81st Legislature: 1st bills hit hot buttons
November 11, 2008
In the Senate, filing clerks were frantically keeping up with a pace unrivaled in recent years: About 240 bills were submitted, compared with the 83 introduced on the first day two years ago.
Written by Karen Brooks, Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – The election brought some changes to the Capitol, but the new Legislature may be fighting again over the same turf. The familiar issues include: a crackdown on illegal immigrants, abortion restrictions, school vouchers, college tuition increases, tax appraisal caps and the death penalty. They stood out on the first day that lawmakers could file bills for the next session, which starts in January. It was the first trickle of what is expected to be a flood of more than 6,000 proposed laws – although only a fraction will survive the political wrangling. Republicans still maintain a slight edge in the state Senate and the House, but the balance of power in the House isn't completely settled because of a couple of close races. For now, legislators moved to get a jump-start on their agendas. In the Senate, filing clerks were frantically keeping up with a pace unrivaled in recent years: About 240 bills were submitted, compared with the 83 introduced on the first day two years ago. In the House, the number stayed closer to last time: 159 vs. 213 on the first day last session. Many of the bills – such as property tax appraisal caps and anti-abortion measures – were debated but failed before. Some, such as improving Child Protective Services, are familiar themes from recent sessions. "CPS is an issue that's been front and center the last two sessions, and we'll be back taking a look at that again," said Dave Nelson, a spokesman for Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound. A bill she's pushing again would offer visas to foreign medical students who would practice in rural or inner-city Texas, a way to bolster health care for the disadvantaged. Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, who has sought before to restrict abortion, filed a bill requiring physicians to perform ultrasounds two hours before abortions and ensure that pregnant women hear the heartbeat before the procedure. Abortion-rights groups vowed to fight that proposal. What might change this time – because of the slight increase in Democratic strength in the Senate and a potential tie in the House – is the outcome of many of these battles. If a new speaker comes to power, the House committee leadership will change drastically, along potentially with its priorities. In some cases, sponsors are looking for ways around what stalled the bills before. For several sessions, the GOP-led House was at war over attempts to approve a cap on property tax appraisals. This time, Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, filed a measure to allow counties to hold their own elections to allow that. She is behind another incendiary issue in the House: immigration. She is sponsoring bills to allow police to arrest illegal immigrants and to ban students here illegally from getting in-state tuition. After all the maneuvering in the Legislature, which will meet until June 1, expect about 1,000 new laws to be passed. AT A GLANCE: Legislature's Agenda A look at high-profile issues facing the new Legislature, which begins work in January, and some of the related bills filed Monday: Taxes • Let counties hold their own elections on whether to cap property taxes • Ban more business-tax increases • Increase homestead exemptions for elderly and disabled taxpayers Education • Impose a two-year moratorium on college and university tuition hikes • Give students who sit on the boards of regents at their schools the right to vote on issues before the boards • Start pilot programs for public-school vouchers Immigration • Allow police to arrest illegal immigrants based on their lack of documentation • Require identification at voting booths • Reverse the state law that allows students who are here illegally to pay in-state tuition if they qualify Abortion • Require physicians to show an ultrasound to pregnant women two hours before the procedure, including allowing them to hear the heartbeat. • Allow the state to sell specialty license plates that say, "Choose Life." Criminal justice • Create an Innocence Project on wrongful convictions • Allow the governor to give more than one reprieve in a death penalty case
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