Austin. The Texas Capitol will soon be a little closer to just about every home and business in the state. Not literally. After all, the 135-year-old building is 302 feet tall and covers hundreds of thousands of square feet.
But when the 88th Legislature convenes at noon on Tuesday, legislators are expected to intervene, for good or ill, in the lives of all 29-plus million Texans. They will look for ways to lower property taxes, consider new rules on what is taught in public schools, set levels of public assistance for low- and no-income mothers and mothers-to-be, provide some incentives for oil and gas drillers. , as well as solving problems that may not have been on anyone’s radar screen yet.
It will be a 140-day process that starts frustratingly slow – by design – and most likely ends in a whirlwind – also by design.
Why does the Texas Legislature meet for only 140 days?
Texas operates under a state constitution, ratified in 1876 as Reconstruction drew to a close, and written by men—yes, just men—who pretty much preferred as little government as possible. Thus, the legislative session is not only limited to 20 weeks, but 20 weeks every two years.
The developers have indeed provided a workaround if legislators cannot do what needs to be done in time. They gave the governor, and only the governor, the right to call legislators to extraordinary meetings for a period of 30 days.
Are there laws that the legislature must pass every session?
Only one thing: legislators must adopt the state budget. Everything else is optional. And legislators, being legislators, always have the opportunity to pass more.
Why does it feel like nothing much is happening early on?
Again, this goes back to creators unfriendly to the government. Barring emergencies declared by the governor, the constitution states that the House and Senate must wait 60 days before voting on bills.
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But before that, work is underway. Submission of bills began after the November elections. The committees, once appointed Speaker in the House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor in the Senate, will hold hearings and side deals will be made behind the scenes.
Can the Legislature really afford to cut taxes?
Most likely so. Comptroller Glenn Hegar, the state’s chief financial officer, has been saying for months that lawmakers’ revenues could be $27 billion more than they need to cover expected spending. On Monday, he will present an official income estimate to help make a spending decision.
It’s still unclear how much tax cuts can be cut, and it’s likely to be a little tricky. By all accounts, top state leaders are hoping to lower property taxes. But property taxes are levied locally, mostly by school districts, so the Legislature will have to come up with a plan to use public money to offset money that locals would forego due to state property tax cuts.
Another complicating factor is that when the government has a lot of money, legislators and interest groups can usually figure out how to spend it. One truism in the Legislative Assembly goes something like this: “It’s easier to write a budget when revenues are tight.”
This is because in difficult times, everyone understands that “no” is the default answer to requests for more money. When a state is full of cash, it becomes harder to say no.
Who are the key players in the Legislative Assembly?
The 150-member House of Representatives is expected to nominate Beaumont Republican Dade Phelan for a second term as speaker. This means that he appoints the members who will chair the committees and can say a lot about the flow of bills that are put to the vote.
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Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is about to begin his third four-year term, so this will be his fifth session in the 31-member Senate, appointing committees and setting the pace. Since he is elected at the state level, a Republican can claim a statewide constituency. And in past sessions, he has not hesitated to advance the priorities he has set. The Speaker is elected by the members of the House, so that this office, with a few exceptions, is usually aimed at achieving consensus.
State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer is a veteran San Antonio legislator who will lead the outnumbered Democratic House of Representatives for the first time. He has a reputation for being well versed in the rules of the House of Representatives and the rules of parliamentary procedure. By definition, a minority party must play defensively. Look out for Martinez Fischer, who uses his insider knowledge to make the defense look like an offense during hard-fought fights on the floor.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who is also entering his third term, is not a legislator, but his presence will be felt if only because he can veto any bills he doesn’t like. And because so much happens at the end of a session, most vetoes come after the end of the legislative session. This means that there is usually no way to override them.
John S. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter. @JohnnyMo.
