February 11, 2013

By Maresa Strano

AUSTIN, Texas: Aiming to boost Texas’ influence in Presidential primary nominations, state Senator Dan Patrick (R) filed a bill last week to change the state’s primary election date to the first week in February of even-numbered election years. Patrick makes the case that “For far too long the race for President has been all but decided by the time Texans get a chance to cast their ballot,” and holding the primary earlier in the election year is the solution.^[1] As such, Patrick expects support for Senate 452 will transcend party lines and result in its smooth passage.

The new primary schedule outlined under SB 452 includes a correspondingly earlier filing deadline for candidates running in the potential February election. If the bill is passed during the current session of the Texas Legislature, which began on Jan. 8 and runs through May 27, the adjustments would be applied immediately, shortening the timetable for individuals who had already been planning to run in the 2014 elections. Prospective candidates, Patrick among them, would have to file by the second week in November of this year.

Patrick is exploring a run for Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 2014. He would face incumbent Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, in the Republican primary.^[2]

January 28, 2013

By Maresa Strano

AUSTIN, Texas: Eight years have passed since the Texas Railroad Commission ceded what remained of its railroad responsibilities to the federal government, and the relatively fresh-faced members currently in charge of the state agency believe the time is ripe for an overhaul. Beginning with the commission’s name-which will likely be changed to some variation on the Texas Energy Resources Commission-obsolescence has crept into several facets of the 122-year-old agency over the last decade.^[1][2]

The commission is composed of three popularly elected commissioners who serve staggered six-year terms. The commission’s primary duties are to regulate and oversee the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining.^[3] Its role and reach have expanded with the advent of fracking, the rise in gas prices and overall oil production- particularly in the last three years. Despite this expansion, the commission’s budget has decreased from $74.7 to $71.1 this past fiscal year, an amount which, according to commission Chairman Barry Smitherman, is insufficient to fulfill the agency’s growing inspection and enforcement responsibilities. Indeed, the commission recently reported that during the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, its inspectors found “about 13,500 alleged violations, including 163 major ones, but assessed total penalties of just $177,475.”^[2] Smitherman wants to create an enforcement division to close this gap. “By making it a stand-alone division, we communicate that it’s important,” he said in the context of a broad discourse about the commission’s improvement involving the State Legislature‘s Sunset Advisory Commission, which evaluates state agencies on transparency and efficiency, as well as state environmental entities.^[4] The commission needs additional funding to get the division off the ground, and has also asked legislators for a $17 million budget supplement to update the “awful”^[2]official state website and boost server capacity so that users can access important application databases, for example, for more than a few hours each day, and to expedite the processing of drilling paperwork.^[5][6]

The Sunset Advisory Commission’s review of the railroad commission, which dragged out for two years, resulted in a list of proposed changes including a number addressing conflicts of interest arising from the acceptance of campaign contributions from representatives of industries that fall under the commission’s regulatory authority. For instance, the Sunset Advisory Commission recommends forbidding commissioners from “knowingly accepting” campaign contributions from groups contesting cases before the commission, and from retaining his or her seat while running for a different office.

As part of the overhaul, the railroad commission has initiated new rules aimed at protecting gas and oil wells amid the fracking process known as “well integrity,” and a rule to simplify the recycling of water from oil and gas wells to alleviate issues caused by Texas’ frequent droughts.^[7]

January 28, 2013

Edited by Greg Janetka
This week’s tracker features a roundup of some of the recent legislative issues making headlines early on in 2013 sessions.

Weekly highlight

Missouri: Last Wednesday the Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill to make a number of changes to elections in the state. The legislation, the first to be passed by the chamber, was approved 115-45 and now goes to the state Senate. The major effect of the bill would allow the governor to appoint a replacement for a vacancy in the offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor and U.S. Senator. The office would then appear on the next general election ballot, but the acting officeholder would be prohibited from running. Additionally, the bill moves Missouri’s presidential primary from early February to early March, requires elections be closer in order to allow for a recount, and requires elections for state legislative vacancies be held within six months.^[1]As of today, 44 states have kicked off 2013 sessions. Here’s a quick rundown on some of the recent action around the country:

• Rhode Island: As the only New England state yet to legalize gay marriage, Rhode Island lawmakers took up the divisive issue early and passed it in theHouse on Thursday by a margin of 51 to 19. The legislation, which would allow the marriage of “any eligible person regardless of gender,” faces an uncertain fate in the Rhode Island State Senate. Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed (D) has come out against gay marriage, but said she would allow the bill to be taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to happen in the spring.^[2][3]

• South Carolina: During the 2012 elections some 250 candidates were removed from primary ballots in South Carolina for failing to file correctly. The problem was the result of confusion from a 2010 law that requires online filing but doesn’t match up with other state laws. In response the state Senatepassed legislation last week that would sync the filing process for incumbents and challengers and allows those who do file incorrectly to pay a fine instead of being kicked off of the ballot. The bill now goes to the House.^[4]

• Texas: Due to the once-a-decade redistricting process, all 31 Texas State Senate seats were up for election last year. Normally half of the seats are up every two years. Candidates in 2012 did not know if they were running for two or four year terms. The length of terms for the winners was determined last week by having senators randomly picked out envelopes containing the numbers 1 though 31. Those who selected an even number will serve for two-years, while those who chose an odd number will serve a four-year term. Nine Republicans and six Democrats got two-year terms and will once again face voters in 2014.^[5][6]

• Washington: Washington’s vote-by-mail system only requires that ballots be postmarked by Election Day. Thus, many elections remain undetermined on election night. Seeking to remedy this issue, Rep. Kevin Van De Wege (D) has introduced a measure to require ballots be processed and counted until midnight on election night. During the 2012 elections, all counties but one did a count shortly after polls officially closed at 8 p.m. and resumed counting in the days and weeks afterwards. The bill would not change the postmark deadline, only speed up results. Critics have said the move would not necessarily ensure definite results but was certain to increase costs.^[7]

• Sessions
• Redistricting
• 2013 Legislative Elections
• Special Elections

 

Currently 41 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting in regular session. One state, California, is meeting in special session concurrent with their regular session.

The following states have convened their 2013 legislative sessions:^[8]

• December 3: California
• December 5: Maine
• January 1: Rhode Island, Pennsylvania
• January 2: Massachusetts, New Hampshire
• January 7: Idaho, Indiana, Montana, Ohio, Wisconsin
• January 8: Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota,Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming
• January 9: Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina,Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia

• January 14: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Washington

• January 15: Alaska, New Mexico
• January 16: Hawaii
• January 28: Utah

No states are scheduled to convene the rest of the week. The next date scheduled to convene is Nevada,Oklahoma and Oregon on February 4.

Regular sessions

See also: Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions

Click here to see a chart of each state’s 2013 session information.

Special sessions

Snapshot of State Legislatures: Monday, January 28, 2013
There are 7,383 Total State Legislators
Total Democratic state legislators	3,508 (47.5%)
Total Republican state legislators	3,898 (52.8%)
There are 99 Total State Legislative Chambers
Total Democratic Party-controlled chambers	36
Total Republican Party-controlled chambers	59
Total tied or non-partisan chambers	4
2013 Session Information
Total Special Elections	9
Total Special Sessions	1

There is one special sessions scheduled to take place this week in California. Overall in 2012, there were 22 special sessions in 18 states.

California

During his State of the State address on January 24, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) called for the Legislature to hold a special session concurrent with the regular session in order to bring the state in compliance with the federal Affordable Care Act. The special session began today.^[9]

In recess

As of today, January 28, 3 state’s sessions are currently in recess:

• Kentucky - In recess from January 9 to February 4.^[10]
• North Carolina - In recess until January 29.^[10]
• West Virginia - In recess from January 10 to February 12.^[10]

 

November 23, 2012

By Maresa Strano

AUSTIN, Texas: Effective today, Hope Andrade (R) is no longer the Texas Secretary of State. An official statement was posted on the secretary of state website Tuesday after Andrade submitted her letter of resignation to Gov. Rick Perry, who appointed Andrade the first Latina secretary of state in Texas’ history in July of 2008. Before the appointment, she was the chair of the Texas Transportation Commission. ^[1]

“I am truly humbled by the trust and confidence Governor Perry placed in me nearly four and a half years ago and will forever be grateful for the opportunity to represent Texas in this esteemed office, ” she said of her tenure overseeing five elections and advising the governor on Mexican affairs during a critical period in the shaping of Mexican border policy.^[1]

Andrade’s departure comes on the heels of a controversial attempt to purge the states voter rolls of deceased Texans in preparation for the November general election. Enacted last year by the State Legislature to enhance the overall integrity of Texas’ elections, the purge was met with skepticism, and in some cases hostility, by a number of county elections supervisors who worried that in the rush to implement the system, thousands of living, eligible Texas voters would end up mislabeled as dead and therefore disenfranchised. One of the approximately 76,000 voters sent notices requesting confirmation of life (or else have their registration cancelled) was Wayne Smith, a member of the Texas House of Representatives. As secretary of state, Andrade was responsible for administering the revamped voter roll clean up system. ^[2] At least two counties temporarily lost funding from the state for refusing to carry out her office’s directives per the new law.^[3][2]

Perry noted her indelible place in the history books as a pioneer of Hispanic female leadership in Texas. “I’m thankful for her service and I’m proud to call her a friend,” he said after accepting her resignation this week.^[2]

November 1, 2012

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional team

AUSTIN: Texas: Texas has one U.S. Senate seat and 36 U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. Texas gained four districts due to the redistricting following the 2010 census. Thirty of 32 incumbents are seeking re-election, and 29 of those 30 face at least one challenger in the general election (96.67%). Only incumbent Sam Johnson of Texas’ 3rd congressional district runs unopposed.

Currently, the Republican Party holds 23 of the 32 Congressional seats from Texas. According to race ratings, none of those districts are expected to flip party control in 2012.

In Texas, all polling places are open from 7 AM to 7 PM Central Time.^[1] Texas is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.

See also: State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2012)

U.S. Senate

Texas has one U.S. Senate seat on the ballot in 2012. Republican and favorite in the race Ted Cruz faces Paul Sadler (D) in the general election. An analysis of 2012 Senate elections published by The New York Times rated the Texas Senate race as Solid Republican.^[2] The seat is open following the retirement of incumbent Kay Bailey Hutchison. John Jay Myers is seeking election as a Libertarian, and David Collins is running as a Green Party candidate.

In an upset, Cruz defeated the more established candidate, Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in the Republican primary. The battle was one of the most highly contested in the nation, with Cruz receiving the backing of Tea Party groups. The race went to a primary runoff, where Cruz was victorious 56-43 percent.

State	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
Texas Class 1 Senate seat	Paul Sadler  Ted Cruz  John Jay Myers  David Collins	Kay Bailey Hutchison	Pending	Pending

U.S. House

Texas experienced chaotic redistricting this year, following the apportionment of an additional four seats based on population growth. The Republican-controlled state legislature passed maps that favored the GOP, but those maps were subsequently thrown out by the courts and rejected by the Department of Justice. Ultimately, a set of interim maps drawn by the courts will be used in this election.

One of Texas’ 36 districts is considered to be competitive in 2012 according to the New York Times race ratings. That district is District 23.^[3]

District 23 is considered to be Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Francisco Canseco is challenged by Pete Gallego (D) in a swing district favoring Republicans. Gallego has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1991. Texas’ 23rd District has been included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee‘s “Red to Blue List,” which identifies districts that the organization has specifically targeted to flip from Republican to Democratic control.^[4]

Here is a complete list of U.S. House candidates appearing on the general election ballot in Texas:

• Candidates running by District
• Partisan breakdown by district
• Comparison of new and old redistricting maps

 

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	Shirley McKellar  Louie Gohmert  Clark Patterson	Louie Gohmert	Pending	Pending
2nd	Jim Dougherty  Ted Poe  Kenneth Duncan  Mark Roberts	Ted Poe	Pending	Pending
3rd	Sam Johnson	Sam Johnson	Pending	Pending
4th	VaLinda Hathcox  Ralph Hall  Thomas Griffing	Ralph Hall	Pending	Pending
5th	Linda Mrosko  Jeb Hensarling  Ken Ashby	Jeb Hensarling	Pending	Pending
6th	Kenneth Sanders  Joe Barton  Hugh Chauvin  Brandon Parmer	Joe Barton	Pending	Pending
7th	James Cargas  John Culberson  Drew Parks  Lance Findley	John Culberson	Pending	Pending
8th	Neil Burns  Kevin Brady  Roy Hall	Kevin Brady	Pending	Pending
9th	Al Green  Steve Mueller  John Wieder  Vanessa Foster	Al Green	Pending	Pending
10th	Tawana Cadien  Michael McCaul  Richard Priest	Michael McCaul	Pending	Pending
11th	Jim Riley  Mike Conaway  Scott Ballard	Mike Conaway	Pending	Pending
12th	Dave Robinson  Kay Granger  Matthew Solodow	Kay Granger	Pending	Pending
13th	Mac Thornberry  John Robert Deek  Keith Houston	Mac Thornberry	Pending	Pending
14th	Nick Lampson  Randy Weber  Zach Grady  Rhett Rosenquest Smith	Ron Paul	Pending	Pending
15th	Ruben Hinojosa  Dale Brueggemann  Ronald Finch	Rubén Hinojosa	Pending	Pending
16th	Beto O’Rourke  Barbara Carrasco  Junart Sodoy	Silvestre Reyes	Pending	Pending
17th	Bill Flores  Ben Easton	Bill Flores	Pending	Pending
18th	Sheila Jackson-Lee  Sean Seibert  Christopher Barber	Sheila Jackson Lee	Pending	Pending
19th	Randy Neugebauer  Richard Peterson	Randy Neugebauer	Pending	Pending
20th	Joaquin Castro  David Rosa  A.E. Potts  Antonio Diaz	Charles Gonzalez	Pending	Pending
21st	Candace Duval  Lamar Smith  John-Henry Liberty	Lamar Smith	Pending	Pending
22nd	Kesha Rogers  Pete Olson  Steve Susman  Don Cook	Pete Olson	Pending	Pending
23rd	Pete Gallego  Francisco Canseco  Jeffrey Blunt  Ed Scharf	Francisco Canseco	Pending	Pending
24th	Tim Rusk  Kenny Marchant  John Stathas	Kenny Marchant	Pending	Pending
25th	Elaine Henderson  Roger Williams  Betsy Dewey	Lloyd Doggett	Pending	Pending
26th	David Sanchez  Michael C. Burgess  Mark Boler	Michael C. Burgess	Pending	Pending
27th	Rose Meza Harrison  Blake Farenthold  Corrie Byrd  William Bret Baldwin	Blake Farenthold	Pending	Pending
28th	Henry Cuellar  William Hayward  Patrick Hisel  Michael Cary	Henry Cuellar	Pending	Pending
29th	Gene Green  James Stanczak  Maria Selva	Gene Green	Pending	Pending
30th	Eddie Bernice Johnson  Travis Washington, Jr.  Ed Rankin	Eddie Bernice Johnson	Pending	Pending
31st	Stephen Wyman  John Carter  Ethan Garofolo	John Carter	Pending	Pending
32nd	Katherine Savers McGovern  Pete Sessions  Seth Hollist	Pete Sessions	Pending	Pending
33rd	Marc Veasey  Chuck Bradley  Ed Lindsay	N/A	Pending	Pending
34th	Filemon Vela  Jessica Puente Bradshaw  Steven Shanklin	N/A	Pending	Pending
35th	Lloyd Doggett  Susan Narvaiz  Ross Lynn Leone  Meghan Owen  Simon Alvarado (Write-in)	N/A	Pending	Pending
36th	Max Martin  Steve Stockman  Michael Cole	N/A	Pending	Pending

November 1, 2012

By Ballotpedia’s State executive officials team

See also: Nebraska state executive official elections, 2012

See also: Oklahoma state executive official elections, 2012

See also: South Dakota state executive official elections, 2012

See also: Texas state executive official elections, 2012

MADISON, Wisconsin: Several states in the central region of the country are holding state executive official elections in 2012. Because there are only a small selection of races in Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas, we are combining their previews into one regional article. Each state will be highlighted below in the relevant tab.

[edit]

• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Texas

 

Candidates for Public Service Commission
Frank Landis (R) Tim Schram (R)

 

See also: Nebraska down ballot state executive elections, 2012

 Frank Landis (R) District 1 Incumbent

 Tim Schram (R) District 3 Incumbent

Two state executive positions are up for election this year in the state of Nebraska. Voters will make their choice for two Public Service Commissioners on November 6th.

In District 1 incumbent Frank Landis (R) is running for re-election. He was unopposed in the primary and will also be unopposed in the general election. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he is guaranteed re-election. Landis first assumed office in 1988.^[1]

In District 3 incumbent Tim Schram (R) is also running for re-election. Likewise, he was unopposed in the primary and will also be unopposed in the general election. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he is also guaranteed re-election. Schram first assumed office in 2007. ^[2]

In Nebraska, all polling locations will be open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm central time and 7:00 am to 7:00 pm mountain time.^[3] Nebraska is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.

November 1, 2012

By Ballotpedia’s State legislative team

AUSTIN, Texas: There are 181 total legislative seats with 2012 elections in Texas, where polling places are open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Central Time. Texas is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.

The Senate is controlled by Republicans, with Democrats holding only 12 of 31 seats. In the House, 89 candidates will run without any major party opponents in November, meaning that most of the races were decided once the primary passed.^[1]

Of the 181 incumbents up for election in 2012, 148 (81.8%) of them are running for re-election. A total of 66 of 181 (36.5%) districts will see more than one major party candidate in the general election.

Here are a few races to watch:

Senate

• The most competitive race in the Senate is District 10, where incumbent Democrat Wendy R. Davis faces a challenge from Republican State Rep. Mark Shelton.^[1]

House

• District 34: A rematch will occur between incumbent Connie Scott (R) and challenger Abel Herrero (D). Scott defeated Herrero 54%-46% in 2010.

• District 43: J.M. Lozano a Democrat turned Republican, won a runoff election to advance to the general election in November. He will face Democrat Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles.

• District 78: In 2010, Republican Dee Margo narrowly defeated Democrat Joe Moody, 52%-48%. Moody will again face Margo in the election on November 6.

October 15, 2012

By Maresa Strano

AUSTIN, Texas: The 23rd congressional district election in Texas is the only competitive congressional race in Texas in 2012 according to the New York Times race projections, which rated it as leaning Republican.^[1] First elected in 2010, incumbent Francisco Canseco (R) will face three challengers in the general election: Pete Gallego(D), Jeffrey Blunt (L) and Ed Scharf (G). The swing district was re-drawn after the 2010 Census in a fashion that redistricting analysis indicates will help Canseco will re-election in November.^[2][3]

Gallego has served in the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 74, since 1991. He won the Democratic party’s nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in a primary runoff election on July 31st, while Canseco ran unopposed in his party’s primary. Republican party operatives had concerns early on about Canseco’s lackluster fundraising record, however Gallego’s expensive primary battles left his campaign coffer in poor shape in comparison with Canesco’s as of the last campaign finance report deadline.^[4]

Candidates for Congress are required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. The charts below offer a breakdown of the two major party candidate’s finances as of July and will be updated to reflect the latest report, due October 15th, as the forms become available to the public online.

September 25, 2012

By Maresa Strano

AUSTIN, Texas: On May 25, 2011 the Texas Legislature passed a bill modifying the procedure for updating the state’s list of eligible and registered voters. Effective September 1, 2011, House Bill 174 expanded the secretary of state‘s role as state elections manager, requiring him or her to perform quarterly purges of the voter rolls based on information provided by the Social Security Administration.^[1]

Although cleaning up the voter rolls is standard practice for any elections office, the bill introduced a new source for weeding out deceased voters with the federal agency’s master list, and the change has been met with unease by a host of Democratic legislators and elections officials who are skeptical that there is not enough time before the general election to confirm whether each of the 77,000 flagged decedents reported by secretary of state’s office in August are in fact dead.^[2] There are 13.1 million registered voters in Texas, and county election officials are concerned about the opportunity for errors and wrongful removal of voters portended by such a high volume and short time span. October 9th is the deadline for possibly dead voters to respond to letters sent by their counties’ elections offices requesting status confirmation; It is also the deadline for voter registration.^[2]

“In the name of fairness and efficiency, we should call a timeout until Jan. 1 and ask the Secretary of State to work with the legislature and counties to ensure the cleanup is done in the most efficient, fair and transparent way, long before any elections take place so as to eliminate the appearance of political games,” state senator Rodney Ellis (D) weighed in.

The concerns sparked a lawsuit, filed in an Austin state court last week, arguing that the law violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act and that secretary of state Hope Andrade “exceeded her authority” in the purging process by targeting voters whose social security number and/or names match up only partially to death records, classified as “weak-matches.”^[3]

To the chagrin of the law’s supporters, a state district judge sympathized with plaintiffs and temporarily blocked the secretary of state from ordering counties to remove flagged names from their lists. Two of the more prominent supporters of the more stringent voter check requirements, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and state Rep. Phil King, both Republicans, believe the law’s objective is sound and the judge’s order ought to be thrown out so the county officials can proceed on schedule with their investigation, which was already underway when the judge issued the temporary restraining order.^[4]

The appeal hearing is scheduled for October 4th. If the panel of three federal judges declines to lift the restraining order, it will remain in place through election day. If the court restores the law’s enforcement, come election day, eligible, living voters who discover they had been stricken from the list will not be disqualified from participating in the election altogether. They may cast a provisional ballot, which can be counted, pending verification of their identity by election authorities.^[2]

August 28, 2012

By Maresa Strano

Michael Williams (R) will succeed Robert Scott as Education Commissioner on September 1, 2012.

AUSTIN, Texas: Michael Williams will take office as Texas’ Commissioner of Education on September 1, 2012. Governor Rick Perry‘s appointed him to replace Robert Scott as the state’s chief education official.^[1] Scott resigned earlier this summer, months after state budget cuts left public schools out $5 billion and in generally dire straits.^[2]

Williams was reportedly plucked from a pool of Republican candidates that included state senator Florence Shapiro and state representative Rob Eissler, among others, for the technically nonpartisan role.^[1] Prior to his appointment Williams spent nearly 14 years on the Texas Railroad Commission.^[3] In 1998, then-governor George W. Bush appointed him to fill a vacancy on the commission. In so doing, Bush made Williams the first African American to hold a statewide elected position in Texas history. Williams was subsequently elected to the post three times — in 2000, and 2002, and 2008 — before stepping down in 2011 to pursue an ultimately unsuccessful bid for U.S. Houserepresenting the 25th Congressional District of Texas.

A longtime conservative activist and member of the Texas Republican Party, Williams’ profile within the GOP has risen steadily over the years due to his work as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice under President Reagan, and dual appointments by former President George H.W. Bush to serve as Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.^[3]

Texas’ commissioner of education is the educational leader of the state, serving as the executive officer of the Texas Education Agency and executive secretary of the state Board of Education, overseeing the state’s 1,200 school districts and charter schools.^[4] The commissioner carries out duties as directed by both state agency and the state legislature in adherence to Title 2, Subtitle B, Chapter 7, Subchapter 1, Section 7.055(b) of the Texas statutes. The position has a reputation for being lofty and demanding, and has proven hard to sustain by any one person for more than a few years. In fact, at the time Scott tendered his resignation, he was the longest serving education commissioner the state had had in two decades.^[1] He held the office for five years.