Nominate the Legislator Who Did the Most in the 81st Session to Fleece the People of Texax

Important Dates for Texas 81st Legislative Session

By Martha Estes - May 26, 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 (135th day)
Last day for house to consider local and consent senate bills on second reading or any senate bills or joint resolutions on third reading
[House Rule 8, Sec. 13(c)]

Last day for senate to consider any bills or joint resolutions on third reading
[Senate Rule 7.25]

Thursday, May 28, 2009 (136th day)
Midnight deadline for house to print and distribute senate amendments
[relates to House Rule 13, Sec. 5(a), requiring 24-hour layout of senate amendments prior to consideration]

Friday, May 29, 2009 (137th day)
Last day for house to consider senate amendments
[House Rule 8, Sec. 13(d)]

Midnight deadline for senate to print and distribute senate copies of conference committee reports on tax, general appropriations, and reapportionment bills
[relates to Senate Rule 12.09(a), requiring 48-hour layout of certain conference committee reports in regular session]

Last day for senate committees to report all bills
[relates to Senate Rule 7.24(b), but note that the 135th day (two days earlier) is the last day for third reading in the senate; practical deadline for senate committees is before the 135th day]

Saturday, May 30, 2009 (138th day)
Midnight deadline for house to print and distribute house copies of all conference committee reports
[relates to House Rule 13, Sec. 10(a), requiring 24-hour layout of all conference committee reports]

Midnight deadline for senate to print and distribute all conference committee reports on bills other than tax, general appropriations, and reapportionment bills and all house amendments to Senate bills that did not go to a conference committee
[relates to Senate Rule 12.09(b) and Senate Rule 7.21, requiring 24-hour layout of certain conference committee reports and house amendments to senate bills during the last 72 hours of a regular session]

NOTE: Date extended until midnight Sunday, May 31, 2009


Sunday, May 31, 2009 (139th day)
Last day for house to adopt conference committee reports
[House Rule 8, Sec. 13(e)]

Last day for senate to concur in house amendments or adopt conference committee reports
[relates to Senate Rule 7.25, limiting a vote on the passage of any bill during the last 24 hours of the session to correct an error in the bill]

Monday, June 1, 2009 (140th day)
Last day of 81st Regular Session; corrections only
in house and senate
[Sec. 24(b), Art. III, TexasConstitution]

Session Ends

Sunday, June 21, 2009 (20th day following final adjournment)
Last day governor can sign or veto bills passed during the
regular legislative session
[Sec. 14, Art. IV, Texas Constitution]

Monday, August 31, 2009 (91st day following final adjournment)
Date that bills without specific effective dates (that could not
be effective immediately) become law
[Sec. 39, Art. III, Texas Constitution]


Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Texas Legislature adjourns after meltdown in Senate; special session looms

By DAVE MONTGOMERY and AMAN BATHEJA - Fort worth Star Telegram - Mon. June 1, 2009
AUSTIN — The 81st Legislature adjourned Monday night with angry state senators urging Gov. Rick Perry to call a special session to salvage $2 billion in highway transportation money. The money was left in limbo when the House killed legislation to keep the Texas Department of Transportation and four other state agencies operating.

The dust-up dashed hopes for a smooth conclusion to the 140-day biennial session without the need for a special session to deal with unresolved issues or priorities demanded by the governor.

Earlier, on the first day of the hurricane season, lawmakers came through at Perry’s insistence with emergency legislation to replenish a windstorm insurance fund for Gulf Coast residents.

At the center of the dispute was the House’s decision to abandon a "safety net" bill that would have granted a two-year continuance for the Transportation Department, the state Department of Insurance and three other agencies. The safety net legislation for the Transportation Department was considered a stop-gap fix after a more comprehensive bill restructuring the agency died in the waning days of the Legislature.

Before adjourning, House members approved a parliamentary patch-up that they said would keep the Transportation Department operating. But senators condemned that action as insufficient, voting 17-11 to adjourn without voting on it, and denounced the House for killing the transportation bill. That legislation included $2 billion in transportation bonds to fund highway projects across the state.

Senators called on Perry to convene a special session to reauthorize the Transportation Department and clear the way for using the $2 billion in highway construction money.

Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle did not directly address the request for a special session, but she disputed the senators’ description of the situation, saying the agencies will be able to continue operating like normal despite the tumultuous conclusion of the session.

'A disaster’

"The action by the House is a disaster," said Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan. "Right now, the budget at TxDOT is wrecked and people are going to start losing their jobs" if Perry declines to call a special session.


Senators were told that the agency can continue to operate until September 2010, giving Perry adequate time to call lawmakers back to Austin if he agrees that it’s necessary.

Senators expressed outrage that the House abruptly adjourned without passing a resolution that would have permitted the use of the bonds.

"They went sine die [adjourned] after destroying four and a half months of work that passed through this body," said Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay.

In other action, the Senate sent to the governor a $1.9 billion school funding bill that includes a one-time $800 pay raise for teachers.

It was the first expansion of public school financing since 1948 that wasn’t mandated by a court order, said Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, the Senate Education Committee chairwoman. She described the measure
"as one of the finest pieces of legislation this Legislature has done in a very long time."


The House and Senate adjourned Monday evening after days of turbulence that included a bill-killing parliamentary slowdown in the House and a threatened filibuster in the Senate.

"Some days I thought would never end, and some weeks flew by," Speaker Joe Straus said before adjourning the House on a motion from Rep. Charlie Geren, R- Fort Worth.


After a weekend when many bills seemed to zoom through both chambers, things often slowed to a crawl Monday. During long delays between votes, members on the House floor signed "thank you" cards or used their laptops to check news sites or watch funny videos.

Senators did their part to avoid a special session by sending Perry legislation to fund windstorm insurance coverage for Gulf Coast counties. Perry had threatened to call a special session if lawmakers failed to bolster the insurance fund. The bill passed the House earlier.

A 'miracle’ comeback


Some of the most emotional moments on the session’s last day centered on the return of Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, just weeks after he suffered a heart attack and collapsed in a Capitol elevator. Lawmakers had feared the worst when Geren, Kuempel’s close friend, told House members early on that their colleague was in a medical coma.

The chamber erupted in applause and cheers as Geren wheeled Kuempel onto the House floor.
"It’s good to be here," Kuempel said with a broad smile, right before receiving a kiss on the cheek from Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller.

Many expressed amazement that Kuempel made it back in time for the end of the session. "It’s a miracle," said Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, shaking his head in disbelief.

Voter ID battle


Compared to bitterly confrontational sessions of previous years, the 81st Legislature was relatively tame as Straus, a moderate Republican from San Antonio, sought to steer the almost evenly divided House on a bipartisan course after replacing former Speaker Tom Craddick, who was ousted.

But the tranquility dissolved in the closing days as Democrats staged a five-day parliamentary slowdown that successfully killed a voter-identification bill. Hundreds of other bills caught in the crossfire also died.

The voter ID issue, which will likely return in the 2011 session, was easily the most volatile partisan issue in both chambers.

Lingering bitterness from the fight over the voter ID bill was still evident Monday.

"I hope that the people of Texas will be able to look back at this session as the moment when members put their foot down and stopped the House leadership from pushing partisan priorities over the needs of Texas families," said Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth.


House Elections Committee Chairman Todd Smith, R-Euless, said,
"I think it went marvelously well in that the House functioned as a remarkably civil body until the last few days," referring to the impasse over voter ID legislation
.
DAVE MONTGOMERY, 512-476-4294 AMAN BATHEJA, 817-390-7695

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Bills Passed into Law by the 80th Legislature

Can be found through the links on the sidebar under "80th Texas Legislature (2007) - Bills Passed by Legislature".

The sidebar contains links for:
House Bills Passed and Signed into Law by Gov. Perry
Senate Bills Passed and Signed into Law by Gov. Perry
Bills Passed by Legislature and Passed into law WITHOUT Governor's Signature
Bills Passed by Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Perry
Line Item Veto exercised by Gov. Perry


Bill Becomes Law - Governor"s Action

Except in the case of a bill sent to the governor within 10 days of final adjournment, upon receiving a bill, the governor has 10 days in which to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature.

If the governor elects to veto the bill and the legislature is still in session, the bill is returned to the chamber in which it originated with an explanation of the governor’s objections.

A two-thirds majority in each chamber is required to override the veto. If the governor neither vetoes nor signs the bill within the allotted time, the bill becomes a law.

When a bill is sent to the governor within 10 days of final adjournment, the governor has until 20 days after final adjournment to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature. Read more about How a Bill Becomes Law