With election over, lawmakers turn their attention to 2007 agenda

Posted on Sun, Nov. 12, 2006

With election over, lawmakers turn their attention to 2007 agenda
LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON
Associated Press

AUSTIN - The election dust has barely settled, but Texas lawmakers are already working on bills they'll push in the legislative session that begins in January.

Property appraisal caps, crackdowns on child predators and border security are among the major issues expected on the legislative agenda. The perennial proposals to allow casino gambling and to use taxpayer money for private school vouchers also are likely to pop up.

Lawmakers get their first chance to file bills on Monday, and clerks at the Texas House and Senate expect at least a few sponsors will be waiting in line when their offices open.

State representatives usually submit about 125 to 150 bills on the first filing day, said Robert Haney, chief clerk of the House. State senators typically submit about 100 bills that day, said Linda Hopkins, the Senate's assistant calendar clerk.

The 80th Legislative Session begins Jan. 9 and lawmakers will have until March 9 to submit most bills.

But some legislators, such as state Rep. Frank Corte, like to get an early start. The Republican from San Antonio has submitted as many as 13 bills on the first filing day every session for a decade.

Bills are assigned numbers in the order they're received, and Corte said he believes having low numbers on his proposals gives him a psychological edge.

"A low bill number a lot of times has the feeling to a lot of members that it's an important issue," Corte said. "It's something that was thought out way in advance. It wasn't something that you filed at the last minute."

The Legislature does not operate on a "first come, first served" basis, however. Once the session starts, the bills will be read in the House or Senate and assigned to a committee, whose chairperson then decides what to tackle first.

About 5,400 bills were filed in the House and Senate last year, but only a fraction of those were adopted and became law.

Even the earliest bills often take a back seat to proposals laid out by legislative leaders, such as Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate.

Dewhurst campaigned for re-election on a promise to get tough on child molesters. Under his plan, a person convicted once of molesting a child under 14 would be jailed for no less than 25 years. A second conviction would carry the death penalty.

Dewhurst spokesman Rich Parsons said he wasn't sure when that legislation would be filed. The lieutenant governor, who may not file bills himself, is working with senators to draft that proposal and other measures on drug testing and defibrillators in public schools.

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