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Speaker's Reunion Day 2013

Apr 1

posted by Admin in 83rd Session, Speaker of the House

Representative Joe StrausSpeaker's Reunion Day is coming up on April 12. In 2011, we wrote about the history of Speaker's Reunion Day, pointing out that it is the modern descendant of a long-standing tradition honoring the Speaker of the House for his service. In its current form, Speaker's Reunion Day is for former members of the Texas House of Representatives to gather and be honored for their service to the State of Texas.

Representative Joe Straus is the current Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. First elected in 2005, he has served as Speaker of the House since the 81st Legislature in 2009. Representative Tom Craddick served as Speaker before Rep. Straus, and at 44 years of service, is the longest-serving member in the Texas Legislature. He is surpassed only by A.M. Aikin, Jr., who served from 1933 to 1979 (almost 46 years!) The library makes a complete list of Speakers of the Texas House available at: http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legeLeaders/members/speakerbio.cfm


Cover of The House Will Come to OrderThis is also a good opportunity to highlight a book from our collection: The House Will Come to Order, How the Texas House Speaker Became a Power in State and National Politics (University of Texas Press, 2010). Drawing from an oral history project with former Texas House Speakers Tom Craddick, Ben Barnes, Gus Mutscher, Billy Clayton, Gibson D. "Gib" Lewis, Pete Laney and others, the book charts the evolution of the Speaker's role in the history of the Texas Legislature.

This entry was posted on April 1, 2013 at 2:30 PM and has received 2392 views. Print this entry.

Bills in the News: Term Limits

Mar 25

posted by TexasLRL in 83rd Session, Bills in the News

Bills in the News

In this occasional post, we feature topics receiving widespread media coverage, tips for finding bills filed during the 83rd legislative session, and related resources.

 

Bills in the News: Term Limits

Statewide elected officials in Texas currently are not subject to term limits, nor are state legislators. A handful of bills have been introduced in the 83rd Legislature that would impose term limits on some state offices.

 

Bill search

 

To find proposed legislation and proposed constitutional amendments filed during the 83rd Legislature about term limits, use "TERM LIMITS (S0105)." Related subject searches that may be of interest are "Elections--Candidates (I0280)" and "State Officers (I0761)."

 

Resources

 

Recent news articles have tracked proposed legislation that would institute term limits.

Terms of office for the Governor, state Senators, and state Representatives can be found in the Texas Constitution.

 

The Secretary of State provides a current list of statewide elected officials and when their terms expire.

 

The National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL] has created a state-by-state chart of term limits for legislators. NCSL also tracks filed state legislation on term limits.

 

The Council of State Governments' Book of the States 2012 provides a state-by-state table of constitutional and statutory provisions related to executive terms of office and term limits.

 

 

This entry was posted on March 25, 2013 at 1:00 PM and has received 2443 views. Print this entry.

Bills in the News: Dedicated Funds

Feb 26

posted by TexasLRL in 83rd Session, Bills in the News

Bills in the News

In this occasional post, we feature topics receiving widespread media coverage, tips for finding bills filed during the 83rd legislative session, and related resources.

 

Bills in the News: Dedicated Funds

 

The state budget in Texas relies partly on dedicated funds. "Dedicated revenue" is defined in Government Code 403.001(b)(2) as "revenue set aside by law for a particular purpose or entity." More on dedicated revenue can be found in Government Code 403.095.

 

Bill search

 

When searching for bills about dedicated funds on Texas Legislature Online, use the subject "State Finances--Management & Control (I0748)." This will bring up a list of bills about management of the state's finances, including bills allocating revenue from certain taxes or fees to particular funds.

 

Resources

 

Recent news articles have discussed how dedicated funds have been used in the past to balance the state budget.

The Legislative Budget Board provides a page of resources on General Revenue-Dedicated Funds, including a report outlining options to reduce reliance on general revenue-dedicated accounts.

 

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts provides a Fees Schedule of State Revenues and Balances, including a Fees Schedule–General Revenue-Dedicated Accounts. The Comptroller also issues a report after each legislative session on Use of General Revenue - Dedicated Funds, listing which funds were used for budget certification. The Comptroller's 2014-2015 Biennial Revenue Estimate provides a complete fund detail, beginning on page 43 of the report. Details on dedicated funds begin on page 49.

 

The House Research Organization's publication "State budget: Restrictions on spending" includes a section, starting on page 2, about dedicated revenues and funds.

 

The Texas Tribune offers a searchable list of dedicated funds with descriptions of each fund.

 

This entry was posted on February 26, 2013 at 4:15 PM and has received 5534 views. Print this entry.

Comparing Bill Statistics to Last Session

Feb 21

posted by Admin in Legislation, Bill statistics, 83rd Session, Legislative process

The Austin-American Statesman recently reported "Legislators filing fewer bills this session." Here is a look at the numbers in comparison to a similar period last session, 45 days into session, or, 3/4 of the way to the 60-day bill filing deadline (Friday, March 8 for the 83rd R.S.)

 

Bills & Joint Resolutions
82nd Regular Session

(Nov. 8, 2010-Feb. 24, 2011)
83rd Regular Session

(Nov. 12, 2012-Feb. 21, 2013)*
 % change
House filed 1,886 1,673 -11.29%
Senate filed 940 720 -23.40%
Total filed 2,826 2,393 -15.32%
House referred to committee 970 1,188 22.47%
Senate referred to committee 745 588 -21.07%
Total referred to committee 1,715 1,776 3.56%
House scheduled for hearing 19 78 310.5%
Senate scheduled for hearing 34 109 220.59%
Total scheduled for hearing 53 187 252.83%
House reported out of committee** 7 1 -85.71%
Senate reported out of committee 16 33 106.25%
Total reported out of committee 23 34 47.83%

* As of 2pm on Feb. 21, 2013.

**According to Texas Constitution, Article 3, Section 5, during the first 60 days of the legislative session, only emergency matters and emergency appropriations can be considered on the House floor. During the 82nd Regular Session in 2011, Governor Rick Perry designated six emergency matters; this session there have been no emergency matters and there has been one emergency supplemental appropriations bill (HB 10).

This entry was posted on February 21, 2013 at 3:28 PM and has received 2266 views. Print this entry.

Bills in the News: Drug Testing and Public Assistance Programs

Jan 23

posted by TexasLRL in 83rd Session, Bills in the News

Bills in the News

In this occasional post, we will feature topics receiving widespread media coverage, tips for finding bills filed during the 83rd legislative session, and related resources.

 

Bills in the News: Drug Testing and Public Assistance Programs

 

Public assistance programs, like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF] program, act as temporary safety nets for people and families in need of financial help. Many states have recently enacted or proposed legislation that calls for drug testing of people seeking public assistance benefits.

 

Bill search

To find bills filed during the 83rd Legislature about drug testing applicants and recipients of public assistance, visit the Texas Legislature Online, and select "Bill Search" under the Search tab. Click on "select subject criteria" and select Human Services--Direct Assistance (I0900) and DRUG & ALCOHOL TESTING (S0010) from the subject list to find bills.

 

You can also try looking directly under the subjects TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (S0401) or WELFARE (S2341) to find bills related to public assistance programs.

 

Resources

Local news articles have discussed proposed legislation in Texas that calls for drug testing those who apply for or receive public assistance:

Governor Perry has spoken recently about drug screening for those receiving public assistance benefits.

 

The National Conference of State Legislatures provides a state-by-state map and chart of state laws related to drug testing and public assistance programs.

 

Information about the TANF program in Texas is available via the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. At the federal level, information about TANF is available via the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

This entry was posted on January 23, 2013 at 2:18 PM and has received 3260 views. Print this entry.

Prefiling Statistics, 83rd Regular Session

Jan 8

posted by Admin in Legislation, Bill statistics, 83rd Session, Legislative process

In Texas, the Rules and Precedents of the Texas House (Rule 8, Section 7) and Senate Rules (Rule 7.04) allow legislators to prefile bills "beginning the first Monday after the general election preceding the next regular legislative session."

 

Prefiling for the 83rd Texas Legislature began on Monday, November 12, the first Monday after the general election on November 6. Following are the number of prefiled bills and joint resolutions as of Monday, January 7:

 

                83R Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions

                (11/12/12–1/7/13)

 

                HB/HJR                 385

                SB/SJR                  149

 

                Total                      534

 

How do these numbers compare to previous sessions? Following are the number of bills and joint resolution prefiled during the last two regular sessions:

 

                82R Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions

                (11/8/10–1/10/11)

 

                HB/HJR                 575

                SB/SJR                  312

 

                Total                      887

 

                81R Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions

                (11/10/08–1/12/09)

 

                HB/HJR                 603

                SB/SJR                  455

 

                Total                      1,058

 

The total number of bills and joint resolutions prefiled for the 83rd regular session is 60.2% of those prefiled during the 82nd regular session, and 50.5% of those prefiled during the 81st regular session.

This entry was posted on January 8, 2013 at 8:36 AM and has received 2351 views. Print this entry.

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