Texas Take

On July 18, the Texas Legislature will be back to finish its business -- and then some.

And if they don't pass all 20 items that Gov. Greg Abbott has put on the agenda for a special session, then they'll just be lazy.

In an interview on a Lubbock radio show, the governor ramped up the pressure for lawmakers to approve the conservative and controversial items he wants passed during the special session -- from a bathroom bill to property tax reform to new limits on cities to annex and enact local ordinances on tree cutting, development and other things.

Pressure, perhaps. But his crack may just make some lawmakers angry, especially those in the Texas House, after they just completed a fractious 140-day session that left the Senate and the House far apart on many of those same issues.

Meanwhile, talk to Texans and many have little clue what the political hubub in Austin is all about -- even that a special legislative session is scheduled to start or what many of the issues are.

Some -- including many Republican voters -- say they couldn't care less about why Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick think the issues are so important they need attention this summer. Some say they would prefer that the Legislature stay home.

Quite a number aren't even familiar with the issues, even after five months of headlines about the legislative fighting over them.

We've got it all and more, in this week's Texas Take, where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in unvarnished, straight talk that every Texan can understand.

From Mike Ward, the Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, and Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, comes Texas' leading online podcast about Lone Star politics

As House Speaker Joe Straus gaveled his chamber to adjournment, he acknowledged that the end of the 140-day legislative session had been, well, a bit exciting. And he wished members the best until he sees them again, "which, like you, I hope won't be anytime soon."

Exciting was probably an understatement.

On the last day, Senate and House leaders exchanged accusations over legislation that died. Large protests over Senate Bill 4, the so-called ban on sanctuary cities, filled the capitol with angry protesters. Shouting by the demonstrators forced Straus to clear the public gallery.

Then, several House members got into a shouting match after one Republican said he had called federal immigration authorities on the protesters, some of whom carried signs saying they were undocumented. And Democrats said that a Republican, Matt Rinaldi of Irving, threatened to shoot them.

The Legislature left town without passing a necessary bill to keep the Texas Medical Board, the agency that licenses and polices doctors, in operation for the next two years. Gov. Greg Abbott quickly hinted that would be enough for a special session.

While Abbott insisted he is in charge of the agenda and timing of any special session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was insistent that he wanted one to pass a bathroom bill aimed at keeping men out of women's restrooms and to prevent 10th grade boys and girls from showering together.

While awaiting a decision on what will come next, and with most everybody at the statehouses still fuming at someone else after the session's rough conclusion, the news from Austin just keeps coming.

We've got it all and more, in this week's Texas Take, where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in unvarnished, straight talk that every Texan can understand.

From Mike Ward, the Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, and Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, comes Texas' leading online podcast about Lone Star politics.

The only thing left to do may be the crying.

As the 85th legislative session winds down, and with the bill-passing all done, bickering is still intense over two key issues: The controversial 'bathroom bill' and how far property-tax reforms will go.

Gov. Greg Abbott racheted up the final drama by saying the Legislature still had work to do on both issues, hinting that lawmakers had better come to agreement on some solid do-something bills or else.

As in, he might bring you back for a dreaded summer special session. The regular legislative session ends Monday.

With the clock ticking on the House and the Senate to come together on those issues – something they have been unable to do for the past five months – fights erupted in both chambers over a bizarre mix of other issues , from animal cruelty to voter ID to so-called lunch shaming.

You can't make up stuff this good.

With just days left before a Monday adjournment, and with nearly everybody at the Texas Capitol mad at someone else,  it's probably a good time pull up a seat and watch the final sparks fly.

We've got it all, and more, in this week's Texas Take, the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State, where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in unvarnished, straight talk that every Texan can understand.

From Mike Ward, the Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, and Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, comes Texas' leading online podcast about Lone Star politics.

High-drama is marking the final days of the Texas Legislature, starring House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Straus started the week off by penning a letter to Patrick suggesting that the chambers should work together to pass "two critical bills" -- the state budget and a "sunset safety net" bill -- before the 140 days of the legislative session comes to a close on May 29.

Not so fast, Patrick shot back, insisting that property-tax reform and a "bathroom" bill would have to be passed, or he will push Gov. Greg Abbott to call as many special sessions as necessary to get the job done.

Abbott quickly agreed with Patrick that those two bills were priorities for him, as well.

Patrick said he would move the sunset bill after the House passed the property-tax reform bill, prompting House leaders to accuse him of trying to set their schedule.

With bill-passing deadlines fast approaching, the House appeared to be taking their time on Patrick's priorities, unnerving the Senate leadership -- which may have been their goal. As the week ran out, Straus was smiling. Patrick? Not so much.

With less than two weeks left, nearly everyone at the State Capitol was getting cranky.

Pull up a chair and grab some popcorn.

Get the latest updates from Mike Ward, the Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, and Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report on the fighting and other political intrigue in Austin in this week's Texas Take, the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State, where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in unvarnished, straight talk that every Texan can understand.

So, those reps used a procedural maneuver to kill all 120 bills on the calendar they had been denied. And then they started a talkathon to keep hundreds of other bills from being voted on.

By the time the political theater ended at midnight Thursday, more than 300 bills were reported dead, and emotions were boiling over. One House member was able to save a bill on stem-cell research with a tearful speech.

And the guy who orchestrated the whole show, Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, gave an empassioned plea himself, complaining about "disgusting" manipulation by House leaders to control which bills pass.

The legislative drama continued, with a House committee chair confronting mayors and local officials because they couldn't tell the difference between the Senate and the House, and who was their friend.

Gov. Greg Abbott also made news by signing into law a bill banning so-called sanctuary cities, in an unannounced show on Facebook Live. Remember that this was the bill that Abbott once said was a top priority, an "historic" measure that became law without even the sponsors  present, as is custom in Austin.

The reason: Perhaps that Abbott wanted to avoid protests of doing a public ceremony, on legislation that could tick off Hispanic Texans who voted for him.

Have you heard that Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is being considered to replace James Comey as FBI director? We have the latest on what happens next.

Get the latest war news and other political intrigue in Austin in this week's Texas Take, the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State, where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in unvarnished, straight talk that every Texan can understand.

From Mike Ward, the Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, and Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, comes Texas' best online podcast about Lone Star politics.

Republican-supported legislation banning so-called "sanctuary cities"' proved controversial to the very end, as the Texas Senate played out the final drama before approving and sending to the governor a House version that includes a "show your papers" provision.

Gov. Greg Abbott is expected soon to sign the measure into law, despite threats from immigration groups and Democrats to try to overturn the new statute in court.

That was far from the only drama this week under the Pink Dome.

In the Senate, Sens. James Huffines and Royce West, both from Dallas, tussled verbally over a bill regarding the Dallas County school district that became personal and, at the end, drew an apology -- before the legislation passed.

In the House, Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, literally cussed out some Republican colleagues over their move to derail passage of a bill regarding cosmetologists and what role they should play in her ongoing war against human trafficking.

The issue of Chinese steel imports brought fervent debate, as well.

Plaintive cries could be heard from both chambers as deadlines for passing bills began approaching, as literally hundreds of House and Senate bills -- some important, some not -- began dying because they had not been assigned to a committee, or they had not received a public hearing or they had not been approved by a committee.

With the end of the legislative session less than a month away, those cries will increase in coming days.

One that may not: A bill that repeals mandatory state safety inspections for personal vehicles, a step  that more than a dozen states already have taken. The Texas bill was passed by the Senate, and is bound for the House.

Get the lowdown on all the fighting and political intrigue in Austin in this week's Texas Take, the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State, where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in simple language every Texan can understand -- unvarnished straight talk, as they say.

From Mike Ward, the Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, and Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, Texas' best online newsletter for political insiders.

Unpleasantness was the order of the day as the Texas House passed Senate Bill 6, the controversial legislation to ban sanctuary cities in the Lone Star State.

Democrats opposed to the bill angrily argued with Republicans who supported it, like two wildcats in a sack, amid charges of racism and immigrant bashing.

Now that the House has approved the measure, the bets are on whether the Senate, which approved a tougher version of the legislation earlier this year, will agree with the House amendments -- or ask for a meeting to negotiate a compromise.

After the so-called Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, showed up at the State Capital for quick meetings with Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick seeking a change in state law to exempt his companies from a long-standing ban on auto manufacturers also selling vehicles in Texas, the bill shot through a Senate committee and headed to the full Senate for a vote.

Then, engine-manufacturer Cummins moved to get its own exemption, but the process seemed to slow down considerably -- and some lawmakers began questioning whether anybody needed a way around the current law.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pushed ahead to champion charter schools as a bill that would give them access to state-backed facilities money moved through the upper legislative chamber, despite continuing opposition from public school advocates.

A pensions-reform bill to fix mounting fiscal problems for first responders' nest eggs in Houston hit a bump in the road to fast passage and remained stalled, despite intense negotiations, after Houston Republican Paul Bettencourt offered an amendment that the city, police and firefighter groups didn't like.

Get the lowdown on all the fighting and political intrigue in Austin in this week's Texas Take, the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State, where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in simple language every Texan can understand -- unvarnished straight talk, as they say.

The Texas House and Senate are at loggerheads over the only bill they absolutely have to pass in the next month: The state budget.

Both object to the other's budget plans. House leaders have accused the Senate of "cooking the books" by an accounting trick that provides a $2.5 budget savings, and Senate has asked for a legal ruling from Attorney General Ken Paxton to validate their plan.

The House has asked Paxton to deep-six it as unconstitutional.

The so-called Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, showed up at the State Capital for quick meetings with Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick seeking a change in state law exempt his companies from a long-standing ban on auto manufacturers also selling vehicles in Texas.

Almost as fast as he left town, a bill was filed in the Senate to do just that and, faster than a speeding vehicle from one of his dealerships, it was approved by a Senate committee and sent to the full Senate for just-as-fast passage.

Almost as fast was the approval by the Senate of a bill to ban limitations on the number of Texas school students who are eligible for special-education programs, following revelations about the longstanding practice by the Houston Chronicle in its award-winning series, "Denied."

In the slow lane for passage by both legislative chambers, though, was legislation to fix Houston's crisis over police and fire pensions, on the contentious issue of school-finance reform and to call for a national Convention of States to give states more clout over national affairs -- a priority of Gov. Greg Abbott.

Get the lowdown on all the fighting and political intrigue in Austin in this week's Texas Take, the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State, where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in simple language every Texan can understand -- unvarnished straight talk, as they say.

The Texas House has come up with its own, much different of the "bathroom bill" that the Senate passed as one of its priorities.

Instead of using a birth certificate to determine which Texans could use which restroom, the House has decided to prohibit local governments from approving bathroom rules -- and has kept that power for themselves, without specifying that those rules might be.

Just as the Senate is unlikely to go along with this, the two legislative chambers are prepping for heavy negotiations over the budget -- even though the Senate is now asking Attorney General Ken Paxton to declare its financing plan legal. Senate leaders say they are confident he will do so, but House budget-writers who have pooh-poohed the Senate plan remain skeptical.

The Senate passes a contentious bill to allow county clerks a way to decline to issue same-sex marriage licenses but still get the licenses issued. The state's voter ID law gets popped again as discriminatory by a federal judge.

And the Senate votes to strip the ownership of an historic Austin golf course from the University of Texas at Austin, in the latest legislative hit against the flagship institution.

Get the lowdown on all the fighting and political intrigue in Austin in this week's Texas Take -- the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State -- where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in simple language every Texan can understand -- unvarnished straight talk, as they say.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he wanted a House vote on "school choice," vouchers to opponents. He got one.

The result was an overwhelming smackdown of the concept that Patrick and the Senate tagged as a top priority.

As the House moved ahead to adopt its version of the state budget, a much different document than the one approved by the Senate, arguments quickly started over which chamber will win in the closed-door negotiations to come up with a final budget before the end of May.

Just as they don't agree on the budget, House and Senate leaders are also split on other issues, including the ban on so-called sanctuary cities. Patrick has made it clear he and the Senate want a tough bill with penalties against local officials who don't cooperate with federal immigration enforcers, and the House is much less adamant.

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat who's little known outside his home city of El Paso, announced he will run against incumbent GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. His chances in a solid Red State are open to debate, depending on which side of the political fence you're on.

And the clubby Senate opened up a bit to debate a bill regulating the number of chickens Texans can keep in their backyards, when Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, did his impression of cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn, during the debate.

Seriously.

Get the lowdown on all the chicken stuff and other political intrigue in Austin in this week's Texas Take -- the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State -- where you get the inside scoop on the Legislature in simple language every Texan can understand -- unvarnished straight talk, as they say.

You can't make up stuff this good.