From the Texas Tribune: Texas House unanimously elects Joe Straus for record-tying fifth term as Speaker

Straus is on route to becoming the most powerful House Speaker in Texas history.

- Click here for the article.

For the first time since he was elected House Speaker in 2009, Joe Straus walked into the lower chamber on Tuesday without a clear leadership challenger.

And two years after facing a rare contested vote for Speaker, Straus was re-elected unanimously by House members on the opening day of the 85th Legislature for a record-tying fifth term. He joins former House Speakers Pete Laney and Gib Lewis for the longest tenures presiding over the House.

Following the 150-0 vote, Straus took the oath of office and made clear in a speech to a packed House chamber what his legislative philosophy would be for the upcoming session.

“Compromise has become a dirty word in politics,” Straus said. “It’s a good word in this House.”

Straus has long been criticized by some in his party as being too moderate, drawing primary challenges from Tea Party candidates. But he’s easily held onto his San Antonio-based seat.

Straus’ easy re-election as House speaker Tuesday was a departure from 2015, when he faced a Republican challenger from Scott Turner of Frisco who forced the first contested vote for Speaker since 1975. All but 19 House members voted for Straus that year.

For more:

- Tribpedia: Speaker of the House.

Here's the language in the Texas Constitution that states how this is to be done:

Article 3. Sec 9. (b) The House of Representatives shall, when it first assembles, organize temporarily, and thereupon proceed to the election of a Speaker from its own members.

Here's a look at how he's been able to stay Speaker for so long:

- Analysis: Speaker Straus breaking a trend seen with his predecessors.

At a point when speakers are generally wearing out their welcomes, Straus faces less opposition than ever before.

He has avoided scandal. His Republican Party is firmly in control of both the state government and, more importantly, of the House itself. Turnover among his lieutenants has been low enough to keep things stable and high enough to allow him to bring new people into the fold. His opposition, almost all of it coming from the most conservative waters in the GOP pool, is noisy but small: In that 2015 contest against state Rep. Scott Turner, R-Plano, the challenger got only 19 votes.

He has quietly become a legislative counterbalance, and the House and Senate have switched traditional institutional roles. The normal formula is that the House is the place for hot passions and the Senate is where things cool off and get more careful consideration. In Texas, it’s now the Senate that chases flashy political issues and the House that slows things down.

From the Fort Worth Star Telegram: What are some of the top priorities for Texas’s 85th Legislature?

- Click here for the article.

Texas’ youth are at the top of House Speaker Joe Straus’s priority list for the next legislative session.

Straus said Tuesday that he wants to help improve the embattled child welfare system, find a better funding system for public schools and ensure that college-bound youths can make their higher-education journey no matter what their family’s financial situation.

Rounding out the top of his 2017 early to-do list are improving the state’s approach to mental health illnesses, encouraging entrepreneurship in Texas and considering property tax reform.

The challenge will be getting both chambers to agree on how best to address these issues, particularly in a year where dollars may be tight due to slumping oil and gas revenues.

“Members of the Texas House certainly aren’t going to agree on everything,” Straus told a crowd of hundreds gathered for a Dallas Regional Chamber luncheon at the Fairmont Dallas hotel. “Texans don’t agree on everything.”
But there is “plenty of common ground.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article101612852.html#storylink=cpy

From the Texas Tribune: It’s Joe Straus’ House — at least until 2019 — after Tuesday’s Texas GOP primaries

Straus maybe have wrapped up another term as speaker last March.

- Click here for the article.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus and his allies outpaced expectations in Tuesday’s primary, sustaining only scattered losses while holding onto most of their seats and picking up a couple of new ones.

Fears that populist winds and the outsider candidacies of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz would somehow turn the higher turnout of a presidential year into a bad thing for Team Straus proved just that — unfounded angst.

While off-year elections and, in any year, GOP runoffs may be hazardous to the speaker’s side, this year’s primary produced very decent results for Straus.

Oh, yes, he struck out at unseating the most vociferous, irritating backbenchers in his caucus, such as Reps. Jonathan Stickland of Bedford, Matt Rinaldi of Irving and Tony Tinderholt of Fort Worth. Impressively, Stickland and Tinderholt cruised to re-election each with 58 percent of the vote; and Rinaldi, with more than 53 percent.

From the DMN: Speaker Joe Straus, never a conservative favorite, faces fewer haters at Texas GOP convention

For our look at the Texas House.

- Click here for the article.

House Speaker Joe Straus took less heat. Some brickbats aimed at him sailed wide of the mark. He stuck to his script as an old-style fiscal conservative.

Then he got the heck out of Dallas — mostly unscathed.

The biennial gathering of the Republican Party of Texas has become a minefield for Straus.

Ironically, the San Antonio businessman hails from one of the modern GOP’s oldest families of activists.

In recent years, though, he has become a pariah among many staunch conservatives. Business-oriented and pragmatic, he’s a soft-spoken aberration as smash-mouth politics and culture war tactics hold sway in an increasingly dominant state GOP.

This past week, Straus absorbed a few hits as the party debated its platform and delegates re-elected state GOP chairman Tom Mechler, whom the speaker supported.

Former Harris County Republican chairman Jared Woodfill, Mechler’s unsuccessful challenger, blasted Straus in his campaign literature, accusing him of helping squelch legislation last year that would’ve hurt public employee unions and helping county clerks and justices of the peace resist same-sex marriage on religious grounds.

The latest on the 85th Session

This builds on the post below about dark money in Texas campaigns.

Legislators are already nervous about the next biennial budget.

- Lawmakers have mixed feelings about 2017 session.

“I think our focus will be largely on budget issues,” said Price who is also a member of several other House committees, including Human Services, a mental health panel he chairs, and Calendars, an influential committee that decides which bills go to the House floor for a vote.

“If the economy performs as we anticipate for the remaining of the year, beginning with the next session we will likely have less revenue to work with,” he said. “That will drive a lot of the policy work and policy decisions that we make in the 85th legislative session.”

Other legislators and statewide officials have similar concerns.

State Comptroller Glenn Hegar recently told nervous members of the Senate Finance Committee that though the Texas economy is more diversified than it was during the oil bust of the 1980s, in 2014 nearly 14 percent of the gross state product came from oil and gas revenues.

“So, I suspect that the Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee will be very busy, both during this interim and in the next session,” Price said.
Other legislators also see the 2017 session shaping up now that most legislative races have been decided.

“This helps us a great deal,” said Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, who didn’t draw an intraparty challenger or a Democratic opponent either.

“Obviously school finance will remain on the radar,” King, a member of the House Public Education Committee, said in reference to the lawsuit more than 600 school districts filed against the state four and a half years ago. The lawsuit is pending in the Texas Supreme Court and a ruling is expected any day now.

“Health care issues, transportation will always be there and the coffers will be a little less full than they were last session,” said King who also sits on three other House panels, including Calendars.

For Rep. John Frullo, R-Lubbock, the only member from the Texas Panhandle and South Plains delegation who drew a primary challenger but has no Democratic opponent in November, other issues shaping up include hailstorm insurance, public and higher education, economic development and transportation.

From the Dallas Morning News: Two billionaires write checks to Texas House Speaker Joe Straus’ leading challenger

Billionaires don't like the Speaker apparently. The story doesn't give a clear indication why.

- Click here for the article.

Billionaires Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and Farris Wilks, a fracking services entrepreneur from near Abilene, have opened their checkbooks to Speaker Joe Straus’ main Republican opponent in next week’s primary.

Straus challenger Jeff Judson recently received $180,000 from Walton and $50,000 from Wilks, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.
Walton, who Forbes magazine says is worth $32 billion, has given far smaller amounts to about a half-dozen Texas House candidates not aligned with Straus, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis. Still, the Texas House member to whom she’s given her second-biggest assist, after Judson, is Fort Worth GOP Rep. Charlie Geren, a Straus intimate. Walton’s given Geren $30,000, the reports show.

For 2306 - this and that

- Jared Woodfill Starts Small in Bid to 'Take Back' Texas GOP. The internal struggle between the social conservatives and the "establishment" continues. Woodfill wants to become the chair of the Texas Republican Party, take out Texas Speaker Joe Straus along with other more moderate Republicans, and promote a more socially conservative agenda in the 85th session of the legislature. The article highlights which interest groups are also promoting these efforts. The article links to this previous story about how the current Texas GOP chair got his job.

- In Re-Election Bid, Straus Faces Familiar Tea Party Attacks. A bit more detail on the effort of the far right to unseat the merely right Straus: "the speaker’s opponents insist they’re snatching voters from Straus by demonstrating that his record is out of step with his own party and arguing he has few results to show after years of presiding over the House. They argue Straus is too cozy with House Democrats and point to the demise of GOP-backed initiatives, including legislation to expand school choice, a ban on so-called sanctuary cities and measures to further restrict abortion."

- Select Texas Senate tax committee meets in San Antonio. In November, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick appointed members to the Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform and Relief. The official announcement stated that it would "travel the state holding public hearings and look for ways to improve the property tax process as well as reduce the burden on property owners." Critic argue that it was just another attempt by the state to clamp down on local governments. The article discusses a recent hearing in San Antonio.

- Analysis: The Death of Taxes on Illegal Drugs in Texas. Here's an interesting story about the tough on crime days in Texas. It also discusses taxes, double jeopardy, the courts, checks and balances, and statutory code. Plus it has way cool images of tax stamps intended to be put on confiscated drugs. They are collectors items now apparently.

- Abbott lays into legislators, feds in first year review. In this televised interview, the governor - in part - discusses what he would like to see the next session of the Texas Legislature prioritize.

In the news today ....

- Texas Speaker Joe Straus has two Tea Party affiliated challengers to his seat in the upcoming primary election. Straus represents the 121st district in the Texas House. Tea Party opponents , who think Straus is too liberal, have failed to defeat him in two previous primary challenges. They think he might be more vulnerable if he has to face two challengers since he might not win a majority and could defeated in a run-off with low turnout: See Straus faces two-candidate challenge from the far right in Republican primary.

- I still need to post items detailing the recent spending bill. It contains a variety of items (riders) related to non-spending issues including rules loosening campaign spending rules. Some allowing greater use of what is called dark money - dark because its source can;t be traced. This a road we've been heading down for decades: See: White House surrenders on 'dark money' regulation.

- Dark money is also becoming more influential in state races. States vary in their policies regarding transparency - Texas requires little. Most of the additional money spent on campaigns since the Citizens United decision removed many caps on expenditures has been through channels that do not require disclosure. Much of this spending on state races comes from groups located in other states, but the precise source is difficult to determine, and there are sufficient loopholes in place to continue to make them secret. See: 'Dark money' grows in politics even as states try to stop it.

- Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is continuing to shape the state panels by appointing people with more conservative bona-fides. This includes the Sunset Commission and the Legislative Budget Board. Among the recent appointees of the latter is area state senator Larry Taylor. See: Dan Patrick shows, through new panel picks, that he wants a more conservative Texas Senate.

- A common theme regarding the early race for the Republican nomination has been what impact Trump will have on the party and whether a division might emerge within it that leads to a third party run. Most previous analyses have looked at the possibility the Trump runs as a third party candidate is he looses the nomination. Here's a look at the possibility that a traditional Republican runs as a third party candidate if Trump wins the nomination. See: Will the GOP Mount a Third-Party Challenge to Trump?

- Is Trump's campaign organization playing with fire? Lot's of Trump's activities are being performed by people that work in many of his businesses, which creates problems since these are to be treated as campaign expenses, meaning that they are to be reported as such. Trump appears to be testing the limits of campaign funding law. See: Trump’s reliance on business questioned.

. . . and catching up with Joe Straus and Dan Patrick as well

- Grading Straus.

When tea party-aligned Republicans at the Texas Capitol talk about why they can't get any number of bills passed, they reflexively point to one man: House Speaker Joe Straus.

The anti-Straus forces – especially as they have amassed power in the Senate – have been careful about not laying blame at the feet of the whole House. Instead, the tea party crowd alleges a more us-versus-them framework that pits Joe Straus’ coalition of Democrats and so-called liberal Republicans against the tea party sympathizers who are vastly outnumbered in the lower chamber.

- Texas House Speaker Joe Straus to head national push to turn more legislatures red.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus had to curb his enthusiasm Tuesday when, as expected, he was named the head of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee, a national GOP group that aims to turn more legislatures red.

Republicans have been annihilating the Democrats’ “bench” of state officeholders so rapidly in recent cycles that you could almost read a how-do-I-top-that lament in Straus’ reaction. “We have a lot of ground to defend,” Straus said in a statement. Boy, is that an understatement.

- Important items on Straus’ list.

Among the items Texas House SpeakerJoe Strausis directing the 2017 Legislature to address are some that deserve particularly heightened attention. They go to adequate and effective state spending, transparent government and whether Texas students will be the workforce the state needs to be economically competitive.
They are “interim charges” from Straus. They offer a possible preview of priorities for the House in the next session. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued his directives to Senate committees earlier.

- Patrick says state voters' approval of Proposition 1 a first step in tax relief.

In a news conference Thursday at the Texas Federation of Republican Women convention in Lubbock, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said state voters’ recent passage of Proposition 1 was just the first step in property tax relief. . . . Given the newly approved increase in homestead exceptions, Patrick said the next step should either be to reduce the maximum amount appraisal districts can increase property values or to lower the rollback rate on property taxes that requires cities and counties to hold elections if they exceed it.

 - Texas conservatives look to finally move on ‘sanctuary cities’.

Lawmakers and our law enforcement officials have the responsibility to keep our communities safe. Many security officials say illegal immigration puts us in danger. But will lawmakers try again for a controversial law to get rid of “sanctuary cities.” Lawmakers tackled this issue and waded into this passionate issue at a Senate Border Security Committee at the State Capitol. The debate centered around two issues. The first is who commits crime. The second is what can and should the state do to encourage action from our local police.

- 1-on-1 with Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

Many call it the most powerful position in the State. Nothing passes the Senate without approval from the Lt. Governor. Today that position is held by Dan Patrick, a former sportscaster and state senator. He passed all but one of his priority items out of the Senate last session. But some of his ideas did not pass the House and, as a result, did not become law. But in the interim (time between sessions) he gave Texas’s 31 senators some homework.

“School choice is back,” said Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. Last session he said he’d put his shoulder behind it. While a bill giving tax credits to businesses who paid for kids to leave failing schools passed the Senate, it did not pass the House. He’s bringing it up again.

From the Texas Tribune: Ahead of 2017 Session, Straus Issues Directives for House

The Texas House Speaker weighs in on what should be on the agenda of the 85th session.

- Click here for the story.

Fourteen months ahead of the next legislative session, House SpeakerJoe Straus issued more than 150 interim charges Wednesday, directing committees to study a diverse list of topics such as the effectiveness of the state's role in border security and the effect of the plummeting cost of oil on the local economy.

“The next legislative session is more than a year away, but the work of that session starts now,” Straus said. “While these assignments cover a wide variety of issues, they focus on three core priorities: supporting private-sector growth, creating opportunity through education and continuing to make government more transparent and accountable.”

Two school finance-related charges are among those Straus assigned to the House Public Education Committee: examining the Cost of Education Index, a long-outdated system of weights the state uses to determine how much to fund schools per student, and evaluating school districts' local debt and demand for facilities.

- Click here for the speakers official statement: Interim Committee Charges.

Odds and ends for today's 2306

- Tim Cole Commission begins work, optimistic for recommendations.

Richard Miles was just 19 years old when his nightmare began. In 1994, Miles was accused of murder and attempted murder and, though he steadfastly proclaimed his innocence, he was later convicted and spent 15 years in a Dallas jail — until a court determined he was a victim of prosecutorial misconduct because his Dallas County prosecutor withheld evidence that would have cleared him.

Now 40, Miles recently told the story of his wrongful conviction to the 11 members of the newly created Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Commission, a panel named after the late Texas Tech student who, in 1986, was convicted of a rape he did not commit. Although Cole died in prison of an asthma attack in 1999 — without being able to prove his innocence — a few years later DNA evidence from the crime posthumously exonerated him.

- Group seeks to repeal ordinances regulating where registered sex offenders can live.

Forty-six small cities across Texas are facing a new legal challenge to their ordinances regulating where registered sex offenders can live, the latest development in a national trend to relax residency limitations that opponents say create more problems with ex-convicts than they solve. On Monday, Texas Voices for Reason and Justice, a statewide criminal justice advocacy group, announced that it has “initiated action to compel, through litigation if necessary,” the repeal of the ordinances in so-called “general law” cities, those with populations of 5,000 or less.

Two Bexar County cities — Balcones Heights and Hollywood Park — are among the 46 whose ordinances are being challenged. Similar ordinances exist in hundreds of larger “home rule” Texas cities, which officials say have the legal authority to enforce them. Nonetheless, several larger cities already face litigation on the issue on the grounds that residency restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution.

- Democratic Group Called iVote Pushes Automatic Voter Registration.

As Republicans across the country mount an aggressive effort to tighten voting laws, a group of former aides to President Obama and President Bill Clinton is pledging to counter by spending up to $10 million on a push to make voter registration automatic whenever someone gets a driver’s license.

The change would supercharge the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, known as the “motor voter” law, which requires states to offer people the option of registering to vote when they apply for driver’s licenses or other identification cards. The new laws would make registration automatic during those transactions unless a driver objected.

- Straus Forms Select Committee on Mental Health.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus announced Monday he's formed a select committee on mental health to take an all-encompassing look at the state's behavioral health system. 

The committee will review and make recommendations on issues including substance abuse, care for veterans, identifying illnesses early and improving delivery of mental health care, the speaker said in a news release.

“We have taken some major steps to address the state’s mental health needs,” said Straus, R-San Antonio. “It’s important not to look at these issues in isolation, but rather to take a comprehensive view of how to improve the system. Many legislators asked that we take a closer look at various issues related to mental health, and it became clear that one committee should look at all of those issues together.”

- Lopsided election puts political target on property taxes.

When property tax relief was approved by 86 percent of voters in last week’s election, you can bet Texas politicians noticed.

Calling the lopsided result a mandate for additional action, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick vowed to make property tax reform a priority when the Legislature convenes in 14 months. Any reasonable idea will be on the table, Patrick said, although his initial concepts focus on reining in budget increases for local governments, particularly cities and counties.

“I have the opportunity to put my shoulder behind those issues and push, and I don’t intend to sit on the sidelines,” said Patrick, a Houston Republican. One important idea, Patrick said, is to require a rollback election if city or county property tax revenue grows by more than 4 to 6 percent, though the final trigger number will need to be refined. Currently, tax-rollback elections are possible with 8 percent increases, and only if 7 or 10 percent of registered voters sign a petition, depending on the size of the budget.

From the Texas Tribune: Analysis: Dancing With Those Who Brung Ya

Here's a great comparison between what it takes to be a good Speaker of the House in the Texas Legislature as opposed to the U.S. Congress - especially if you have a divided majority. Straus was better able to control the Tea Party than Boehner.

- Click here for it.

Splitting the majority party in the House of Representatives leaves a potential speaker with two routes to the top. Lawmakers did it one way in Texas and another way in Washington, D.C. Right now, the Texas way seems to function better. In the Texas House, Joe Straus, a Republican, built a ruling coalition that included the Democrats and limited the power of the Tea Party Republicans. In the U.S. House, John Boehner, also a Republican, made his coalition out of the Republicans alone, shutting out the Democrats and empowering the Tea Party conservatives.

The 2010 elections were a turning point for both leaders. That election gave Republicans a majority in the U.S. House and Boehner, until then the minority leader, became speaker. Two years earlier, Straus ascended to the speakership by banding fewer than two dozen Republicans with most of the Democrats in an almost evenly divided House.

After the 2010 elections, he could have ditched the Democrats and relied on a large Republican majority to stay in office — that’s what Boehner did — but he stuck with one of the oldest rules in politics: Dance with who brung ya.

Boehner’s coalition has been the much more volatile of the two. U.S. House Democrats are largely shut out — the decisions are made in the Republican Conference, which then attempts to stick together as a ruling bloc. The strength of the most vocal conservatives is increased in the conference.

The Straus coalition, while still conservative, frustrates the loudest and most doctrinaire of the Republicans, giving the Democrats some power and shutting out the far right. Those movement conservatives are just as rambunctious as their federal cousins, but they’re outsiders instead of insiders.

It’s not a perfect comparison. Straus operates in a government with 100 percent Republican leadership. Boehner has to deal with a Democrat in the White House. But Straus has had a longer tenure and had more legislative success than his federal counterpart, in part because he has had more success managing his potential antagonists.

For a bit more on the topic: Analysis: The Hard Way to Win a Speaker's Race.

Paul Burka sums up the 83rd Legislature

Some choice quotes from his Texas Monthly piece:

- The 83rd Legislature was the best session in many years, going back to at least 2003, when Republicans completed their sweep of Texas politics by securing a majority in the House of Representatives. Two things made this session different from the ones that preceded it. One was money. In particular, the bounty from oil and gas production swelled the Rainy Day Fund to dimensions that would have seemed unimaginable even five years ago.

- The second reason why this was a successful session is that there were leaders who wanted to get things done. Senate Finance chair Tommy Williams set the tone for the session months before it began when he called for raising automobile registration fees. It was an acknowledgement that the state needed to start addressing its problems, and that it was okay to consider new revenue. Speaker Joe Straus did his part by saying, "We can't cut our way to prosperity," a remark that drew fire from fiscal conservatives.

- The one issue that did not get addressed was health care, specifically, Medicaid expansion. It is going to have to be dealt with at some point. If the state does nothing, the feds will levy an assessment, a fine of sorts against Texas businesses for the state's failure to participate. Is the leadership really willing to let that happen?

- If the economic outlook for the state is stable, the political outlook is not. Republicans are split between mainstream and tea party conservatives, and the momentum is with the tea party.

- During the session, the Straus forces were always looking over their shoulder at the tea party contingent that threatened to get in the way of the agenda. Most of this group did not want to do anything. They never found a purpose except for protecting the Rainy Day Fund. . . . The Straus team could not penetrate the tea party contingent, and they were often scrambling for the votes to pass their issues.

- The Straus coalition, however, is fundamentally unstable. It works so long as Democrats are willing to function as Republicans to provide the votes to pass the speaker's agenda.

- The missing faction in Texas politics is moderate Republicans, of whom Straus is one. There have been several recent races in Texas politics that have defined the evolving nature of the Republican party today. . . . Right now civic-minded Republicans cannot win races against movement conservatives. There is no place in Texas politics for establishment conservatives like Dewhurst--they either change or they go home.

Will the legislature take up redistricting?

Texas' legislative maps are interim maps drawn by federal judges since the one produced by the legislature was judged to be discriminatory. Now the question is what to do about it.

Apparently Attorney General Greg Abbot is satisfied with the maps and want to make them permanent until the next redistricting of course), but the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus wants it redrawn.

- Click here for the story.

Speaker Straus is not interested in putting this on the legislature's agenda according to BurkaBlog:

Attorney general Greg Abbott's push to reopen the redistricting battle that was waged in 2011 and wound up in the federal courts threatens to blow up the session. The District Court of the District of Columbia has already ruled that Republican lawmakers intentionally discriminated against minority voters while drawing new boundaries in 2011. Apparently Speaker Straus does not think another round of redistricting is in his (or the House's) best interest; he dispatched an emissary to the Senate to deliver the message that the House has no appetite for further redistricting at this time.

Texas House adopts rules

At the beginning of each session of the Texas House and Senate, each chamber establishes the rules that will govern how bills will be considered that session. Generally these closely mirror the rules that have evolved in each chamber over time, but occasionally they are modified. The House rules for the 83rd session were recently passed and minor changes were made, not the changes some were hoping for though. As stated in a post below, many of these changes were driven by David Simpson, a Tea Party Republican who has trying to limit the Speaker's power. According to news coverage, his plans backfired, and the Speaker may be actually more powerful than he was previously.

Here's a summary of news coverage of the changes:

- Houston Chronicle : A legislative weapon frequently used by Democrats to delay bills was crippled during the House rules debate Monday. Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, proposed to weaken “point of order” rules, which can return a bill to committees on the basis of an error in the proposed law’s language, including typographical errors in witness affirmation forms, committee minutes and bill analyses.

- The Texas Tribune also discusses the change to the point of order rule: The Texas House's Democratic minority was dealt a blow Monday when the House passed an amendment to the chamber's rules to limit legislators' ability to derail a bill based on clerical errors. Calling "points of order” on such errors is a strategy lawmakers have often used to block measures they oppose.

. . . The vote was 92-56, with only three Republicans joining Democrats against the amendment — Elkins and Reps. David Simpson, R-Longview, and Jim Keffer, R-Eastland.

Some Tea Party lawmakers — led by Simpson, who also challenged the speaker for his leadership position — hoped to punch holes in Speaker Joe Straus' power by reforming some House rules but came away with several tabled or withdrawn amendments.

Simpson proposed initiatives to increase openness, including making conference committees public and adding the exact times for House proceedings, but the first was tabled and the second failed.

But other transparency measures were approved. Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, authored amendments that would allow Texans to submit video testimony on bills, to publish testimony and presentations by state agencies to the public, to quantify the cost and benefit of legislation by a range estimate by the Legislative Budget Board and to add fiscal notes to bills to demonstrate their economic impact.

- The Dallas Morning News: It took 6 hours, a debate about whether God wants lawmakers to have clock-stopping ability and discussion of 33 amendments, but the House did finally finalize their rules of procedure.

In all, the rules will provide a more open look at bills and their costs. The caption that describes each bill will have to say if it raises fees or taxes. The committee witness lists will go electronic, meaning people waiting to testify can see where they are in the order (and feel free to use the restrooms without fear of losing their chance to speak.) Documents provided to the committees and bills that undergo a complete committee substitute will go online so the public and other members can see what’s being discussed. If the Legislative Budget Board can’t quite figure out what the fiscal impact of a bill will be, instead of saying “can’t be determined,” they’ve been instructed to give us a ballpark figure. Public video testimony (under three minutes) is now acceptable.

What didn’t happen is any marked change in the Speaker’s powers. Efforts failed that would have given him less discretion in appointments and given more deference to committee assignments based on seniority. So did efforts to circumvent committee rules and force bills to the floor.

- The Austin American Statesman describes how the Speaker may have emerged as the most powerful of the Big Three in Austin:

Of the Big Three — the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker — Straus is the only one without a recent and humbling loss.

Gov. Rick Perry suffered a crushing defeat in the Republican primary for president last year, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was throttled by now-Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2012 race for U.S. Senate.

Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, credited Straus’ proven ability over two legislative sessions to be fair to House members.

“The speaker is exceptional in working with members,” said Hunter, an ally of the speaker. “What you’ve seen within the last week is he has a strong, diverse support base.”

And from the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

The speaker has the ability to hold up legislation indefinitely in committee, and Tea Party-backed lawmakers lost their attempt to stop that. Democrats also lost most of their efforts to keep rules that would allow them some power to block bills.

State Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano, proposed automatically expelling convicted felons from the House, forcing committee chairmen to hold hearings on popular bills and forbidding rewriting a bill so much that it was fundamentally different from when it was first proposed. All were shot down.

. . . State Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, proposed a rule change that if more than half of lawmakers co-author a bill, it does not have to go through the normal committee process, an important demand by Tea Party-aligned lawmakers. Veteran lawmakers from both parties argued against the bill, saying it bypassed the public lawmaking process. The vote rejecting the rule change was 137-11.

Another proposed rule change would have required any bill to cite the portion of the Texas Constitution that authorizes the action. State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, proposed the measure in his first speech on the House floor but saw it shot down on a voice vote.

An Update on Joe Straus

The Texas Tribune has a brief write up on the Speaker. Whatever move against him that was going to happen against him fizzled very quickly. His approach to the session contrasts sharply with both Perry and Dewhurst, especially Perry:

On Tuesday, during his acceptance speech, he called on lawmakers from both parties to work together to make what he called the “core responsibilities of government” a priority.

He said the state’s biggest challenges were “not fiscal in nature” and pointed to its rapidly growing population and changing demographics, with increasing numbers of children with limited English skills and economically disadvantaged backgrounds in public schools.

The remark contrasted with Gov. Rick Perry’s speech that day, which focused heavily on the need to keep spending down. But Straus has stopped short of saying whether the $5.4 billion sliced from public schools during the last legislative session should be restored — a position that would put him directly at odds with the governor, who said recently that the state’s financing for public education has been “pretty phenomenal.”

Straus’ political resilience so far is in part because of the makeup of his district, which includes the well-heeled Alamo Heights neighborhood. His constituents, while conservative, tend toward mainstream Republicanism. He has also learned to wield the power of his position while earning a reputation among his house colleagues as a largely fair and reasonable leader.

Very little is said about ambitious Straus might have beyond the House. Perhaps this explains his positioning on issues. He has a safe seat - the Tea Party probably cannot touch him. Democrats don't mind having him as Speaker - which gives him significant support for the Speakership. And if he is uninterested in higher office - unlike Perry - he doesn't have to work to gain the electoral support of a vocal faction.

He seems to be an unusual figure in today's Texas politics.

Paul Burka writes that Straus seems ready to start leading the House and that Perry sounded like he was mailing in his speech.

Joe Straus reelected Texas House Speaker

From the Texas Tribune:

After the last of his challengers dropped out Tuesday, San Antonio Republican Joe Straus was elected to a third term as speaker of the Texas House.

That last challenger, Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, never found enough support to threaten the incumbent. An earlier challenger, Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, dropped out weeks ago as Simpson entered the race.
Simpson seems to be a gunner - not anxious to sit back and slowly work himself into a position of influence:

The seeds of Simpson’s challenge were planted two years ago. Simpson, in his freshman term, ignored experienced members who advised him to take a back seat and learn his way around, instead battling against legislation that would limit puppy mills and for legislation restricting security searches at airports. He lost both battles, but won a reputation for independence.
Simpson's career will be interesting to follow.

This is Straus' third time to be Texas House Speaker. Straus will now proceed to name committee chairs and members. He is able to do this after the vote - which means that this can turn into a weapon. No one wants to be on record as having oppose the Speaker.

He issued a statement after the vote listing what he sees as being the priorities for the session, he spends a great deal of attention to public education. He also mentions the drought and the need to focus on infrastructure repair.

Here's a snippet (the whole thing is worth a read):

Our rapid growth requires a steadfast commitment to the core responsibilities of government, such as a quality education, a reliable water supply, a healthy transportation system and an honest state budget. These are the priorities that you and I discussed around the state in recent months — the issues that voters expect us to address because they will play the largest role in determining our shared future.

Our priorities should begin where our future does — in public education. More than 5 million children are enrolled in our public schools, which is more than the total population of 29 states. More than 3 million of them are deemed economically disadvantaged, and almost 1 million of them speak limited English. The education of all our students will determine whether Texas is a land of prosperity or lost opportunities.

The race for the Texas Speaker

The Texas House will select a speaker when it convenes in a couple weeks. The presiding Speaker is Joe Straus, but since he was elected last session with the support of House Democrats, he's not especially popular with hard core Republicans. He is being challenged for the position by David Simpson.

More detail will follow, but here are a few stories related to the race so we can keep current:

- Texas Tribune Topic: Speaker.
- Blogging up the race for Speaker.
- Texas Politics: Speaker.

Expect more as the session approaches.

From The Texas Tribune: Texas House Speaker Promises Water Focus

This builds on theme, Texas' concerns with the future availability of water:


Texas House Speaker Joe Straus promised to work on water issues and protect private property rights at the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers  Association annual meeting Tuesday in Austin.

“When the 83^rd legislature convenes in January, we’re going to have a unique opportunity to address the huge growth Texas is experiencing,” Straus said. “Water will be at the center of the discussion.”

Straus remarked on the vital role of water in Texas’ economy and cited the drought and 2011’s brutal heat as reasons to focus on conservation efforts.  “I don’t want to reach a day where a Texas company announces it’s moving to Florida or Ohio because of water issues,” he said.

Here's a link to info on the interest group he spoke to: the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. Its a very old group - dating to 1877. Here's their website.

The trick will be developing projects which address the general need for water in the state which doe not conflict with the property rights of large scale landowners. Anticipate conflict.

The Texas House Agriculture and Livestock Committee

In 2302 we discussed how the Texas Speaker can use committee assignments to reward and punish legislators, here's proof, sort of, involving Houston Rep Borris Miles.

View from the Gallery:

House Agriculture & Livestock is a very important committee for rural Texas. Speakers also use it as a rural penalty box for urban members who they want to put in "time out." I first observed this in 2003 when Rep. Lon Burnam was the only member to vote against Speaker Tom Craddick, and on to Agriculture & Livestock he went. In the penalty box this year: Rep. Charlie Howard (R - Sugar Land) UPDATE: I previously listed Rep. Boris Miles in the penalty box. That was incorrect: Rep. Miles requested appointment to Agriculture & Livestock.
House Urban Affairs is an important committee for urban Texas. However, it is often referred to as the "Houston" Affairs Committee because of the many intramural City of Houston fights it is asked to referee. For a rural or suburban member, it can be tedious work -- and an urban penalty box. Only 15 of the 150 members of the Texas House (10%) voted against the election of Speaker Straus. Four of the 9 members (44%) of Urban Affairs votes against the Speaker. Into the urban penalty box: Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford); Rep. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound); Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney); and Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview).

A tale of two committees.
From a separate report, Miles apparently requested the committee assignment to pursue an urban farming initiative.

But to recap, urban members who vote against the Speaker go to the Agriculture and Livestock Committee, while rural members who vote against the Speaker go to the Urban Affairs Committee. Sweet.