Someone asked this week whether we had been able to find a defining moment of the legislative session. Our candidate: It happened on March 2, Texas Independence Day, on the lawn of the Governor's Mansion, when Gov. George W. Bush said officially that he's pondering a presidential run. Full Story
At the end of the last legislative session, people were complaining about the ability of the most conservative House members to disrupt that chamber's business. This session, the liberals have been in charge of the grenades, and they have found their own place as a spoiler in a system that historically likes to run on compromise and negotiation. As the Republicans have improved their ability to hold together a bloc of votes, the Democrats have slipped. Full Story
Democrats of both the native and national varieties (and Republicans with presidential ambitions) have been chipping away at Gov. George W. Bush for what they see as his failure to stake out a leadership position on the hate crime bill that got spiked by the Texas Senate. And their next line of argument is that Bush isn't tuned into anything at all, at least not to anything that's of concern to the Texas Legislature. That ain't necessarily so. Full Story
If Carole Keeton Rylander had never said anything about money back at the beginning of the session, the state would be about where it is today in terms of the amount of money available for government spending and tax cuts. Full Story
We begin with an "if": What happens if Gov. George W. Bush moves from the white mansion at 11th and Colorado in Austin to the larger digs at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.? Well, unless he refuses to take the office, Lt. Gov. Rick Perry would move into the governor's office. Full Story
We're not sure where the rumor of a special session started, but we checked our Dear Diary entries for the last couple of legislative sessions, and the rumor is right on time. Time is running out, people are starting to worry about their legislation, and some desperate souls are starting to talk about the need for a special session if such-and-such isn't dealt with during regulation play. Full Story
If you think the governor is getting hammered on his plans for the state's huge financial surplus, you're arguably right. But if you think he has a big political stake in the details of teacher pay and taxes, you're probably wrong. All that matters in the end is the big picture. Full Story
The plan about a year ago was to dedicate the newest state office building – the one named after former legislator and parliamentarian Robert E. Johnson – before the legislative session. That completion date was moved several times, each date a little closer to the session, then to March 1, then to June 1, and finally, to late August or early September Full Story
We'll start this tale by saying that when the House is charged about two months from now in the death of legislation on third parties being sued in tort cases, the Senate will have to be charged with aiding and abetting the murder. Maybe they didn't mean to do it. But the Senate's lack of speed has made it easy for the House opponents to whack the bill without taking much heat for it. Full Story
A lobbyist of some repute (take that either way you want to) pulled out a legislative calendar to make an interesting and graphic point: There are exactly five weeks between the end of the Easter legislative break and the day the House rules begin to brake legislative activity. Full Story
It's a strange thing to walk through the Texas Capitol on a weekday afternoon. There are the familiar crowded committee rooms, the halls filled with lobbyists, the shark tank in the Capitol extension filled with Cub Scouts, smokers and people whose cellular phones won't work anywhere else in the underground. Full Story
Ordinarily, anyone who could collect more than 80 House votes for an issue before it's even been heard in committee would be happy indeed. But the folks pushing to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, to the maximum are worried about the depth of their support. Full Story
You have to take a deep breath to recite the full name of the newest organization in town: Gov. George W. Bush Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc. It is up and running, with faxes and phones and all that stuff. Also well underway is the phase where the candidate gets fawning magazine, newspaper and television stories the media equivalent of hanging up a piñata before the big party. It's nice, big, eye-catching, room-dominating, and the bats will come out as soon as everyone arrives. Full Story