By Shelley Kofler, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-880705.mp3
Dallas, TX –
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison blitzed across Texas Monday as she accused Governor Rick Perry of abusing power. KERA's Shelley Kofler says she's calling for ethics reform.
Senator Hutchison took aim at Governor Rick Perry , announcing a ten-point list of government reforms to protect against abuse of power.
At the top of Hutchison's list, limiting a Governor's time in office to two terms or eight years. Perry has served as Governor for ten years.
Hutchison: I have watched as one person staying in office getting more and more control and more and more power really overuse that power.
The Perry camp says Hutchison's has no credibility in calling for term limits because she's served in the United States Senate for 17 years, even longer than Perry has been governor.
Hutchison also called for a measure that would give lawmakers the opportunity to reconvene to overturn a governor's late session veto.
She recommended the creation of an advisory panel of business experts to guide the governor's use of the $200 million Texas Enterprise Fund. The governor uses fund dollars to lure companies to Texas in exchange for the companies agreeing to create jobs. Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner says new advisors aren't needed because the fund is working.
Mark Miner: The Texas Enterprise Fund has created more than 55,000 jobs with a capital investment of more than $14 billion.
Hutchison cites the $35 million in fund dollars given to subprime lenders Countrywide and Washington Mutual as examples of why the fund needs oversight. Both lenders failed to meet job creation expectations in 2008.
The Perry campaign believes the two lenders fulfilled their obligations. Perry spokesman Mark Miner called the proposals "light on substance."