coyotes_geek
03-08-2011, 10:05 AM
CG: Good piece of legislation here. I hope it passes. Perry has way too much control over the Enterprise and Emerging Technology funds.
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When Gov. Rick Perry says Texas is open for business, a Republican senator wants to be sure that "open" means transparent as well.
Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, has filed legislation that would loosen Perry's grip on the state's Enterprise and Emerging Technology funds by transferring oversight from the governor to committees appointed by several elected officials.
"When you are showering tax dollars on private industry," Carona said, "the public has a right to know about every transaction."
Currently, the governor negotiates deals and awards grants with the written approval of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus.
Senate Bill 991 would have two 11-member committees take over the governor's role. Perry, Dewhurst and Straus each would appoint three members of each committee. The comptroller and attorney general each would have a representative.
Carona stressed that his legislation is not a commentary on news reports that raised questions about Perry's management of the major state funds used to underwrite startups and recruit businesses to Texas.
"This is not an indictment of the governor's staff," Carona said.
In recent months, reports in the Austin American-Statesman and The Dallas Morning News have raised questions about whether Perry favored political donors with some grants. Also, one of his top economic development staffers drew the attention of law enforcement.
Katherine Cesinger, Perry's press secretary, said the grants are thoroughly vetted now but that it's the Legislature's prerogative to suggest another method.
"The governor will thoughtfully consider any legislation that makes it to his desk," she said.
Carona said it's important that the public not lose faith in how the state awards millions of dollars in tax money to private industry during a time of budget cuts and layoffs. He said he hoped the new governing structure would address transparency and conflicts of interest.
Perry has been criticized on both fronts, particularly because the process is conducted in secret from the time the application is submitted until the money is awarded.
In one example, Austin entrepreneur David Nance won a $4.5 million Emerging Technology Fund grant last year, although a regional review board had turned down the application of his
biotech startup, Convergen LifeSciences Inc.
Alan Kirchhoff, then Perry's economic development chief, intervened on Nance's behalf, and a statewide review board recommended approval. There is no record of the vote from the closed-door meeting. The governor's office has said the vote was unanimous except for one member who abstained because of a conflict.
Convergen is suing Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott because it doesn't want to release details about its grant application, which Abbott has deemed public information.
Last year, the Texas Rangers investigated allegations that Kirchhoff profited from undisclosed side deals with Austin businessman William Morrow , who was on Perry's emerging technology advisory committee. No charges were filed.
After Kirchhoff left his job last summer, the governor's office bolstered its ethics policies. Morrow has since resigned from the advisory committee.
Against that backdrop, Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin , predicted Monday that more bills such as Carona's will be filed.
"Those of us who support these economic tools have a special obligation to be sure that they work and that you can verify they are working well," Watson said. "Secondly, there should never be questions about the credibility of the programs."
Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, said he hasn't seen Carona's bill but would support more transparency.
"These are state dollars for what we hope are consensus projects to develop new technology and help create new companies and employees," Dewhurst said.
He said he has been waiting six months for a staff analysis of both funds.
"I want to see if Texas is receiving the net benefit that was the intent of the legislation," he said. "Are we actually creating on a long-term basis the jobs that we envisioned with the money invested in the Texas Enterprise Fund, and how many of our investments in the Emerging Technology Fund are turning out to be successful?"
That analysis could be crucial because members of the Senate Finance Committee have expressed doubts about fully funding the programs as Perry has requested.
Some of Perry's actions might be beyond the Legislature's purview.
On Sunday, the American-Statesman reported that Perry awarded a Nance-led foundation almost $2 million in federal tax money over two years in a no-bid economic development contract. Almost half of the money went to salaries and benefits, according to reports from the Innovate Texas Foundation, which elected not to seek a third year of funding.
Perry's office said the foundation accomplished its goals.
*******************
When Gov. Rick Perry says Texas is open for business, a Republican senator wants to be sure that "open" means transparent as well.
Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, has filed legislation that would loosen Perry's grip on the state's Enterprise and Emerging Technology funds by transferring oversight from the governor to committees appointed by several elected officials.
"When you are showering tax dollars on private industry," Carona said, "the public has a right to know about every transaction."
Currently, the governor negotiates deals and awards grants with the written approval of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus.
Senate Bill 991 would have two 11-member committees take over the governor's role. Perry, Dewhurst and Straus each would appoint three members of each committee. The comptroller and attorney general each would have a representative.
Carona stressed that his legislation is not a commentary on news reports that raised questions about Perry's management of the major state funds used to underwrite startups and recruit businesses to Texas.
"This is not an indictment of the governor's staff," Carona said.
In recent months, reports in the Austin American-Statesman and The Dallas Morning News have raised questions about whether Perry favored political donors with some grants. Also, one of his top economic development staffers drew the attention of law enforcement.
Katherine Cesinger, Perry's press secretary, said the grants are thoroughly vetted now but that it's the Legislature's prerogative to suggest another method.
"The governor will thoughtfully consider any legislation that makes it to his desk," she said.
Carona said it's important that the public not lose faith in how the state awards millions of dollars in tax money to private industry during a time of budget cuts and layoffs. He said he hoped the new governing structure would address transparency and conflicts of interest.
Perry has been criticized on both fronts, particularly because the process is conducted in secret from the time the application is submitted until the money is awarded.
In one example, Austin entrepreneur David Nance won a $4.5 million Emerging Technology Fund grant last year, although a regional review board had turned down the application of his
biotech startup, Convergen LifeSciences Inc.
Alan Kirchhoff, then Perry's economic development chief, intervened on Nance's behalf, and a statewide review board recommended approval. There is no record of the vote from the closed-door meeting. The governor's office has said the vote was unanimous except for one member who abstained because of a conflict.
Convergen is suing Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott because it doesn't want to release details about its grant application, which Abbott has deemed public information.
Last year, the Texas Rangers investigated allegations that Kirchhoff profited from undisclosed side deals with Austin businessman William Morrow , who was on Perry's emerging technology advisory committee. No charges were filed.
After Kirchhoff left his job last summer, the governor's office bolstered its ethics policies. Morrow has since resigned from the advisory committee.
Against that backdrop, Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin , predicted Monday that more bills such as Carona's will be filed.
"Those of us who support these economic tools have a special obligation to be sure that they work and that you can verify they are working well," Watson said. "Secondly, there should never be questions about the credibility of the programs."
Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, said he hasn't seen Carona's bill but would support more transparency.
"These are state dollars for what we hope are consensus projects to develop new technology and help create new companies and employees," Dewhurst said.
He said he has been waiting six months for a staff analysis of both funds.
"I want to see if Texas is receiving the net benefit that was the intent of the legislation," he said. "Are we actually creating on a long-term basis the jobs that we envisioned with the money invested in the Texas Enterprise Fund, and how many of our investments in the Emerging Technology Fund are turning out to be successful?"
That analysis could be crucial because members of the Senate Finance Committee have expressed doubts about fully funding the programs as Perry has requested.
Some of Perry's actions might be beyond the Legislature's purview.
On Sunday, the American-Statesman reported that Perry awarded a Nance-led foundation almost $2 million in federal tax money over two years in a no-bid economic development contract. Almost half of the money went to salaries and benefits, according to reports from the Innovate Texas Foundation, which elected not to seek a third year of funding.
Perry's office said the foundation accomplished its goals.