The latest 82nd Legislative Session news from The Texas Tribune.
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, I interviewed three veteran lawmakers — state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, and state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio — about how they and their Democratic colleagues fared this session. Full Story
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Hand fishing — that is, sticking your hand down the throat of a fish — is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500. But not for long. State lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill to legalize hand fishing, sending it to the governor. Full Story
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State Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, is a widely liked Republican chairman with a supermajority to back him up. So why has his signature education bill this session, a mandate relief package for school districts, stumbled so badly? Full Story
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The hits just keep on coming. One of the fiscal matters bills critical to the budget got thrown back to the Senate for carrying a concealed weapon; it had been amended there to include legalization of concealed handguns on college campuses. Full Story
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More symbolic than anything else, House Concurrent Resolution 18, calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring a federal balanced budget, passed out of the state Senate today. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry, speaking to reporters outside a ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel, said legislative leaders were moving toward a budget deal that would avoid a special session. Full Story
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Amid the budget drama of the day, senators had a few moments of levity when they brought up the "noodling" bill, which would legalize the practice of hand-fishing for catfish. Full Story
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He may have pulled the plug on “sanctuary cities” legislation yesterday, but Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, said today he still supports it — even if he considers his own homeland security legislation a higher priority. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, warned his House Republican colleagues about overreaching in exercising their supermajority power. Full Story
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A bill by state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, seeks to repeal in-state tuition for students who are not living in Texas legally. He says it will make tuition rates fairer, but others argue that the tuition break ultimately benefits the state. Full Story
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After a chaotic day of stops and starts and private meetings, Texas lawmakers don't have a budget deal yet. Unless key pieces of legislation are passed soon, lawmakers are almost guaranteed to be back this summer for a special session. Full Story
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In a surprise move that could effectively kill the sanctuary cities bill that Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item, a Senate committee today replaced the immigration language with a homeland security bill by state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands. Full Story
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Senate Finance Chair Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, says there is still no consensus on education funding or SB 1811, a revenue bill that would balance the state budget. Meanwhile, GOP members of the House left a caucus meeting without divulging details of what they discussed and then the House postponed consideration of two fiscal bills critical to the budget until tomorrow. "So, we're stuck," Ogden said. Full Story
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State reps will try to hang a grab bag of amendments onto Senate Bills 1811 and 1581 — two critical pieces of legislation the House takes up today that could determine whether a budget is passed and a special session averted. Click here for our liveblog of the action. Full Story
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As of Wednesday afternoon, two powerful budget figures differed on the status of the budget process. Full Story
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The Senate today approved a measure that would reform the way law enforcement officers conduct identification lineups, a measure that criminal justice advocates hope will mean fewer wrongful convictions in the future. Full Story
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The House was expected to take up two controversial fiscal matters bill today, but from the start representatives were not sure the lower chamber was prepared to pass them. The apparent holdup? Whether some of the revenue measures amount to the "accounting gimmicks" that the governor warned against Tuesday. Full Story
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They won’t give names, nor will they engage in a game of hypothetical vote counting, but Senate Democrats will say the coalition forming against the state’s proposed sanctuary cities bill isn’t what observers would expect. Full Story
If the House doesn't pass legislation that adds $2.6 billion to state revenue with a mix of delayed payments, increased penalties, government efficiencies and the like, the state budget won't balance and a special session will probably be required, House and Senate leaders said today. Full Story
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The Texas House gave a final OK today to the "pork chopper" bill and sent it off to the governor's office. The bill would allow licensed hunters to hire helicopters and contract with landowners to shoot feral hogs and coyotes on their property from the sky. Full Story
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