Williamson County Democrats speak out against frivolous Voter ID bill.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2011
State Representatives support spending $20 million on Voter ID law

Meanwhile local school districts threaten to close schools and cut teacher pay

Implementing a new voter photo identification system will cost the state of Texas at least tens of millions of dollars. Texas has more important fiscal needs at this time. With the talk of school closings and teacher layoffs all over the state, taxpayers cannot afford frivolous spending on solutions in search of a problem.

An effective, full-scale photo identification program would end up costing state taxpayers $20 million or more, based on the three-year price tag officials estimated in 2010 for a similar program in Missouri. For most states, such a costly program would be considered a luxury in ordinary times. It is nearly impossible to justify in today's economic crisis.

In a state the size of Texas, with more expensive media markets, the cost will be even higher.  “Governor Perry raises divisive issues to the level of emergency while denying the budget hole his administration created,” Williamson County Democratic Party chairman Brian Hamon said.  “He has been lying about the cost of government for years, so it is no surprise he is doing it again now with SB14.”

In Friday's Round Rock Chamber of Commerce public policy roundtable discussion at the Round Rock Public Library, Williamson County's two freshman legislators in the Texas House of Representatives discussed potential future changes to election law.

In addition to SB14, which passed the Senate Jan. 26, a number of related bills have been filed in the House. Both Rep. Larry Gonzales (R-Round Rock) and Rep. Charles Schwertner (RGeorgetown) support making changes to election code. Gonzales said he is looking at about 22 bills associated with altering the integrity of the elections process.

About SB14 Gonzales said, "The voter ID bill is not just about voter ID but election fraud."

Hamon disagrees. “The only fraud occurring is the claim that SB14 will cost nothing,” Hamon said. “In all the years Republicans have been claiming widespread fraud at polling places, the Attorney General has not produced a single example of a person showing up to cast a vote by impersonating someone else.”

There is no evidence of election fraud in Texas that would be fixed by forcing voters to show photo identification on election day.

Rep. John Carter (R-Round Rock) chooses profits over health, Carter Distorting Facts On Cement Kiln Industry.

Congressman misrepresenting rule that would prevent up to 2,500 deaths annually

January 20, 2011

Washington, D.C. - Today, the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice released information debunking Rep. John Carter’s (R-TX) claim that important health protections will cost the cement industry too much.

In their report "Dirty Air is Not the Key to Economic Growth," the groups counter Rep. Carter’s incorrect claims about these health protections, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued in 2010. If Rep. Carter’s plan to block these protections is successful, many communities across the U.S. will continue to suffer from mercury and other chemical pollution from cement plants.

"Rep. Carter’s clean air killing resolution would take the lid off emissions of mercury and other toxic pollution from cement kilns, but do nothing to create jobs in our country," said Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project. "While the Congressman claims the sky will fall if cement manufacturers have to comply with the Clean Air Act, the Portland Cement Association’s own analysis predicts that production will increase more than 50 percent over the next five years, as housing and construction markets pick up speed."

"There is no dispute that cement kilns are among the country’s worst polluters or that eliminating the EPA’s controls on their pollution, as Rep. Carter seeks to do, would cause between 960 and 2,500 Americans to die prematurely every year," said Jim Pew, Earthjustice attorney. "Standing with foreign mega-corporations and their army of lobbyists, Rep. Carter is disseminating blatantly false claims about these long-overdue and badly-needed controls. In the real world, as opposed to the George Orwell world that Rep. Carter and his allies inhabit, the cement industry can afford to be a good neighbor and control its toxic pollution."

Among the facts set out in the report:

• Employment impacts from the rule will range from a potential loss of 600 to a net gain of 1,300 jobs, according to the EPA.
• Domestic cement production will increase more than 25 percent from today’s levels by 2013, and more than 50 percent by 2015, according to a Nov. 2010 analysis by the Portland Cement Association.
• Rep. Carter’s resolution would effectively prevent EPA from ever limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from cement plants.

Read the entire report and analysis: http://earthjustice.org/documents/fact-sheet/pdf/dirty-air-is-not-the-key-to-economic-growth