Sine die: Legislature ends with winners, losers
BY TERRIE GONZALEZ

When the 80th session of the Texas Legislature gaveled to a close at midnight Monday, some good bills were passed. That's the assessment of state Rep. Chuck Hopson (DJacksonville), who said the Legislature took a $15 billion surplus at the start of the session and "gave a little money to a lot of programs."

In the final hours of the session, the Legislature provided a funding package of approximately $12 million to transfer the Texas State Railroad from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and privatize the excursion train with a private operator.

"I have unbelievable, mixed emotions on the train," said Rep. Hopson. "I'm unhappy that it is not in the parks department. However, I feel real good that we're going to keep it rolling."

Austin political watchers feared that funding for the rail authority was going to become mired in politics last week because of an attempted coup in the House of Representatives to unseat Speaker Tom Craddick.

State Rep. Byron Cook, who authored the House bill to privatize the train, made a personal privilege speech on the floor and called for Mr. Craddick to step aside as speaker. Supporters of the move to privatize the train feared that Speaker Craddick might retaliate against Rep. Cook and de-rail efforts to fund the privatization.

The omnibus appropriations bill, which is the funding mechanism for all state agencies, hung in the balance as Republican factions dueled on the House floor and maneuvered around rules and points of order to attempt to unseat Speaker Craddick throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, members of the Legislature faced a possibility of not passing an appropriations bill and having to return during the summer for a special session to pass a budget bill. Tempers subsided briefly with the passage of HB 1.

Shortly after the House signed off on the bill Saturday night, state Rep. Pat Haggerty (R-El Paso) tried one last time to unseat the speaker by taking a roll call vote. When that effort failed, he called on members to stage a walk-out at 1:30 a.m. Approximately 56 state representatives, both Democrat and Republican, walked off the floor in protest of Speaker Craddick's interpretations of house rules.

"I stayed on the House floor and did not participate in the walk-out," said Rep. Hopson. "I thought we still had business to conduct."

More than 30 bills required House action, including the controversial water bill, which designates 19 unique reservoir sites, and a funding bill for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. The House adjourned after the walk-out early Monday morning, but resumed session at 2 p.m.

The proposed Lake Fastrill, located on the Neches River between Rusk and Palestine, had been removed from the House version of the bill. However, the Senate succeeded in getting Lake Fastrill added to the water bill.

New language in the bill requires a commitment of funding by 2015 in order to retain the "unique reservoir" designation at each of the proposed, 19 locations.

Stand-out legislation

Stand-out legislation that Rep. Hopson said he is happy to see passed includes:

+ The Castle doctrine, which provides for a homeowner's right to defend his property against an intruder

+ Jessica's Law (HB 8), which provides tougher penalties against sex offenders, including capital punishment for some offenses

+ a law which prohibits law enforcement officers from confiscating firearms during a disaster such as a hurricane

+ expansion of the CHIPs program. "We added a whole bunch of kids to CHIPs and that's good for East Texas," said Rep. Hopson. "There are a lot of employers who provide insurance for mom and dad, but not for kids."

Rep. Hopson said he is also pleased with reforms outlined for the Texas Youth Commission, and he said he is optimistic that the new executive commissioner will bring stability to the troubled agency.

He said he hoped to see enough money funneled into the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to allow state parks to be brought up to standards.

"A lot of good things happened this time," said Rep. Hopson, citing property tax cuts which will be phased in.

Even though the 180-day session adjourned at midnight Monday, Legislators are already looking ahead to the 81st session which will meet in January 2009. At least five Republicans have announced their intentions to run for House Speaker.