Recent editorials from Texas newspapers

Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Texas newspapers:

Austin American-Statesman. Nov. 17, 2017.

Texas has made progress in addressing dam safety - there is no doubt. But more needs to be done to keep Texans who live near dams safe.

Twenty years after the Austin American-Statesman reported on widespread shortcomings in dam safety, another Statesman investigation by Ralph K.M. Haurwitz published last week found hundreds of dams in Texas remain at risk of failure. It also found that, as more communities develop near dams, substandard dams increasingly put the lives of people at risk.

Meaningful change at the state and local level, however, can ensure Texas has safer dams and that it protects more lives near dams.

Changes should start at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), which regulates and inspects dams. The commission should reconsider its hazard risk, or dam safety designation system. State legislators should also revisit a 2013 law that exempts rural dams from safety regulations. Texas should also create a loan program that allows private dam owners - private dams account for almost half of all Texas dams - to address dam safety issues. Local elected officials can help by pursuing regulation for proposed development near dams; none currently exists.

Those changes need to come sooner than later. There are 7,229 dams in Texas - 27 percent of those are upstream of populated areas where lives would be at risk if the dams were breached. Disaster is just one huge storm away.

The worst-case flood is a dam’s biggest threat. That scenario calls for the most severe wet weather conditions reasonably possible, according to TCEQ. Texas knows too well what that looks like: Band after band of heavy rain over one particular area, like Houston experienced during Hurricane Harvey. A similar storm over a dam near a populated area anywhere in Texas could be catastrophic.

In 1997, the Statesman reported on the alarming state of neglect and inadequate oversight of dams in Texas. At that time, nearly two-thirds of dams that sat above populated areas lacked inspection. Back then, the Commission on Environmental Quality dam safety team had just six employees.

Today, the environmental commission’s dam safety team has grown to 30 employees and has a $2.3 million annual budget. More dams whose failure would put people at risk are regularly inspected - and most dams under the commission’s oversight have submitted emergency plans.

Still, current state and local policies give experts reason to call dam safety in Texas an increasingly urgent matter. We agree.

One problem is the environmental commission’s safety designation system.

In Texas, a dam receives a “high-hazard potential” classification if the lives of seven or more people are in danger in a worst-case flood. A mid-level rating of “significant-hazard potential” is designated if the loss of up to six lives is expected in the event of dam failure.

High-hazard dams are required to meet the environmental commission’s strictest standards. The commission should require those high standards of any dam that threatens even a single life in a worst-case flood. That’s how the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and most states classify a dam high-hazard. Texas should, too.

During the last legislative session, state lawmakers gave the Texas Water Development Board $600,000 to create the state’s first flood plan. The plan will evaluate statewide flood risks and propose solutions for local governments to decrease those risks. State leaders must ensure the plan includes how to address dam failure risks.

Legislators should also revisit a state law that exempts dams from safety regulations.

That law, championed by then-Gov. Rick Perry, permanently exempts 3,232 dams in Texas - or 45 percent - from inspections and other safety requirements because of their relatively small size and rural locations. Although more than 90 percent of these dams would not be expected to cause loss of life if they failed, 231 of them are in the up-to-six-deaths-are-possible category, Haurwitz found.

The law puts convenience for private dam owners - who argued before legislators that safety-related studies and costs for improvements are too expensive - over the safety of people who live below the dams.

A state loan program would help dam owners with safety expenses. Legislators should consider creating such a fund.

The threats dams pose have also increased because more people have been allowed to settle below dams in what engineers call the potential inundation zone, which includes areas well outside the 100-year flood plain, which has a 1 percent chance of flooding during any given year. Development near dams, as the Statesman reports, is mostly unregulated by local, state and federal authorities. As a result, construction of housing, businesses and roads puts structures and people’s lives at potential risk from dams.

That needs to change.

Local elected officials across the state, including in Austin, need to limit development near dams, where a worst-case flood would threaten loss of life.

Experts say that the probability that a catastrophic storm causes dam failure is low. But, if Texas weather has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected. As such, state and local officials must make it a priority to keep communities near dams as safe as possible.

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Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Nov. 18, 2017.

There is a problem in our county courts, and it’s difficult to determine just how big it is.

In recent weeks, Star-Telegram reporter Max Baker has reported on a number of court cases that have disappeared - many involving high-profile litigants. More specifically, the cases cannot be found by searching digital court records.

The Tarrant County district clerk and his office can find the files.

But you? You’re out of luck.

The public should be able to tell what documents exist in a lawsuit, and if the suit itself exists. This is a generally accepted standard that exists in other counties in Texas.

It can feel like government makes decisions in our best interest or on our behalf, but we’ve got little input in the process. Government is big, and communicating with it can be difficult.

But any form of government must be run for and by the people - not by those who hold elected office, and that includes our district clerk.

We should be able to determine who files suits and when, across the spectrum of cases filed - from civil to criminal to family court. Yes, records can be sealed to protect the privacy of minors and for other reasons.

But the existence of a record should not disappear. It should not be viewable only by the clerk’s office and the judge’s staff.

There is the possibility that this issue goes beyond family courts - where Baker has done the bulk of his reporting - and where there is value in checking on potential employees, neighbors or partners.

You would also want to know if a business had failed to pay its taxes or violated a competitor’s patent, for example, just as you would want to know if a prospective partner had been previously married.

Tarrant County District Clerk Tom Wilder started working on the problem after the Star-Telegram started its reporting.

If Wilder’s office can’t identify the parties - or if there are questions whether real names are being used - a judge will be asked to issue an order forcing the litigants to verify their identities by using their full names.

A judge can order a case to be re-captioned. A rule from the Texas Supreme Court indicates a clerk can seek a correction. We encourage the supreme court to take a firm hand in its oversight of this important issue.

We also encourage Wilder’s office to ensure the public can locate a record by sending bad records back, requesting a correction. The county can also establish an agreed-upon set of standards or naming mechanisms.

Another problem: a “glitch” in the computer system automatically boots confidential and sensitive cases out of the searchable, public-facing digital archive system. Wilder says a software fix - which should come in December - will fix that.

We encourage the county to invest in needed upgrades to our systems. Because they belong to all of us.

Wilder initially told the Star-Telegram that “99 percent of the cases are going to be easily searchable.”

That’s not good enough.

Access to 100 percent of court cases filed is our right, because the information is public.

How does one know if 99 percent of thousands of cases filed each year are viewable? How does Wilder know it? It’s not knowable.

Public records exist to keep citizens informed about their government.

To “guesstimate” how many of our public records are available to us, the public, does not engender our trust.

Yes, the courts govern us. But we have put in place those elected officials who preside over them and their systems. Wilder, an elected official, is a steward for the public. He does not work for lawyers who have an interest in protecting their clients. He works for us.

The lack of access - and the inability to determine how many records cannot be found - raises serious questions about lawsuits throughout our civil and family courts.

Tarrant County court records belong to the public. Today, it doesn’t feel like it.

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Waco Tribune-Herald. Nov. 18, 2017.

Second Amendment advocates who regularly stress the need to enforce existing gun laws rather than forging new laws should welcome Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s Fix NICS Act, which proposes to do just that. Crafted in the wake of the Nov. 5 Sutherland Springs massacre that claimed the lives of 26 people, coldly struck down as they worshipped in church, this bill would bolster efforts to see federal and state authorities comply with existing laws and accurately report criminal history records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

It’s about time. Americans have endured years of shooting massacres without much in the way of attempted solutions from Congress. Thoughts and prayers from politicians are fine, but they’re no balm when those whom God endows with intelligence and ability fail to take action to protect the innocent. And while the Trib can think of more aggressive, common-sense gun-control measures, Cornyn’s bill at least makes an attempt to address what gun-rights advocates advise: Enforce laws already on the books. Make sure we keep guns out of the hands of felons, domestic abusers and the mentally ill.

The tragedy of Sutherland Springs offers a perfect example of the problem: Devin P. Kelley, 26, perpetrator of the crime, was discharged from the Air Force in 2013 for “bad conduct” after being convicted of two counts of domestic violence and serving eight months in prison - good enough, under the law, to preclude his being sold a firearm. However, the Air Force failed to enter his conviction into the national database. Result: He passed federal background checks when purchasing two firearms here in Texas, one in 2016, one in 2017.

Sen. Cornyn tells us the Fix NICS Act would require federal agencies and states to produce NICS implementation plans on “uploading all information to the background-check system showing that a person is prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms under current law,” including measures to verify accuracy of records. It would hold federal agencies accountable for any failures, including prohibitions of bonus pay for political appointees. It would encourage prompt and efficient compliance by the states, rewarding those that excel with federal-grant preferences. It also directs more federal funding toward accurate reporting of domestic violence records.

We’re encouraged by bipartisan work on this bill. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, a strong advocate for gun control since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 20 children and six adults in his home state of Connecticut, is among those working across the aisle with Cornyn and other Republicans. “It’s no secret that I believe much more needs to be done,” Murphy said. “But this bill will make sure that thousands of dangerous people are prevented from buying guns. It represents the strongest update to the background-checks system in a decade and provides the foundation for more compromise in the future.” Perhaps recognizing things are getting out of hand, even the NRA endorses this legislation. We only regret such initiative wasn’t shown much sooner.

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Houston Chronicle. Nov. 19, 2017.

The revered football coach doubling as a history teacher is something of a Texas cliché. A school employee filling 25 different positions, on the other hand, is ridiculous. But that’s how many roles one school district’s homeless liaison had to serve, according to a new study by Texas Appleseed and Texas Network of Youth Services. In addition to 24 other duties, she was charged with giving homeless youth the extra support they need to stay in school.

If Texas is going to take seriously our societal responsibility for homeless youth, then the role of homeless liaison needs to be more than a title.

Currently, the state of Texas doesn’t appropriate funds specifically for educating homeless children and youth, according to the study. As a consequence, Texas homeless liaisons don’t have the resources needed to help students navigate the difficulties of their chaotic lives.

The Texas commission - designed to help overhaul the state’s complicated school finance system - should recommend that districts be entitled to a higher level of funding for homeless students, similar to how special education students are treated. The Legislature needs to be ready to remedy this oversight during the next session in Austin.

Increased focus on homeless youth in the classroom would have positive effects throughout society.

For decades, the state of Texas has waged a largely ineffective crusade against sex trafficking. An estimated 25 percent of youth experiencing homelessness are trafficked, according to a University of Texas study. School districts could play an invaluable role in preventing trafficking if they were given the necessary resources.

Texas has also adopted a goal that at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 should earn a certificate or degree by 2030. Homeless students are at risk of dropping out due to concentration and attendance issues. For high-risk students to meet the so-called 60x30 goal, they need the attention of caring educators.

And for Houstonians frustrated with homeless camps sprouting up under overpasses, the best solution would be keeping kids off the streets before they become adults.

Texas already had about 10 percent of the country’s homeless youth and children, according to the National Center for Homeless Education. That number is growing after Hurricane Harvey

“Our kids that are separated from their families - living with one friend a week, they need so much,” one homeless liaison interviewed in the study said.

The Legislature must step up to staff our schools with qualified candidates focused on leading students back into normalcy in a topsy-turvy world.

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The Dallas Morning News. Nov. 20, 2017.

Dallas is on a pretty good little win streak when it comes to financial matters.

The City Council this month unanimously approved a $61.7 million settlement for four of six nagging back-pay lawsuits filed by police and firefighters.

Not especially impressed by that news? The alternative was almost certainly much worse. The city risked losing hundreds of millions if the high-stakes case had gone to trial and the jury sided with the public safety workers.

While Dallas still faces two larger class-action lawsuits related to this mess, putting four of the lawsuits in the rearview mirror is a big deal in steering the city away from bankruptcy-sized potholes.

Mayor Mike Rawlings and City Attorney Larry Casto deserve enormous thanks for getting this deal done. The cases, tied to a 1979 voter referendum, have been bouncing around the legal system for more than two decades.

Rawlings recognized the financial folly in continuing to kick this ticking time bomb down the road. So while previous mayors and councils had found it most convenient to ignore the problem, Rawlings put City Hall to work to fix it. Casto played a huge role because he was the guy in the room for the difficult negotiations.

Those minding the bottom line at 1500 Marilla can’t exhale completely until a judge signs off on the settlements and - more importantly - those other two lawsuits are resolved. But as of this moment, the city’s current bonding capacity should cover the $61.7 million payout.

What that means for you, Dallas resident: No tax-rate increase.

The back-pay settlement comes on the heels of a couple of months’ worth of notable financial steps forward for the city:

- Earlier this month, Dallas voters overwhelmingly supported a $1.05 billion bond package that promises to repair crumbling city streets and structures and to add park and recreational amenities.

- The state Legislature passed a bill aimed at saving the troubled Dallas Police and Fire Pension System. While the pension isn’t yet on the path back, it now has more than a fighting chance.

- The three major ratings agencies, Moody’s, S&P Global and Fitch, have changed the outlook on Dallas’ outstanding bonds from negative to stable. While none has upgraded the city’s credit rating, Moody’s report lauded “the city’s recent pension reform and the dynamic economic landscape.”

Rawlings, who has shown unwavering leadership in all these matters, is confident that the “dark fiscal cloud” that threatened the city is dissipating.

So far, so good.

Don’t forget that each financial victory has been accompanied by these key words: “This deal will not require a tax-rate hike.”

That’s key because Dallas residents are already looking at continuing high property appraisals and a lot of uncertainty from Washington amid the tax reform fight.

City Hall’s financial promises to residents need to stick. We’ll be watching to make sure they do.