Which state programs are most worthy of taxpayer dollars? Should they cap college tuition? How will they regulate the insurance industry? Can college students legally carry guns on campus?
As usual, these issues and many others remain unresolved as lawmakers enter the final three weeks of their 140-day legislative session.
The House and Senate will rush to pass legislation in the next few weeks.
Lawmakers will zip through some bills with little debate, committees will meet hurriedly around their chairmen's desks, and legislative lawyers will work around the clock to find the precise language that legislators want in their bills.
But many bills will die in the lower chamber beginning this week, as key deadlines kick in for managing the last-minute logjam of legislation.
For example, bills that haven't been approved by a committee by today will die there unless lawmakers can attach them to related measures that still have life.
Just 51 bills — of more than 7,000 filed — have reached Gov. Rick Perry's desk for signature by Thursday, so lawmakers have miles to go on just about every major issue.
So far, the story of the session has been more than $10 billion in federal stimulus legislation that lawmakers used to patch holes in the state budget, avoiding severe cuts even as state revenues are projected to fall.
"It could have been a bloodbath," said Harvey Kronberg, who publishes the Quorom Report, an online Capitol newsletter.
Some things simply won't get done, either by design or because of a lack of time. And others will be vetoed by the governor.
But until then, legislators harbor hope their priorities will become law.
STATUS REPORT ON KEY LEGISLATION
Voter ID — Require voters to present ID at polling place before casting a ballot. As passed by the Senate, it would take effect in 2010 and allow two non-photo IDs as an alternative to one picture ID. Prospects in the closely divided House are uncertain on this highly partisan issue.
'Choose Life' license plates — Texas voters would have the option of buying license plates that say 'Choose Life," a measure touted by Gov. Rick Perry that seems certain to pass. Both the House and Senate have approved the license plates, and the House also added a 'Choose Adoption' plate.
Abortion ultrasound — Original proposal would have required women seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound. In the version approved by Senate, ultrasound would be offered but not required. In the House, the issue is awaiting committee action.
Gambling — Allow casino gambling in a dozen Texas cities and on Indian reservations, with approval from voters statewide. Senate committee hasn't approved a bill, and the House bill is stalled in Calendars Committee while authors try to round up 100 votes needed for passage. That's a high hurdle, especially this late in the session.
Governor's Mansion restoration — The House has agreed to fully fund the $27 million project but the Senate has provided only about half the money, and remains hung up on several questions: Whether to close Colorado Street to improve security, whether to allow a two-story addition to the historic manse. A House proposal to buy an Enfield neighborhood home that is a carbon-copy of the mansion for the governor to live in, and turn the real one into a museum, is dead.
Guns on campus — A bill that would allow students with state handgun licenses to carry guns on campus appears stalled in both chambers. Supporters insist it will come up for floor debate in coming days, to an uncertain future — thanks to lobbying against it by university officials. Opponents are marshaling their forces to stall it, then kill it. But in a gun-friendly legislature, it's chances may be better than expected.
EDUCATION
Tuition regulation – Impose a moratorium or limits on tuition increases at public universities. Senate has approved a bill that would limit the University of Texas and many other schools to 5 percent per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. House members also want to limit increases, but perhaps not as severely.
Top-tier universities – Provide a pathway for some of the state's so-called emerging research universities to compete with each other for extra funding to join the big leagues. House and Senate have approved similar measures, but differences need to be ironed out. Budget conferees haven't decided how much money to allocate.
Top 10 percent law — Senate approved a measure scaling back the number of students public universities would have to admit under the law guaranteeing a spot to those graduating in the top 10 percent of their Texas high school class. That bill and a similar House measure — either of which would ease an admission crunch at the University of Texas — have cleared committee in the House but have not advanced to the floor, a sign that the debate there won't be quick or easy. House members rejected changes in the law two years ago.
School accountability — The overhaul of the state's school accountability system won unanimous House and Senate approval. Crafted by the education leaders in both chambers, the bills aim to reduce the focus on standardized testing, end the prohibition on promoting students who fail the statewide tests and provide low-performing schools more time and flexibility to improve.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Statewide smoking ban — The Lance Amstrong-backed proposal, as filed, would have banned smoking in indoor workplaces, including restaurants and bars. A House committee passed a scaled-back version, and the measure is pending in a Senate committee.
Children's health insurance — The Senate has passed a bill that would allow certain families who earn more than the income limit for the Children's Health Insurance Program pay to join. It could add some 80,000 children to CHIP. A House panel has passed a similar measure. Also, a House committee has approved a measure that could add around 258,000 children to Medicaid by expanding the enrollment period from six months to a year.
State schools — A bill, designated an emergency by Perry, that would add an inspector general for the troubled institutions for people with mental disabilities has passed the Senate and made it through a House committee. The authors of proposals to shutter some of the 13 institutions say they've abandoned that push because it wasn't politically feasible.
Teen tanning restrictions — Children under age 16½ wouldn't be able to enter a tanning bed under legislation that has cleared the House and a Senate committee. Opponents argue it's interfering with parental decisions, while supporters say it's a way to prevent skin cancer.
BUDGET AND TAXES
State budget —The budget is very tight, though not as tight as it would have been without the billions of federal stimulus dollars. Budget-writers are now hunkered down in conference committee to resolve differences between the House's $178 billion proposal and the $182 billion Senate version. The rainy day fund, which is expected to have $9.1 billion available, was not tapped because lawmakers expect it will be needed to address a very difficult budget two years from now.
Margins tax — Businesses with less than $1 million in total revenue will be exempt from the revised business tax under a House bill that won unanimous approval last week. The change, which would reduce state revenue by $172 million, has strong bipartisan backing in the Senate and from Perry.
Unemployment insurance/stimulus —Against Perry's wishes, the Legislature is pushing ahead to enact the changes required for Texas to get $555 million in federal stimulus money to extend unemployment benefits to more workers. A number of procedural traps could doom the measure, which narrowly passed the Senate and could come up in the House any day. The bill must be to Perry by May 19 for legislators to have the opportunity to override a possible veto.
ENVIRONMENT
Solar power — Jump-starts solar power industry by creating a pot of money that would subsidize people who want to put solar panels on their roofs and utilities that want money to build big, concentrated solar facilities. The money, from a surcharge on electric bills, could amount to as much as $100 million a year for five years. Passed the Senate. A similar House measure has had trouble getting out of committee.
Air quality — Improves air quality with $4,000 rebates for the purchase of plug-in hybrid vehicles, grants for pollution-cutting equipment at power plants, higher energy efficiency standards for appliances such as DVD players and pool pumps, and instructions to several state agencies to participate in federal negotiations over how to track greenhouse gases. Passed the Senate and in a House committee. One sticking point unlikely to make it into law: a measure considering the cumulative effects of air pollution across the state when awarding permits to power plants.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
TYC reform — After disagreements between House and Senate leaders over how and whether to shrink the Texas Youth Commission and to fund new community-based rehabilitation programs, legislative leaders appear to have reached a tentative deal that could shift Texas' juvenile justice policy from large state-run lockups to county-run treatment programs and small state centers. A final deal could come Tuesday; look for last-minute posturing over details.
Prison security — House and Senate budget writers have set aside about $16 million to install cameras, metal detectors and other technology in the nine state prisons that are plagued with the most contraband. A bill to allow prison officials to jam cell phone traffic, if a federal law is changed, is moving very slowly to the House floor, amid opposition from cell phone companies.
TRANSPORTATION
Road-building funds — Efforts to end or substantially reduce the amount of gas tax and vehicle fee money going to the Department of Public Safety, so that it can be used instead on dirt-and-asphalt transportation projects, ran aground in budget-writing committees. And legislation that would allow local governments to raise money independently for transportation, contingent on public referenda, has lost momentum in the House after passing the Senate.
OTHER
Congressional redistricting commission — Two abortive tries to get this bill moving in the Senate give a hint of its future: DOA. Republican stalwarts hate GOP state Sen. Jeff Wentworth's proposal because it would cede some of their power to draw the boundaries. If by some stretch the bill should reach the House, expect to hear a loud swat as Republicans kill it there.
Hill Country zoning control — Gives Hill Country voters the power to regulate land development in 15 Hill Country counties. Has passed out of House County Affairs Committee and is awaiting placement on the House calendar. Legislature has been historically unwilling to grant counties more zoning authority. Similar measures in the Senate aimed at all Texas counties have failed in previous sessions.
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