Debate focuses on taxes, refugees in Texas Senate District 1 race

http://www.news-journal.com/news/2016/jan/18/debate-focuses-on-taxes-refugees-in-texas-senate-d/

By Glenn Evans 
Jan. 18, 2016 at 11:15 p.m.

MARSHALL — Four Republicans hoping to represent 16 Northeast Texas counties in Austin fielded questions on Syrian refugees, taxes and their dedication to working across the aisle Monday, during a round-robin forum at East Texas Baptist University.

Two-star U.S. Army Gen. James K. “Red” Brown, retired U.S. Navy pilot Mike Lee and state Reps. Bryan Hughes of Mineola and David Simpson of Longview are vying for the March 1 party nomination to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Kevin Eltife of Tyler, who represents District 1 in the state Senate. There is no Democrat in the race.

“I believe every piece of legislation should be looked at individually,” Brown said, after a moderator asked whether Brown would mirror Eltife’s approach, which she criticized as insufficiently conservative. “I think Sen. Eltife was one of the greatest senators. He served with great distinction.”

Hughes echoed many in state leadership when he was asked whether lawmakers should bar Syrian refugees from the Lone Star State.

“I want to be compassionate; I also want to be wise,” Hughes said. “We have to put a stop to refugees from those countries (with terrorism) until we know who is coming here.”

Simpson, noting that the Senate seat holds five times the voting strength of one House member, indicated he would continue to fight budgeting practices he fought in successive legislative sessions — giving state money to corporations and balancing the state’s two-year budgets by shifting money from its dedicated use.

“We un-dedicate all of those funds,” he said. “And I believe that is wrong.”

Lee said property taxes should be brought low, and he is open to adjusting the sales, or consumption, tax to make up the difference.

“I don’t know if you’re ever going to get rid of the property tax as a whole,” Lee said. “I think you may have to look at something to relieve that where you have property tax — but a whole lot less — but you offset that with some kind of consumption tax.”

Brown said he would favor federal action repealing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Short of that, he added, the state Legislature should consider allowing some of the 17 percent of Northeast Texans without health insurance to have access to federal help the legislature has refused.

“I think that (Medicaid) expansion would be sound for us,” he said, citing a state report by economist Ray Perryman outlining the financial hit Texas commerce takes by turning it away. “I am in favor of removing and undoing Obamacare. Can we do it without federal funding? That’s a decision we have to make.”

Simpson said $1 billion in taxpayer money awarded to profitable companies, such as Apple Corp., would go a long way toward fixing the inequity in school finance. 

“I say, let the money follow the student,” he added, after proposing major corporations consider finding homes in East Texas “where the water is. … We can eliminate the property tax; we can go to the consumption tax.”

He added he would favor a mechanism to capture buyers’ ZIP codes to send East Texas sales taxes on purchases in Dallas back home.

Asked about the supremacy clause in the U.S. Constitution, which stakes out its superior status over the governing documents of Texas and other states, Hughes said Congress is passing laws that not only assume too much authority over states, but also don’t meet the standard the clause requires. 

“If the federal government passes a law that does not adhere to the (U.S.) Constitution, it does not have the force and effect of the supremacy clause,” said Hughes, who is a lwayer.

While indicating he will not bend on some issues, Lee said he will work with other lawmakers regardless of their political affiliations if elected.

“I don’t care where a good idea comes from — Democrat, Republican, one of these guys,” he said. “Now, there’s some areas — nope, I’m not going to waiver on the Constitution.”

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