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The Senate adjourned Sine Die moments ago without passing SB 1811, the fiscal matters bill that has become the vehicle for school finance.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced shortly before final adjournment that despite his best efforts, Senate members were unable to reach an agreement to suspend the rules. It would have taken 25 votes, meaning six out of the 12 Democrats plus all the Republicans.

Dewhurst announced that since a deal was not reached, the Senate (and by implication the Legislature) will return tomorrow, May 31 for a special session, starting at 8 a.m.

Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) told reporters shortly before adjournment that the budget could get smaller come special session. He expects SB 1811 will be an appropriations bill, which he said is already being drafted.

Ogden said he wants to see in the special session bill the language of SB 1811 plus an appropriation of approximately $34 billion. He called Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) “the largest budget-cutter in the history of Texas,” because by filibustering the budget she effectively ...

Gov. Rick Perry declined to go into specifics about which items he would place on the agenda if he called a special session. He merely indicated that he hopes the Senate gets the four-fifths vote necessary to suspend the rules on the last day of the session to pass SB 1811, the fiscal matters bill that has become the vehicle for school finance.

Perry observed that in the special session the rules are different, likely referring to the absence of the two-thirds rule to suspend the regular order of business in the special session. That means Republicans won’t need even two Democrats to sign on to a bill in order to bring it up on the Senate floor.

Perry said his goal at the start of the session was to balance the budget without raising taxes and without jeopardizing the job-friendly climate in the state.

“When the dust settles, we’ll have a no new taxes balanced budget,” he said. “You can bet on that. And we’ll be keeping appropriate dollars stored away for any additional emergencies that might face the state in the form of natural disasters over the next couple of years.”

Gov. Rick Perry today signed HB 274, the omnibus tort reform bill sometimes called “loser pays.” It takes effect Sept. 1 this year.

He cited a study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that Texas is leading the nation in job creation over the last ten years – having created over 700,000, while no other state had created more than 100,000 in that time. He attributed that success to tort reform. But improvements can still be made to the system, he said.

Under HB 274 ...

The Texas House passed the major fiscal matters bill, SB 1811, which became a vehicle for crucial school finance legislation, after members spent 45 minutes total opposing it both from the left and the right.

Democratic opponents included Scott Hochberg (Houston), Mark Strama (Austin), Rafael Anchia (Dallas) and Sylvester Turner (Houston).

Democratic protests were familiar – that the bill would drastically ...

The Senate moments ago passed unanimously – yes, unanimously – what at the beginning of the session was Perry’s top tort reform priority. Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the Texas Trial Lawyer Association agreed to the language in the bill over the weekend. Now it may be headed to the governor’s desk, but the changes have to be okayed by the House first.

HB 274, authored by Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) in the House and sponsored by Joan Huffman (R-Houston) in the Senate, currently would require the loser to pay only in a limited set of circumstances. If a motion to dismiss is brought early in a case, the loser of that motion would have to pay the attorney fees that the prevailing party had accumulated up to that point in the suit.

Attorney fees could also be awarded in certain circumstances where ...

Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) wants to hold a meeting with House and Senate colleagues, and the Legislative Budget Board and the Texas Education Agency, to educate anyone in need of deeper understanding of the state’s highly complex school finance system.

Last night SB 1851, the Senate’s vehicle for school finance, was killed on a point of order. The only real option now is to put school finance onto SB 1811, the fiscal matters bill currently in conference committee.

“I got the impression from everything I heard that they [in the House] were confused, that they had several options and they couldn’t distinguish between them and they couldn’t get a consensus on any one of the options,” Shapiro told reporters this morning.

Some legislators may not understand all the options, including pro-ration, Shapiro said.

Shapiro wants to have the meeting sometime today, and would aim to ...

The Senate last night passed the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association reform bill, HB 272. Several members brought floor amendments that in many cases were crucial for Senate sponsor John Carona (R-Dallas) to secure their votes. All amendments brought on the floor were vetted by Carona before floor deliberations, and all were acceptable to him.

A couple of amendments to the bill were agreed to by Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.

Ellis asked for an assurance that the bill would not get changed in conference, and that the TDI sunset bill would not become a vehicle for TWIA provisions that could not make it into HB 272. Carona assure he would not be a party to any such maneuvers.

Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) called the current version a “good document,” and expressed the hope that the House would simply concur in the Senate’s amendments.

But that is by no means a foregone conclusion.

House author John Smithee (R-Amarillo) said that his goal throughout the process has been ...

Dog jokes abounded as the dog and cat breeder bill, HB 1451, also known as the “puppy mill bill,” passed the Senate May 23. This was the bill from Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), that Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) knocked off the local and consent calendar a few weeks ago.

The bill essentially makes dog and cat breeding a regulated industry. The Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) would have to establish requirements for obtaining a license. TDLR would have to inspect a facility before awarding a license and at least once every 18 months thereafter.

The aim of the bill is to prevent exploitation of animals forced to live in inhumane conditions to be sold for profit.

The bill also creates a new fee. “The bill would ...

The Texas Senate today approved rule changes for the payday loan industry in Texas. Critics of the industry have said that payday lending preys on low-income borrowers, trapping them in a “cycle of debt.”

One bill, HB 2592, passed by the Senate would increase the disclosure requirements for payday loan companies, requiring them to make clear to potential consumers that payday loans are intended to meet short-term rather than long-term financial needs. It would also require companies to make clear the fees and interest the consumer would be expected to pay back. The companies would also have to post the contact information for the state consumer credit commissioner.

The other bill, HB 2594, would require payday lenders to ...

Both chambers took major steps toward avoiding a special session today.

Almost simultaneously, the House passed the map that redraws Senate District lines, and the Senate passed the map that redraws the House District lines. The House approved Senate redistricting 96-47, and the Senate approved House redistricting 25-6.

Moments later, the House finally passed SB 1811, the fiscal matters bill that was crucial to make the budget agreement work. Many amendments were offered to the bill, but few managed to attach. At any rate, Pitts will have the opportunity to remove amendments he considers extraneous once the bill goes to conference.

The last major hurdle is for the House to pass a school finance bill, which was popped on a point of order May 19 and then sent back to the Senate yesterday, May 20. By the end of the day yesterday, the bill was reported out of the House Public Education Committee. The Senate removed language that allowed for the carry of concealed firearms in university buildings before sending it back to the House.