Bullock says fellow investors' use of his name unauthorized
BYLINE: AP
DATE: April 24, 1996
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Metro/State
PAGE: B3
DALLAS -- Fellow investors in a new long-distance telephone company are using Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock's name to get business without his knowledge or approval, he said.
``I don't know a thing about that,'' Bullock told The Dallas Morning News.
Three lobbyists told the newspaper earlier that company representatives had used Bullock's name while soliciting business for
Lone Star Long Distance Inc.
An investor in Lone Star, Ricky Knox of Austin, said he had mentioned the lieutenant governor's name while selling the company's services to lobbyists. Knox said he did so only after he was asked the names of the investors.
Bullock presides over the Senate and is one of the state's most powerful elected officials, prompting some lobbyists and the director of a government watchdog group to question his involvement in the company.
Bullock said he purchases 100 shares of Lone Star for $1 each at the suggestion of Michael Dougherty, a longtime friend and contributor of his political campaigns. Dougherty is president of Houston-based Lone Star.
It is not clear what percentage of Lone Star Bullock owns for his $100 investment. Dougherty won't say how big a stake Bullock has.
BYLINE: Dave McNeely AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
DATE: February 14, 1993
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman
EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: EDITORIAL
PAGE: J3
COLUMN: Dave McNeely
The Senate confirmed John Hall's nomination to the Texas Water Commission shortly after Gov. Ann Richards appointed him in May 1991. Now that she has promoted him to chairman, he must be confirmed again - to a new, six-year term.
Hall and the commissioners who joined him, former Travis County Commissioner Pam Reed and former Upton County Judge Peggy Garner, have upset some powerful people by making controversial decisions about the Edwards Aquifer and some commercial matters.
Even so, Hall has gotten rave reviews from disparate sources in advance of his hearing Thursday before the Senate Nominations Committee.
The Texas Association of Business has endorsed him. A letter expressing "strong support" is signed not only by representatives of Texas environmental groups, but also by Harry Whitworth of the Texas Chemical Council, Larry Milner of the Texas Chamber of Commerce and Rob Looney, president of Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas.
Still, some people are quietly trying to fan opposition to Hall. It takes only 11 members of the 31-member Senate to block confirmation.
The Water Commission's declaration that the Edwards Aquifer is an underground river and thus subject to pumping limits and another controversial decision Jan. 6 are still reverberating.
In the January case, Hunter Environmental Services Inc. applied for state permits to drill 10 hazardous waste dumps in an underground salt dome near Dayton, in Liberty County. The project had drawn opposition from the Houston City Council and the Harris County Commissioners Court.
Although the proposed dump site is 35 miles from downtown Houston, it is 10 miles from Lake Houston, a source of Houston's water.
Among those trying to get the dump approved were lobbyist Jack Gullahorn of the Akin, Gump law firm; lobbyist Ricky Knox; former Texas Transportation Commission member Ray Stoker; former Texas Water Commission Chairman Lee Biggart; Austin developer Gary Bradley; Houston political consultant Dan McClung; and Austin political consultant George Shipley.
(Shipley was a consultant for Richards during her gubernatorial campaign. She came out against the Hunter project in 1990, while campaigning in Dayton.)
Although the Water Commission staff in October recommended rejecting all 10 dump sites, the commission's hearing examiners recommended approval for six sites. Then, the commission voted unanimously against all the sites. Hunter's stock nosedived, dropping from almost $6 a share to $1 the next day.
The firm acknowledged spending more than $20 million on lawyers, lobbyists, public relations representatives and expert testimony to pursue the permit, which was estimated to be worth $500 million.
Hall said Hunter did not prove an urgent need to use the salt domes, did not demonstrate that the dumps could be operated safely enough to protect the public and did not show that the company had sufficient financial backing.
Hall also looked askance at a matter raised by opponents to the project: that all six of Hunter's expert witnesses had been given stock in the company. Hall asked his staff to investigate the "appropriateness" of the arrangement and possibly draw rules governing how much weight such testimony should be given in the future.
"I think many citizens in the state would be concerned about expert testimony in which the witness has a stake in the outcome of the decision being contested," Hall said.
The support Hall has gotten from people like Whitworth, who might have been expected to oppose his confirmation, as well as from representatives of the environmental community, probably is enough to get him confirmed again. But there are some people with a desire to poison the water against him - if only they thought they could get away with it.
McNeely, an American-Statesman columnist, covers political issues affecting the state.