On the Lege

House Public Health Committee members who last week approved legislation that would establish a Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) covering all Texas children whose families earn up to twice the federal poverty level are predicting reconciliation, not a showdown, with senators who have already voted for a less generous program.

Public Health Committee Chair Patricia Gray, D-Galveston, says that Sen. Mike Moncrief, D-Fort Worth, who authored the Senate bill limiting CHIP eligibility for children over the age of 10 to families earning 150% of poverty, is on board with "98%" of her committee's substitute bill -- even though the House legislation would create a separate program, funded entirely by the state, to insure children who are legal immigrants. Moncrief's office has declined to comment until it reviews the new bill.

Gray says the primary point of contention has not been who gets covered but who gets to bid for the CHIP contracts. The language in the House bill gives HMOs, as well as hospital districts and the nonprofit Texas Healthy Kids Corporation, a clear shot at becoming CHIP insurance carriers, with the Health and Human Services Commission overseeing contracts. Gray says the bill's approval by the two Republican Health Committee members bodes well for its reception in the Senate. However, committee member Dianne Delisi, R-Temple, says that she would prefer that the Legislature focus more narrowly on children with the particular health needs the state wants to address rather than base eligibility strictly on family income.

But Public Health Committee Vice Chair Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, says the population of enrollees added by the House bill is miniscule, and that he's hopeful the two chambers can adopt a program that doesn't skimp on children's health care. "This is not a battle with the Senate," says Coleman. "It's clear we're not that far apart. ... It's not a question of policy making per se, it's a question of will -- and I think we have the will to do it." The bill should reach the House floor early next week. --K.F.

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The Quality of Mercy

The procedural "reforms" enacted by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles in an open hearing last Wednesday were touted by board members as a response to public demands that the agency shape up its clemency process, but death row defendants may come out of this battle worse off than when they went in. That's because the only change board members made -- despite specific and repeated requests that the group hold open meetings, provide reasons for its actions, and follow set guidelines in making clemency recommendations -- was to extend their own deadline for reviewing clemency petitions, from five days to 21 before the execution date. (Board Chairman Victor Rodriguez could not be reached for comment.)

Death row defense attorneys said the deadline extension is both unjust and -- according to board members' own testimony in a federal courtroom last year -- unnecessary. Execution dates in Texas are set 30 days ahead of time, leaving a slim nine-day window for defense attorneys to receive notice of the impending execution date, compile a lengthy clemency petition, and submit it to board members for consideration. And the actual window may be even smaller, given that the courts rarely inform appellate lawyers of impending execution dates, says death row attorney Rita Radostitz, who says she usually hears about the execution date "from my client ... or read about it in the news. I've had seven clients executed, and only once did I hear about the execution date from the court ahead of time." Instead, she says, courts typically inform the defendant's trial attorney, who may have been off the case for 10 or 15 years by the time execution is scheduled. Radostitz finds it "incredible" that board members, who testified in federal court that they are able to adequately review an inmate's clemency petition in a matter of hours or days, have had this sudden change of heart. "We understand why the board wants more time to review these petitions and we applaud that," she says, but "during litigation, there was not a single board member who testified he or she could not complete their duties within a five-day deadline."

In any case, the deadline extension does nothing to address the nagging concerns that brought the board into state and federal court in the first place: Namely, that board members do not hold meetings, do not provide reasons for their actions, and do not deliberate with one another before making their decisions. "There is no way for the public to have any idea what the process is, or for litigants to know what's going on" in board members' minds when they make decisions on clemency, Radostitz says. Meanwhile, legislation that would force board members to divulge their reasons and hold open meetings before taking action (Austin Rep. Elliott Naishtat's HB 397 and HB 398) has yet to be given the green light by the House Corrections Committee, where it has been parked since the beginning of the session. --E.C.B.

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Marching for César

"Sí, Se Puede!," a chant associated with the labor and human rights leader César Chávez, rang from Congress Avenue during lunch hour last Wednesday as about 1,500 Texans marched in support of HB 316 and SB 107, which would declare March 31 -- Chávez's birthday -- an optional state holiday. Groups such as the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the César Chávez Organizing Committee, Texas chapters of the UFW and the AFL-CIO, and other supporters came from El Paso, Corpus Christi, Ft. Worth, and San Antonio to celebrate Chávez's life and work. The crowd sang "Las Mañanitas" as Rep. Norma Chávez, D-El Paso, co-author of HB 316, presented a birthday cake with Chávez's picture and said she sees the holiday as an "opportunity to celebrate the cultural diversity of Texas and to show the contributions of Latinos."

Gov. George W. Bush was absent from the day's activities -- a fact with which some marcherstook issue. But the governor issued a statement the day of the march calling the bills "a nice statement" and promising to sign them when they reach his desk. The Senate recently passed SB 107; HB 316 still awaits House approval.

Thirteen states, counties, and cities officially declare March 31 a memorial holiday honoring

Chávez, who co-founded and led the United States' first successful farm workers' union and led a five-year strike-boycott in the Sixties that drew international attention to the plight of America's farm workers. Chávez received Mexico's el Aguila Azteca in 1990, the highest award presented to Mexicans living outside the country. And in 1994, President Bill Clinton honored him posthumously with the U.S. Medal of Freedom. Al Saldivar, a teacher from Fort Worth, said the holiday would teach future generations about Chávez and his work. "We need a national figure to show our kids who to respect," he said. " We shouldn't have to protest to get what is right for us." --E.G.