THUMB AWARD The Wrong Way To Clean House

Thumbs down to House Speaker Gib Lewis’ House Ad-ministration Committee for its recent decision to ax the House Study Group, a respected research organization that provides Texas House members with objective information on proposed legislation. The study group was organized in 1972 in the post-Sharpstown scandal era by a group of House members weary of watching special-interest bills railroaded through the legislature. They pooled their office money to hire an independent research staff. Currently, more than two-thirds of the House members contribute to fund the group, which researches both the pros and cons of proposed legislation. Using budget-cutting as a smokescreen, the House Administration Committee, led by Rep. Mike Millsap. D-Fort Worth, has ordered House members to stop paying dues to the group by June 1. Although Lewis1 committee estimated that the cost-cutting measure would save the state $270,328, eliminating the group would exact an even more costly toll from our legislators. What they don’t know can hurt ’em-and us.