The Legistlative Cocktail Hour

Perry calls third special session to tackle transportation

Gov. Rick Perry called a third special session of the Texas Legislature today, after lawmakers failed to pass a transportation bill that would pay for roads. The most viable legislation would have diverted gas and oil revenues from the Rainy Day Fund into one for Texas roads and infrastructure. The bill came to a screeching halt over bipartisan objections in the House on Monday.

Because this is one of the three things the legislature was supposed to tackle in the first and then second session, Perry is undoubtedly annoyed at the prospect of taking a break from harassing Californians and New Yorkers to focus on another installment of Austin politics. This third session will add another couple hundred thousand dollars to the $1.6 million the two previous special sessions have cost taxpayers, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

(Insider tip: If you want to see your favorite representative or senator cry, today would be the day to head to the Cloak Room and watch them wallow in their whiskey.)

They might as well put a “Mess with Texas” bumper sticker on the presidential limo
This line from a recent Politico article sums up quite nicely how some Texans feel about U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement last week that the Department of Justice will be taking Texas to court over our new voting maps, as well as challenging the state's ability to pass fair voting laws.

This all comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the provision in the Voting Rights Act that makes it mandatory for states with a history of institutional racism to run any new voting laws by the federal government. You may recall that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott barely waited a day after the SCOTUS announcement to begin pushing these Republican-friendly, minority-disenfranchising maps through before the fall.

While it doesn’t come as a surprise that Holder would go after Texas instead of — I don’t know — Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia or any other state, it certainly does play into the stereotype: The rest of the country sees us as racist cowboys, and an example needs to be made. This is 2013! It’s not like one of the most powerful men in Texas is trying to push through an undemocratic tool that strips Hispanic and black voters of their rights! That would be ridiculous. Actually, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Wendy Davis and Ted Cruz news
Two of the most buzzed about Texas lawmakers are making waves in Washington this week. Davis (D-Fort Worth) has been speaking at various Democratic events in the nation’s capital, adding to the rumors that she will be considering running for a higher public office. The next Ann Richards? Maybe. The next Kay Bailey Hutchison? Perhaps a bit more likely (KBH's Republican leanings aside).

Speaking of Texas senators, what’s going on with that delightful Ted Cruz? Well, he’s continuing his Tour de Crazy this week bashing Obamacare, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and his fellow Republicans in the Senate. Right now, Cruz alongside Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marco “Thirsty” Rubio (R-Florida) are attempting to block Obamacare by simply not voting a budget and then shaming fellow Republicans by calling them "scared."

And you thought all Canadians were nice.

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Shelter to Service

Dripping Springs nonprofit trains service dogs rescued from shelters

Photo courtesy of KVUE

The group estimates that it's gotten more than 1,000 dogs out of the shelter system.

For the past 35 years, a service dog training nonprofit in Dripping Springs has transformed unwanted dogs into essential partners for Texans living with significant challenges.

Sheri Soltes, founder and CEO of Service Dogs, Inc., says the dogs they train help serve people with hearing or mobility disabilities. The canines also comfort those enduring traumatic events.

In a time where most animal shelters in Central Texas are over capacity, Service Dogs, Inc. is handing out second chances to pups with potential to make a difference in people’s lives.

“They're sort of like the cousins to guide dogs,” Soltes said. “Except we're unique because we get our dogs from animal shelters instead of having a breeding program. So we help the dog and we help the person.”

She says the nonprofit can’t adopt every dog because the pups must meet specific qualifications, narrowing down from their age to their temperament.

Soltes says dogs must be at least a year and a half old in order to be X-rayed to assess their health, must be extremely people-oriented and should be comfortable being in public settings.

She says Service Dogs, Inc. may bring back one out of 500 dogs in a shelter.

“We've probably trained well over a 1,000, probably closer to 1,200 dogs by this time over 36 years. Any dog that we adopt from a shelter, if it doesn't complete the training, we don't take it back to the shelter, will find it a good pet home. So, they're going to win either way with us,” Soltes said.

Depending on the pooches’ temperament and personality, they’ll be trained in any and all of four programs available.

Soltes says the nonprofit trains the canines to be hearing dogs that can alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing. They could be trained for people with mobility disabilities, learning to open and close doors or steady someone’s balance.

She says they also train dogs to work in areas devastated by catastrophic storms, in courthouses in the victim's assistance departments or with first responders struggling with their mental health.

“They're not always the right tool for every kind of job, but they're very, very helpful,” she said.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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