Keep up with Burt and issues important to you by reading the latest News!
REP. SOLOMONS RECEIVES CHAMPION OF SMALL BUSINESS AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR CAPITAL
WASHINGTON, DC, July 28, 2010 – Texas Representative Burt Solomons (North Carrollton) was honored this week with a Champion of Small Business Award from the National Coalition for Capital. Representative Solomons and 25 fellow legislators and officials from across the nation were recognized for their leadership at the Annual National Coalition for Capital Awards Ceremony & Dinner on July 27th in Louisville, Kentucky. Champion of Small Business Awards recognize individuals for demonstrating leadership in supporting policies and initiatives designed to promote access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs, especially those in economically distressed communities.
“This award recognizes Representative Solomons’ important work to preserve and create jobs through access to capital policy that helps Texas small businesses grow and develop,” said Ben Dupuy, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Capital. “Representative Solomons has demonstrated he is a champion of small business, and his efforts will have an enduring positive impact on Texas.”
Representative Solomons was elected to the Texas House in 1994 to serve the 65th District. He serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs. Chairman Solomons is knowledgeable about the small business community and recognizes the need to provide access to capital to support this sector of the economy. Chairman Solomons successfully garnered bi-partisan support for the Texas’ New Market Tax Credit bill, eventually leading to its passage.
”I am committed to attracting and keeping small and emerging businesses in Texas,” said Representative Solomons. “I am honored to receive this Champion of Small Business Award from the National Coalition for Capital.”
The National Coalition for Capital annually hosts an awards ceremony recognizing individuals for taking a leading role in fostering access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
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The following legislators and officials were honored as 2010 Champions of Small Business and recognized for their leadership and efforts:
• Representative Pete Anderson, Wyoming
• Senator Kip Averitt, Texas
• Representative Jules Bailey, Oregon
• Representative Rosie Berger, Wyoming
• Councilmember At-Large Michael Brown, Washington, DC
• Senator Ginny Burdick, Oregon
• Dr. John Butler, Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship, Texas
• Susan Davenport, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Texas
• Delegate Bill Frick, Maryland
• Senator Don Gaetz, Florida
• Senator David Givens, Kentucky
• Representative Keith Hall, Kentucky
• Delegate James King, Maryland
• Senator Dan Kotowski, Illinois
• Representative Lou Lang, Illinois
• Dr. Luis Medina, TechBA, Texas
• Will Newton, National Federation of Independent Business, Texas
• Sara Patuel, TechBA, Texas
• Representative Bryan Pedersen, Wyoming
• Senator Doug Peters, Maryland
• Senator Gloria Romero, California
• Representative Rob Schenck , Florida
• Representative Colin Simpson, Wyoming
• Representative Burt Solomons, Texas
• Representative Steven Tilley, Missouri
• Senator Tommy Williams, Texas
About the National Coalition for Capital
The National Coalition for Capital (NCFC) is a non-profit, nationwide coalition of leaders supporting economic development and job creation through long-term access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Constituent Survey Results 2010
The results of our survey questionaire have been tabulated and are set forth below. I want to thank everyone who participated. There were 350 households in Distrrict 65 which returned the survey and many of the surveys had multiple respondents.
Background checks
Do you favor or oppose requiring all local and state jails to coordinate with the US Department of Homeland Security to run citizenship background checks on all jail inmates?
93% Favor
5% Oppose
2% Undecided
Abortion
On the issue of abortion, which of the following best describes your personal opinion?
18% Allow abortions under all circumstances
43% Allow abortions only in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother
20% Do not allow any abortions
13% Other
6% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose mandating a sonogram to be shown to every woman before undergoing an abortion?
31% Favor
53% Oppose
16% Undecided
Homeowner Property Tax & Appraisal Reform
Do you feel your local appraisal district has fairly appraised the value of your home?
40% Yes
46% No (82% High, 2% Low, 16% Did not indicate)
6% Rent/Not a homeowner
8% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose reducing the annual property tax appraisal cap from 10% to 5% per year and applying the lower appraisal cap to both homeowners and businesses?
73% Favor
11% Oppose
16%Undecided
Do you favor or oppose replacing all property taxes with a 15-20% state sales tax (consumption tax)?
30% Favor
52% Oppose
18% Undecided
Sex Offenders
Do you favor or oppose allowing local cities to restrict where sex offenders (on parole or probation) can reside within their city limits (for example, allowing cities to set distance requirements from schools, parks, churches, etc)?
83% Favor
10% Oppose
7% Undecided
Nullification
Do you favor or oppose allowing Texas to invoke its U.S. Constitutional 10th Amendment Right to refuse to participate in Federally mandated programs like the pending Government health care reform plan before Congress?
72% Favor
21% Oppose
7% Undecided
Video Lottery Terminals
Do you favor or oppose legalizing casino slot machine gambling (video lottery terminals) at existing horse racing tracks in Texas to generate additional money for Texas public schools, property tax reduction and/or road construction?
53% Favor
41% oppose
6% Undecided
Future Water Supply
Do you favor or oppose building new lakes and reservoirs across Texas to meet our future water supply needs?
86% Favor
4% Oppose
10% Undecided
Health Care Reform
Do you favor or oppose a national Government-run Health Care system like the proposal currently pending before Congress?
10% Favor
83% Oppose
7% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose keeping our current health care system but with stronger disclosure requirements for health insurance companies including disclosure of their profit margins?
68% Favor
19% Oppose
13% Undecided
Electricity
Do you feel deregulation of electricity in Texas has been good for consumers?
37% Yes
41% No
22% Undecided
And, if your choice for local electricity was to pay slightly higher rates for renewable/natural gas powered electrical plants, or to pay lower rates for coal powered electric plants with clean emission technology, which would you prefer?
23% Would prefer to pay slightly higher rates with renewable/natural gas plants
58% Would prefer to pay lower rates for coal powered electricity with cleaner emissions technology
19% Undecided
Second Amendment Rights
Do you favor or oppose allowing individuals with a concealed handgun license permit to carry their concealed firearms on state college campuses?
42% Favor
47% Oppose
11% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose allowing gun owners to leave their firearm locked in their vehicles at their place of work?
60% Favor
28% Oppose
12% Undecided
Most Important Issue in Your Community
Which of the following do you feel is the single most important issue facing your area of Denton County today?
41% Jobs and the economy
15% Property Taxes
19% Illegal Immigration
3% Crime and Drugs
2% Traffic congestion
2% Local air quality
8% Limiting property tax appraisal increases
2% Utility Costs
5% Health care Costs
2% Other
1% Undecided
Public Education/Higher Ed
How would you rate the overall quality of education in your local public schools: would you say it is excellent, good, average, fair or poor?
16% Excellent
41 % Good
11% Average
14% Fair
8% Poor
10% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose taking money out of public schools to fund vouchers for students to attend private schools?
43% Favor
47% Oppose
10% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose the right of religious expression and prayer by students in school?
78% Favor
13% Oppose
9% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose raising the pay of the Texas public school teachers to the national average?
76% Favor
14% Oppose
10% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose repealing the "Top 10% College Admissions Rule" which mandates automatic admission to State universities for all Texas public high school students who graduate in the top 10% of their respective high school classes?
46% Favor
40% Oppose
14% Undecided
Children's Health Insurance Program
Do you favor or oppose state funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program for low income families?
46% Favor
35% Oppose
19% Undecided
Illegal Immigration Reform
Which of the following statements best describes your position in illegal immigration?
45% Would like to allow illegal immigrants currently living in the US to register for temporary work visas and apply for US citizenship if they pay a fine, learn English, have a job, and pay taxes.
49% Would like to deport all illegal immigrants back to their countries of origin before they may apply for legal guest worker permits and/or US citizenship.
2% Undecided/Not sure
4% Other
Do you favor or oppose requiring voters to have a valid photo ID to vote?
92% Favor
7% Oppose
1% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose increasing state funding for Texas Homeland Security and DPS troopers to help patrol the Texas-Mexico border?
79% Favor
13% Oppose
8% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose making it a criminal offense for employers to hire illegal immigrants?
82% Favor
12% Oppose
6% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose proof of citizenship to get a Texas driver license?
88% Favor
8% Oppose
4% Undecided
Trans-Texas Corridor & Local Toll Roads
Do you favor or oppose the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor?
15% Favor
62% Oppose
23% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose a high-speed train connecting DFW-Austin-San Antonio-Houston?
58% Favor
25% Oppose
17% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose building additional toll roads in Denton County to help reduce traffic congestions on more crowded highways?
24% Favor
66% Oppose
10% Undecided
Do you favor or oppose allowing foreign owned companies to finance, own and manage local toll roads?
12% Favor
83% Oppose
5% Undecided
TEXAS HOUSE SPEAKER STRAUS APPOINTS SOLOMONS TO SELECT COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
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Solomons, Keffer, Davis and Turner Are Heroes for Texas Consumers
June 02, 2009 05:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Statement from Jay Doegey, Chair of the Cities Aggregation Power Project:
Solomons, Keffer, Davis and Turner Are Heroes for Texas Consumers
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Statement from Jay Doegey, Chair of the Cities Aggregation Power Project:
When it comes to protecting consumer pocketbooks, among the most important bills of the 81st Texas Legislature were those offered by Chairman Burt Solomons, Chairman Jim Keffer, Rep. Sylvester Turner and Sen. Wendy Davis. Each pushed measures to help bring relief to Texas electric ratepayers. They clearly identified the needs of their constituents and they acted to meet them.
But the electric industry which arguably controls the most powerful lobby machine in the state has blocked reform once again. Opposition from Big Energy doomed many important reforms this year including those to limit monopoly control by big generators, to crack down on improper manipulation of the wholesale market and to take control of the massive ERCOT boondoggle known as the nodal project.
These bills, supported by editorial boards and consumer groups across Texas, clearly would have marked a step forward in a state where ratepayers have gone from enjoying rates well below the national average to prices well above it. Rep. Solomons, Rep. Keffer, Sen. Davis and Rep. Turner took a brave stand on behalf of consumers in sponsoring these bills and we salute them for it.
We also applaud their successes including Solomons bill to bring additional sunlight to the PUC and ERCOT, and Davis measure to increase disclosure requirements on retail electric bills. We urge Gov. Perry to promptly sign the bills that include these consumer-friendly provisions.
Rep. Solomons, Rep. Keffer, Sen. Davis and Rep. Turner have set an inspiring example of leadership. They are true heroes for Texas consumers.
Cities Aggregation Power Project is a political subdivision corporation and registered aggregator for its more than 100 member cities and utility districts, all of whom are located in the areas of Texas that are open to retail electric competition. CAPP's members are concerned about the effect of rising energy costs on their own budgets as commercial consumers, but are also troubled by the prospect that Texas's increasingly expensive electric rates may compel large energy consumers to locate their businesses in other states or countries, taking with them needed jobs, tax revenue, and the potential for further economic development. For more information, visit www.capptx.com.
District 65 High Schools Receive Award
A big "thumbs up" to Hebron High School and Carrollton Christain Academy for being 2 of the 155 Texas high schools that have been awarded the 2009 College Readiness Award. The Texas ACT Council recognizes Texas schools that have a significant increase in the ACT Composite scores over the past five years while, at the same time, maintaining or increasing the number of students taking the ACT Assessment. This results in greater numbers of Texas students being college ready as a result of each school's staff and student efforts, and also show that Texas faculty and staff are providing the kind of education that makes a positive difference for all students in preparing them for college and the workplace. Less than 5% of the hight schools in Texas were able to achieve this award.
DENTON COUNTY DELEGATION WEIGHS IN ON LIBERAL FILIBUSTER IN THE TEXAS HOUSE
STATE OF TEXAS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DENTON COUNTY DELEGATION WEIGHS IN ON LIBERAL FILIBUSTER IN THE TEXAS HOUSE
Lawmakers call Democrats' move childish, and a great disservice to Texas
Austin, TX -- (Today) Denton County's three State Representatives, Burt Solomons, Myra Crownover and Tan Parker joined forces to voice their opposition to the obstructionist tactic employed in the Texas House of Representatives by liberal lawmakers hoping to avoid a vote on a key election integrity bill. Since Friday morning, House Democrats filibustered in hopes of preventing the Voter ID bill from being brought up for consideration before the May 26th, midnight deadline.
"I find it disconcerting that Democrats so willingly killed many great bills in order to not have to vote on one particular measure," Chairman Solomons, the Dean of the delegation, commented. "As State Representatives, we are not elected to run from the critical issues facing this state or to hide behind exploitations of parliamentary procedure. We are elected to debate the issues and to vote on public policy for 24 million Texans."
During the final five days for the Texas House to adopt Senate authored legislation, Democrats ran the clock out on the legislative process by talking extensively or "chubbing" on a series of non-controversial bills that typically are adopted in an expeditious fashion, in essence halting the legislative process.
Representative Crownover noted the overwhelming support she received on the Voter ID issue that the Democrats sought to avoid. "I conducted a survey of 16,000 Denton County residents and 89% of the respondents were in favor of requiring a photo ID to vote. I am deeply concerned that Democrats would use the rules of the House to corrupt the democratic process and deny the will of the public."
Each lawmaker also quickly pointed out that due to the delay tactic, the Texas House was unable to get to a host of important bills, such as: property tax relief for disabled veterans, eminent domain reform, greater protection for abused children, and wind insurance reform needed for this upcoming hurricane season.
However, as Representative Parker pointed out, the destruction didn't end there. "I'm heartbroken," he said. "I had on the House calendar a bill to drastically improve lake safety in Texas, legislation I authored with Senator Chris Harris to address a specific tragedy in Denton County. Now Texas will have to wait two more years for this and many other needed reforms. The fact that liberal Democrats denied the Texas House the opportunity to vote on numerous critical measures is, in my opinion, the true definition of voter suppression."
Rep. Burt Solomons files bills protecting homesteads from HOA foreclosure and reforming HOA laws
Monday, May 4, 2009
Texas Rep. Burt Solomons files bills protecting homesteads from HOA foreclosure and reforming HOA laws
"It's clear to me that while homeowner's associations are valuable things have just gotten out of control with some of them." said Solomons
March 07, 2009
By Barbara Hogan
Austin, Texas - In past sessions of the Texas Legislature, State Rep. Burt Solomons has been a champion for homeowners' rights. This session he filed 3 comprehensive bills that, if enacted, would: allow Texas voters, in November 2009, to vote on amending the Texas Constitution preventing HOA foreclosures on homestead properties,eliminate non-judicial foreclosure,give homeowners the right to file suit against an HOA and collect damages if the board acts outside of the law or the governing documents, give homeowners the right to collect attorney fees if the homeowner prevails regardless of who files the suit, prohibit the HOA's right of entry on private property, prohibit HOAs from enforcing restrictions added after the home is purchased, eliminate an HOA's right of first refusal,prohibit HOAs from enforcing restrictions against solar energy devices,prevent HOA boards from amending bylaws to expand board powers,require 51% approval of all homeowners in HOA to amend governing documents,require notice of and establish open meetings for HOA board and committees and require written minutes to be published,void HOAs' right to prohibit voting privileges,
prohibit proxy ballots,require written notice to all homeowners of election or vote,require HOAs to contract with county agent to tabulate votes,require HOAs to file voting results with the county clerk,prohibit requirements for board members, with exception of conviction of moral turpitude,establish a priority of payments from homeowners so past and current dues are paid first,
require HOAs to establish and offer an alternative payment schedule when homeowners become delinquent,repeal HOAs' right to fine homeowner $200 per day per violation,require full disclosure of documents governing an HOA be provided to prospective home buyer,
prohibit restrictions against homeowner from parking vehicles on public street or in owner's driveway,allow HOAs up to 10 years to file action against a homeowner.
These bills would give Texas homeowners a fair playing field when dealing with their HOA board and their agents, the HOA attorney and management company. Every Texan should write their legislator in support of HB1976, HB1977 and HJR76. Texans must show up in-force when hearings for these bills are held at the state capitol in Austin to let legislators know how desperately these amendments are needed to protect homeowners.
The proposed amendments fall in line with the recently published "A Handbook for Texas Legislators Relating to Homeowners' Associations Issues" written by long-time homeowner rights advocate Barbara Hogan. Ms. Hogan delivered a copy of her handbook to all Texas legislators earlier this year. Her complete handbook can be found at www.TexasHOAissues.com.
While other homeowner advocates are looking for pie in the sky reform, Representative Solomons has reduced the problem of HOA abuse to a few salient points which, when enacted into law, will serve to take HOA governance to a new level of sanity, legality, fairness and common sense.
Posted by LagoBlogger at 5:01 PM
Labels: HOA, Texas legislation
SOLOMONS PUSHES FIX ON COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROPORTIONALITY ISSUE
April 7, 2009 9:42 AM
Copyright April 07, 2009, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
SOLOMONS PUSHES FIX ON COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROPORTIONALITY ISSUE
Lawmakers want to formalize what had been an informal policy on health insurance funding.
Rep. Burt Solomons (R-Carrollton) told the House Appropriations Committee yesterday morning it was time for the Legislature to guarantee it would pick up the tab on what is expected to be $154 million in uncompensated health care costs to local community colleges in the upcoming biennium.
The language Solomons proposed, in House Bill 2083, is intended to put into statute what has been informal policy for any number of sessions: health insurance funding should be based on the number of eligible employees, regardless of who pays for those employees when community college funding runs short.
âThis bill represents a new compact with the essential institutions, and I believe it will help forge a new partnership,â said Solomons, adding that the bottom line was colleges that could not fund faculty were likely to cut enrollment. âIf you think that we had an outcry over tuition deregulation, wait until our communities find out that our community colleges canât afford to educate everyone anymore.â
This bill would put formal language to a long-standing agreement, Solomons told the committee. Rep. Helen Giddings (D-Dallas), who has the Dallas County community college system in her district, put it another way.
âWe wanted to tip without paying for the meal,â Giddings said. âNow theyâre simply asking for us to pay for the meal.â
Texas has seen an impressive amount of growth in community college enrollment. Of the 600,000 students enrolled in college right now, over half are in community college. About 70 percent of freshman will start their college careers at community colleges. And since 2002, the enrollment of community colleges has increased by 140,000 students, which is equivalent to five Texas Tech University campuses.
To guarantee proportionality simply gives the college systems the certainty and consistency they need. Given that community colleges are funding on student contact hours, this is not the type of money intended to expand payrolls with unnecessary or unused faculty members, Solomons said.
Solomons, who does not typically carry education bills, did not have to worry about his audience at House Appropriations. He has 50 co-signers on his bill to date. He also had a number of supportive members on the panel, including Giddings, Rep. Fred Brown (R-College Station), Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) and Rep. Ruth McClendon (D-San Antonio), who led the higher ed subcommittee last session. McClendon spoke of the committee membersâ shock to see that Gov. Rick Perry had vetoed the health funding, with little warning, once the budget passed.
Dallas County Community College District Chancellor Wright Lassiter told the committee he appreciated the effort to remove assumptions and replace them with a new strict definition. DCCCD already anticipates no increase in its tax base, even though enrollment is up, especially among minority students and those high school students who are seeking dual-credit courses. Without the anticipated health care funding, DCCCD has three choices: increase taxes; increase tuition; or cut programs and services. All those options would be tough for the college to face.
As part of his handouts, Solomons presented a handout on the breakdown between state and local funding for various members of the committee. Larger urban community colleges clearly suffered more under cuts than smaller rural ones.
Copyright April 07, 2009, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
SOLOMONS TO START TAKING UP BILLS IN CONTEXT OF SESSION OF CONSUMER
Series of bills to shine light on utilities
The House State Affairs Committee next week will start hearing the first of what Chairman Burt Solomons is calling his session of the consumer legislation, including bills that would require free Webcasts of Public Utility Commission meetings.
There has been a lot of talk about openness and transparency this session, including broadcasting House floor sessions statewide, Solomons told QR this morning. So I just think it makes sense that we let consumers and ordinary people have a chance what the PUC does in its open hearings free of charge.
The PUC is one of a small handful of agencies whose public hearings cannot be view over the internet without paying subscription fee to a private company. PUC spokesman Terry Hadley said the agency worked out a deal in 2000 with an Austin company called TexasAdmin to Web cast its hearings.
At the time, Web casts were still considered novel and the PUC did not have the resources to provide the service, Hadley said. TexasAdmin stepped in and agreed to install the equipment, and it allowed the agency and legislative offices to access the Web casts for free. Later, media outlets and some nonprofit and consumer advocacy groups were also given gratis access, Hadley said.
The service can get pricey. According to TexasAdmins Web site, a user could purchase a one-day subscription for $125. Or, a month-to-month subscription could be purchased for $250 per month, a yearlong subscription could be had for $200 a month.
Solomons (R-Carrollton) noted that virtually all of the Legislature's committee hearing and the floor sessions of both chambers and many events in the Speaker's and Lieutenant Governor's press conference rooms stream live video over the Web with free access.
TexasAdmin, a subsidiary of AdminMonitor Inc., which also offers services in California and York, was still reviewing its take on Solomons bill, a company representative said. PUC Chairman Barry Smitherman said he has no objection to free Web casts, but questioned who would bear the cost if TexasAdmin were to decide it would be unprofitable to offer the service for free.
Our goal is to work with Chairman Solomons to help his achieve his objectives,said Carley Dowell, TexasAdmins operations manager.
I am more than happy to have these meetings available to anyone who wants to see them, Smitherman said. The issue is, how do we pay for it?
Also on State Affairs Tuesday agenda is Solomons' bill requiring electric companies and phone companies to adopt common terms so that consumers would have an easier time understanding their monthly bills and making competitive comparisons.
Tuesday's agenda also includes a bill by Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) that would take the money in the Systems Benefit Fund that ratepayers pay to electric companies out of the general fund and direct the PUC to spend on its intended programs such as discounts for low-income customers.
Another Turner bill on the agenda would require retailers in competitive markets to make their books available for review by state regulators.
Copyright March 06, 2009, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
Homeowners association disputes hit home
08-04-24_Homeowners_association_disputes_hit_home.doc
Mortgage fraud crisis
