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Congratulations everyone, we're making great progress!

Said by Governor George Bush to be "the most powerful grassroots campaign ever seen in Texas," the TLR effort helped make possible tens of thousands of letters and phone calls to elected officials in the legislative session. In addition, face-to-face meetings between concerned citizens and their legislators took place throughout the session.

During the campaign, more than 48,000 Texans agreed to contact their legislators. Most contacts were made by telephone to Senators' offices early in the campaign, when TLR's ll-point agenda was being considered in the Senate. Those who called, wrote or met their lawmakers personally found most of them receptive, and ready to make the needed lawsuit reform changes if they knew they had the political support back home.

Thousands of calls, letters and meetings showed the power of a combined grassroots and grasstops effort. Grasstops visits, managed by loaned executive Beverly Kishpaugh, involved contacts to lawmakers by influential citizens from their home districts. Kishpaugh's campaign and that work spun off a number of additional local TLR chapters.

A few legislators were uncomfortable with the hands-on approach of citizens playing an active role in shaping legislation, but most welcomed input and encouragement from their constituents back home.

Ken Hoagland, who directed the grassroots campaign, said, "By helping inform citizens of the lawsuit abuse problem, presenting TLR's solution, and building bridges to make it easier to contact legislators, we helped make the democratic process work as intended by the founders of this country."

It became apparent, mid-way through the campaign, that opponents would try to water down key provisions of the reform bills. Their hope, of course, was that the citizens wouldn't notice that the fine print gutted the original intent.

"But the citizens made it clear to legislators that they understood the difference between real lawsuit reform and cosmetic reform, and their lawmakers rallied to the call by doing the right thing," said TLR Executive Director Mary Clark Linbeck.

A major reason so many Texans understood the issues was the powerful public information campaign within TLR's grassroots effort. Volunteers appeared on scores of radio talk shows around the state, spoke to interested citizens' groups and wrote dozens of guest editorials for newspapers. TLR's lobbying teams prepared and distributed dozens of issue updates, which then became the foundation for direct mailings, phone bank scripts, speeches and news releases for radio, television and newspapers.

Business and trade associations gave TLR an early statewide boost by endorsing the TLR agenda and helping TLR reach more than 100,000 business leaders across the state directly. Others mailed materials to their members on TLR's behalf.

When armed with facts about lawsuit abuse and the reform effort, those Texans developed a powerful voice heard clearly and often in Austin. They sent thousands of thoughtful, substantive letters to legislators in support of lawsuit reform. Those members of the legislature got the message and voted for the people of Texas.

 

 

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A breakfast menu for Texans: tacos and tort reform.

...that's how the Austin American-Statesman headlined the story about the signing of five major lawsuit reform bills by Governor Bush at the El Arroyo restaurant in Austin. A sign posted out in front of the restaurant for the event called for "Tortilla Reform -- You don't pay if it's nacho fault!"

The five bills included such core reform issues as venue, governmental worker immunity, joint and several liability, medical malpractice and a frivolous lawsuits bill. Just a month earlier, Bush had signed the punitive damages bill, and a few weeks after the signing breakfast, he signed bills reforming the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and limiting campaign contributions to judicial candidates.

Opponents called the signings "a blatant attack on the citizens of Texas," but the governor responded, "To the critics, I say, 'You're wrong!' This will make Texas an even better place with a better economy."

All eight of the bills signed by Governor Bush were part of the original 11-point agenda of Texans for Lawsuit Reform.

 

 

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Round 1 is finally over. Is everyone ready for Round 2?

Thanks to the hard work and contributions of thousands of people all over Texas, Texans for Lawsuit Reform and our allies achieved more major reforms in the Texas civil justice system than in any other session in Texas history. That doesn't mean we can relax, because although the legislature isn't in session, there's a lot to do to consolidate our gains and get ready to complete the reforms in the next session.

Between now and January of 1997, when the next legislature begins, we have a lot of work to do. First, we'll monitor the application of the new laws as they take effect in September to ensure they're applied properly and do what the legislature intended them to do. Second, the TLR Political Action Committee will be active in the 1996 election cycle, encouraging the next legislature to provide a favorable environment for TLR's civil justice reform. And third, we'll lay the foundation for TLR's efforts in the next session.

Some past reform groups went to Austin with a burst of energy and won changes, only to have those reforms eroded in subsequent sessions. If we not only want to keep the reforms intact but also expand the reforms in 1997, we have to have staying power to keep our issues alive during the interim and be ready when the next session starts.

We know our opponents will try to roll back the tide of reform. They'll be trying to defeat reform-minded Senate and House members and replace them with candidates who don't believe reform is and was necessary. We can't quit now. You can't quit now. To keep the civil justice reforms intact, we need your help now as much as a year or six months ago. We need your involvement; we need the information you send to us on lawsuit abuses around the state and on what opponents of reform are doing in your area. We need your support; we need you standing up for lawsuit reform, working for lawsuit reform and contributing to maintain the effort. The civil justice reform cause is just, and we took a huge step forward for the people of Texas. We must not -- we can not -- lose it now because we become complacent

 

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Out on the Texas highways with the TLR 'Thank You' tour

The ink was hardly dry on the governor's signatures on the lawsuit reform bills when several TLR leaders went on the road for a 15-city 'thank you' tour. Their purpose was to thank reform volunteers across the state and to provide them a brief update on the bills that passed, and to give the volunteers a glimpse of what lay ahead for the next 24 months.

These volunteers testified before committees in Austin, talked to their senators and representatives, wrote letters, faxed messages, made phone calls, talked to neighbors, made speeches...a tremendous outpouring of effort from citizens across the state. Their common bond was their desire to reform our system of civil justice, and they did it.

Dick Weekley, Leo Linbeck, Jr., Dick Trabulsi and the rest of the tour began at a June 1 breakfast for 130 Houston volunteers and supporters. Next stop was the luncheon Bob Rogers, Jan Collmer and Shad Rowe put together in Dallas, then on to Fort Worth for a reception arranged by Bob Anderson.

June 5 started with a breakfast Charlie Teeple, Lowell Leberman and Roy Butler set up in Austin. Lunch was in San Antonio, hosted by Lacey Neuhaus Dorn and John Kerr. The day ended with Waco chairman F.M. Young and a special thanks to Senator David Sibley, sponsor of many reform bills in the Senate and the driving force (with Lt. Governor Bob Bullock) that got them passed quickly.

The next morning, it was David Carrabba's breakfast in Bryan, then to Temple for a luncheon organized by Webb Stickney and the McLane Group. The tired tourers wound up at a Rose Garden reception (Tyler, not Washington) with A.W. "Dub" Riter and supporters in East Texas. The group was moving again June 8, meeting the Corpus Christi group put together by R.C. Allen and Bob Parker, including Representative Todd Hunter, one of the lead House sponsors. Jack Cawood and Howard Pebley organized a luncheon in McAllen, the next stop, and the group was joined by Frivolous Lawsuit Bill sponsor Senator Eddie Lucio. It was a long haul from McAllen to Beaumont, where the tour ended the day at a reception Ken Ruddy and Lonnie Arrington planned for Golden Triangle volunteers, with an appearance by Mark Stiles, who helped expedite the reform bills as chairman of the House Calendars Committee.

The last day, June 12, started at Johnny Warren's breakfast in Midland. Representative Tom Craddick--another Frivolous Lawsuit Bill sponsor and major House reform force -- was in the crowd. Claude Freeman's Lubbock luncheon was attended by three more House reformers, Robert Duncan (the Venue Bill's sponsor), Warren Chisum and Delwin Jones. That evening's Amarillo reception included special thanks to Senator Teel Bivins, sponsor of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act Reform Bill.