Clements call to fuel *campaign White criticizes dela on fund problems /3 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — For any Texan who doesn't think Gov. Bill Clements' call for a Sept. 7 special legislative session will provide fuel for autumn political campaigns, there's this from Attorney General Mark White, Democratic candidate for governor: "This is a crystal-clear example of Clements' in- competence and inability to manage the affairs of the state of Texas." Clements on Thursday called the Legislature back for the third special session in 14 months. This time the problem is the state's unemployment fund, which, as a result of in- creasing joblessness, is being drained. The governor wants legislators to approve a federal government loan to pump up the fund. He also wants lawmakers to change the state formula that could spark a massive Oct. 1 in- crease in employers' tax payments into the fund. That increase — estimated to be as high as 2,700 percent — would be triggered by the current formula, which requires an increase when the fund drops below $225 million. "By recouping, recovering some of the dollars we have sent to Washington, we can avoid this intolerable increase that has been discussed previously," Clements said, referring to a Texas Em- ployment Commission estimate that the tax would jump 1,800 percent on Oct. 1 The tax stands at $6 per year per employee for companies with a good record of keeping people on the job and thus not collecting unemployment benefits. "There should be no doubt in anybody's mind that whatever measures we finally end up with ... there will be no doubt whatsover about the payment of these unemployment benefits," Clements said. "There are very sensible, reasonable, equitable, fair an- swers to these questions. This is no great big extreme crisis," the governor told reporters outside the Gover- nor's Mansion. Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, Speaker Bill Clayton and Comptroller Bob Bullock met with Clemen- ts at the mansion on Thursday and came out nodding agreement with Clements' plans. But it took only a few hours for White's campaign headquarters to crank out a release blasting Clements for not reacting sooner to the problem. See CLEMENTS, Page 5 *Clements 718 WEST 5th ST AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 4711;5 Tribune Terrell, Texas AUG 2 7 1982 (Continued from Page 1) The Texas Employment Commission and Rep. Lloyd Criss, D-La Marque, say they had warned Clements of the problem. But Clements said , there was no such warning. White said Clements' han- dling of the matter -is highly reminiscent of the way he reacted to the Campeche Bay oil spill" in 1979. "In both instances, Clemen- ts said the experts were 'Chicken Littles' going around saying that the sky is falling," said White. "Once again, Bill Clements has waited for the oil to roll up on the beach." Criss said Thursday he was pleased that Clements had called the session, "but I am still not certain that the gover- nor completely understands this complicated program." Clements told reporters that neither Criss or the TEC had warned him about the problem. A TEC letter dated Nov. 13, 1981, told Clements of "a potential problem" in the fund. "The reserve fund has become dangerously small compared to the volurric of benefits we pay out," said commissioners Richard Mellado, Ken Clapp and Ward.