Links to maps

For even more help, click on these for maps of the entire state of Texas:

- State Senate Districts (map)
- State House Districts (map)
- Congressional Districts (map)

Notice how small the districts get in our area - especially in Houston. This is due to population density. In a future lecture we will talk about the court cases which mandated that each district have an equal number of people in its borders.

For a look at this requirement, click on the link below:

- State and Federal Law Governing Redistricting in Texas.

From the Texas Tribune: The Texas Weekly Index

I still haven't completely figured out the methodology here, but it purports to show the "political climate" in each of the legislative districts in the state.

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.

Meet Ed Thompson

ACC is in the 29th Texas House district, which now-Congressman Randy Weber held from 2008 - 2012. Ed Thompson won the seat in the 2012 election so we'll be following. He's one of the large number of freshman in the legislature. Committee assignments haven't been made yet, but we'll fill that in when we can.



For detail right now on Thompson:

- Official House page.
- Thompson's campaign page.
- Texas Tribune: Texas House District 29.
- Ballotpedia.

More to come.

Texas House Committee Membership

The Texas Tribune has an interactive feature that highlights the districts of the members of different House Committees. Its a good look at how power and influence is distributed geographically in the state.

District analyses

I mentioned in class that you can get analyses of the Texas House and Senate districts by going to their respective websites - specifically the pages with lists of each member. Here are direct links to them:

- Texas House Members.
- Texas Senate Members.

Look for "district analyses." It should be sufficient to help you address the second written assignment.

HB 1 Passes Texas House

From the Texas Tribune.

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.

Chubbing and Sunset Bills

Again from Burka Blog, background on two rules changes members of the Texas House are looking to change

Regional Texas Representatives

A list of the current members of the Texas Legislature from this general area. Click here for access to maps.

- 23rd District, Craig Eiland.
- 24th District, Larry Taylor.
- 25th District, Dennis Bonnen.
- 27th District, Dora Olivo.
- 29th District, Randy Weber.

Party Switch

Last week Democratic State Representative Chuck Hopson became Republican State Representative Chuck Hopson, in a move he states was a reflection of the increasing anti-Obama sentiment in his district.

In short, he wants to keep his seat.

Add on: Republicans are trying to convince more Democrats to switch.

Randy Weber Discusses the 81st Session.

From the Alvin Sun Advertiser.

State Sovereignty

Texas asserts its sovereignty.

The text of HCR 50.

The process from the Texas Legislature Online.

A point by point analysis to follow.

Voter ID in Texas

SB 362.

Still perhaps the most controversial item this term.

background:
- from the Chron.
- why it might not pass, from the El Paso Times.

Todd Smith R-Euless seems to have turned into the point man on the bill in the House. He has been working out compromises between members of his party who want stronger requirements, and others who see this as voter suppression. This may backfire however:

GOP lawmakers unwilling to compromise on strict voter identification requirements they have made a priority at the Capitol may be the very ones who kill the effort in the Texas House, state Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, said Wednesday.

"If the far right is unwilling to accommodate on this legislation to any extent, then they do have the power to succeed in killing voter ID, and I will certainly allow them to do so," Smith said.

More on the Texas Leg Winding Down

From the Austin American Statesman:

A few dozen proposals in the Texas House caught the last train to the Senate on Thursday, winning approval before the chamber's midnight deadline for passing bills.

Hundreds of others were left behind

...

Among the bills that the House passed before the deadline was a proposal that would allow some families who make too much money to qualify for the Children's Health Insurance Program to have a "buy-in" option that would allow them to pay premiums to sign up for it.

The House also approved a ban on drivers using cell phones in active school zones, unless they use hands-free devices or are in some type of emergency.

...

Tentatively passed

House Bill 836 — Would authorize the hunting of feral hogs by helicopter.

House Bill 662 — Prohibits drivers younger than 18 from talking or texting on a cell phone except in an emergency. Amended to say that hands-free devices would not be allowed.

House Bill 55 — Bans people driving in active school zones from using cell phones and other wireless devices unless they use hands-free devices or are in an emergency.

House Bill 2962— Could add about 80,000 children to the Children's Health Insurance Program by allowing certain families above the current income limit to pay to join the program.

House Bill 2511 — Seeks to more clearly define how political action committees can spend corporate and union money.

Sent to governor

House Bill 1736— The House approved Senate changes to this measure, which would increase compensation from the state for people who were wrongly imprisoned. It would increase the lump-sump payments from $50,000 to $80,000 per year of incarceration but, under Senate changes, would no longer provide health insurance.

Running out of time in the Texas Leg

Any bill not debated on the floor in the Texas House is now unlikely to be placed on the House calendar and will not be considered this term. The Chron reports that this includes some controversial items, like casino gambling:

Casino gambling: All bets are off. Texas hold ’em had to fold ’em. Hands-free cell phones in cars has crashed. And guns on campus bit the bullet as the first major legislative deadline started killing bills.

All were pieces of House legislation that had to be debated by midnight Thursday or lose hope of passage in this year’s legislative session under House rules. They were among dozens of bills that the House would never reach before the witching hour in a 28-page calendar.

The campus gun bill was among some of the most controversial measures this year, a move that would have allowed licensed handgun owners to tote their weapons at universities and colleges. Seventeen states have tried it. All have failed. Only 11 U.S. universities allow handguns on campus.

“What do you get when you put bread in an oven? Toast,” said Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, sponsor of the handgun bill.

Some of the bills, like a ban on trans fats in restaurants, might get a second life since they have passed the Senate and could still be heard in the House But for the gambling bills, cell phones and handguns, the 81st Legislature is all but over.

81st Session Committee Assignments

Vince Liebowitz at Capitol Annex analyzes the committee assignments and notes that the "Gang of 11," the eleven Republicans who voted with Straus and against Craddick, were rewarded with plum committee assignments and committee chairmanships.

The Democrats who voted with him received far less.

Texas House Committee Assignments Announced

From the Chron, complete with winners and loser. Losers include Craddick and Warren Chisum (the Austin paper weighs in on winners and losers here).

Here's the official list from Straus' office.

The Brazosport Facts discusses Bonnen and Weber's appointments here.

Texas House Rules Resolution Released

This comes from Quorum Report:

From the resolution:

Government Reform is merged into State Affairs, Judiciary is merged into Civil Jurisprudence, Law Enforcement is merged into Criminal Jurisprudence and Law Enforcement, Local Government Ways and Means is merged into Ways and Means, and Pensions and Investments is merged into Financial Services and Pensions. One committee, Regulated Industries, was eliminated and its duties distributed to five different committees. One new committee was created – Technology and Workforce Training.

The entire Resolution can be found here.

Each new session of the Texas Legislature -- and the U.S. Congress as well -- begins with consideration of the rules it will adhere.

How Did Tom Craddick Blow It?

From the Texas Observer: The Fall of the House of Craddick.