Back in session
It’s lege time again. On Tuesday the biennial madness that is the Texas Legislature will reconvene. Although many of the 150 House and 31 Senate members have turned their elected offices into full-time careers, the state constitution allows the lawmaking body to meet for just 140 days, every other year. Considering the madness that sometimes ensues when these folks get together, we probably couldn’t stand it if they met more often. Texas founders sought to keep such things at a minimum, and residents largely indicate that they wouldn’t have it any other way. That doesn’t mean the number of bills is meager — they just pile up over the It will be interesting, then, to see how the session plays out. Can lawmakers balance the budget, as they must by constitutional mandate, solely via reduced spending, as they promised, or will they be compelled to raise taxes? Other questions hang over the session. While voters supported conservatives largely on their promise of fiscal austerity, residents have often chafed at the social conservatism many lawmakers bring to the table. Will lower spending be accompanied by more regulations and restrictions on public behavior? Bills already filed would require minorities to carry proof of citizenship, impose voter restrictions and restrict non-citizens’ access to resident tuition, driver’s licenses and other state benefits. Those and other issues will start to be discussed this week. If history is any indication, it might not be very pretty, but it certainly won’t be dull.
20 months between sessions, and thousands are filed, debated and voted on during the session.
