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April 22, 2005
Republicans Getting More House Bills
to Floor But Dems Fare Better in Senate
Most
House and Senate Bills Still Backed Up
in Committee with Deadline Two Weeks Away
By
Mike Hailey
Capitol
Inside Editor
Republicans have been the lead sponsors on
more than three-fourths of the bills that have cleared the
Texas House despite holding less than 60 percent of the
seats in the lower chamber this year. Democrats have fared
better in the Senate where Republicans have their names
on 61 percent of the seats but only 57 percent of the bills
and joint resolutions that have been sent to the House during
the past three months.
Republicans have authored 299 out of 390 bills
that the House had sent to the Senate by the end of business
on Thursday. The names of Democratic authors appear on 91
of those measures. Republican senators are the authors of
182 out of 327 bills and constitutional amendmente proposals
that have cleared the Senate while Democrats are the lead
sponsors on 145.
But while Democrats are seeing a smaller percentage
of the bills they've authored set for House debate, legislation
sponsored by members of both parties is backing up in the
process and soon will start dying as the clock becomes a
major factor with key deadlines approaching. The last day
for hearing bills on second reading is May 12 - less than
two weeks away. The House so far has debated less than 11
percent of the 3,673 bills and joint resolutions that have
been filed this year. Senators have moved out 17 percent
of 1,910 bills and constitutionall changes that its members
have dropped in the mill in 2005. The House and Senate will
start meeting Fridays before going to even longer work weeks
next month.
Twenty-two of the 25 House members who've
sent the most bills to the Senate are Republicans. Those
22 Republicans have authored 46 percent of the legislation
that's been voted out of the lower chamber this year. The
16 representatives who've passed the most bills so far this
session are members of the GOP. Republicans overall have
their names on 77 percent of the bills that House members
have approved since convening in regular session in January.
Of a dozen state senators who've shepherded
the most legislation out of the Senate, four are Democrats
including two of the three most active bill sponsors this
year.
While Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst
controls the flow of legislation through the Senate, House
bills must go through the powerful Calendars Committee before
they can be scheduled for debate on the floor. Most of the
bills approved by Calendars for floor debate are passed
by the full House. State Rep. Beverly Woolley,
a Houston Republican, is the Calendars Committee chair -
and members on both sides think that Speaker Tom
Craddick's office takes the same hands-on approach
to Calendars as it has on issues such as school finance,
property taxes and the state budget. The Calendars Committee
process is more difficult to follow because its own calendar
on the Texas House web site is blank.
In the Capitol's east wing, Republicans have
taken the lead on all of the major issues facing the Legislature,
even though they've authored a relatively smaller share
of the measures that have been set for debate in the Senate
chamber. Every major piece of legislation that's left the
House has had a GOP member's name as the lead author on
it as well.
From a technical standpoint, State Rep. Joe
Nixon has authored more bills that have cleared
the House than any of his colleagues in there. But 10 of
the 17 bills that have left the House with the Houston Republican's
name on them are technical repairs to the Civil Practice
and Remedies Code. Most of the bills that Nixon has passed
out of the chamber went through the Civil Practices Committee,
which he leads as chairman. The second most active bill
sponsor in the House has been State Rep. Toby Goodman,
an Arlington Republican who's had 11 bills sent to the Senate
so far this year. Goodman is an attorney who specializes
in family law cases - and most of the bills that he'd guided
to passage dead with that particular legal field.
Republican State Reps. Dennis Bonnen
of Angleton, Glenn Hegar of Katy
and G.E. "Buddy" West of Odessa
are close behind with 10 bills each clearing the lower chamber
during the regular session's first three months. While Nixon,
Bonnen, Goodman and West have all been members of the House
for eight years or more, Hegar is only a sophomore in his
second House term. Hegar has shepherded through the chamber
bills that deal with a variety of issues ranging from child
safety seats to handgun licenses to occupation taxes, administrative
fees and appraisal districts.
Fifteen of the 25 House members who've authored
the most bills that have passed to engrossment are committee
chairs. Six of the 12 senators whose names appear most on
bills that have cleared the Senate are the chairs of committees.
With 24 bills to her credit, Democratic State
Senator Judith Zaffirini of Laredo leads
senators in the most bills passed out of the Senate this
year. But State Senator Frank Madla of
San Antonio is close behind after sending 23 bills to the
House while State Senators Jeff Wentworth
of San Antonio and Tommy Williams of The
Woodlands are next in line with 22 bills apiece now in the
House. State Senator Jane Nelson of Lewisville
has authored 21 pieces of legislation that's cleared the
upper chamber so far this year.
Zaffirini, the vice-chair of the Senate Finance
Committee and a member of the budget conference committee,
has concentrated on children's issues and higher education
but she's led the way on an assortment of other issues as
well. Nelson and State Senator Todd Staples,
a Palestine Republican who's had 15 bills passed by his
colleagues, have both authored major legislation in the
areas of child protective services and workers' compensation
respectively.
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