City, where municipal and state cigarette taxes combine for an eye-popping $3 a pack. One survey showed 70 percent of smokers there reported buying cigarettes from a low-tax seller at least once in 2004, he said.

Whether industry lobbyists will be able to sell arguments such as those to the Senate, which is set to debate the bill in committee today, remains to be seen.

For one thing, cigarette taxes appear politically popular in a country where smokers now make up no more than 23 percent of the adult population. (Contrast that to the early 1960s, when nearly half of all adults smoked.)

Smokers face a coalition of grass-roots activists with some considerable clout.

"We're outnumbered (in resources) but we've got armies of committed volunteers," said James Gray, a Texas lobbyist for the American Cancer Society. "We're outgunned but we've got good information."

Health advocates say that on average, for every 10 percent increase in cigarette taxes, there's a 4 percent decline in the number of adult smokers and a 7 percent drop in smokers under the age of 18, with underage smokers more sensitive to price increases because they have less money.

Tax-increase proponents acknowledge that its Senate passage is no sure bet and say some supporters are reading the fine print and having second thoughts.

Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, vice chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-Mission, have long supported a cigarette tax increase, both opted against sponsoring the bill last week because the money wouldn't go for tobacco-cessation programs.

Instead, most of the money would be used to reduce property taxes.

"This plan would impact the poor without giving them the means to help them quit," Zaffirini said.

Express-News Database Editor Kelly Guckian contributed to this report.