In an audio interview with the blog Texas GOP Vote, Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) gave some further thoughts on the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee meeting last week.

The blog also posted a large portion of Rep. Larry Phillip's (R-Sherman) prepared testimony to the committee, expressing surprise that Hughes interpreted a private conversation about redistricting as a threat. ...

U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant is reportedly recovering from double-bypass heart surgery.

A spokesman for the 59-year-old congressman from Dallas suburb Coppell told the Dallas Morning News said Marchant is resting well and expects to be back in Washington by January for his fourth term.

With the canvass of the general election signed by Gov. Rick Perry this week, election recounts may now be requested. And with 15 votes separating the incumbent from the challenger in HD 48, observers have speculated that this race might be ripe for a recount.

Travis County GOP chair Rosemary Edwards said while Republican Dan Neil has not yet conceded his race against incumbent Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin), and a recount has not been officially called, the groundwork for a recount is being laid. "Officially, we're not in the recount yet," she told LSR. "We're still in the process of gathering evidence."

UPDATE (6 p.m.): The Austin American-Statesman is reporting Neil has filed the paperwork for a recount.

Rep. Bryan Hughes' mystery man was apparently a close House colleague.

After about six hours in closed-door executive session, the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee took pubic testimony from Hughes (R-Mineola), who named Rep. Larry Phillips (R-Sherman) as the person whom he said used the possibility of redistricting retribution as a ploy to steer Hughes toward supporting incumbent Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio).

In a Nov. 10 press release, Hughes said a then-unnamed person "brought up the subject of redistricting and explained to me how that process would be used to punish those members not on Speaker Straus's list of supporters." Phillips denied that he made any threats to Hughes, but that they did discuss the political realities of redistricting as friendly colleagues.

In our subscription edition (11/19/10 -- read free sample article) LSR reported Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas), "lost his chairmanship" of the Senate Transportation Committee. Carona called that a misstatement, and held that his change of chairmanship to the Senate Business and Commerce Committee was strictly voluntary, given the difficulties transportation policy would pose in the 82nd Legislature. Below is Carona's account of the chairmanship transfer:

There's more at stake than just the outcome of an ethics charge, attorneys told a jury during the Tom DeLay trial this morning.

As closing arguments commenced in the ethics violation trial against former U.S. Congressional Majority Leader Tom DeLay, defense attorney Dick DeGuerin claimed a guilty verdict would "criminalize" successful politics, while chief prosecutor Gary Cobb said the fate of Texas' strong prohibitions on corporate donations is at stake.

In today's subscription edition, in the Around Texas news briefs section, we noted the Nov. 16 House County Affairs Committee's addressing of an interim charge on local government debt transparency.

Peggy Venable, a contributing editor to LSR and Texas director of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, testified that local government debt in the form of bonds pass 85 percent of the time in local elections. The cost of paying down the debt, she noted, is rapidly approaching the cost of the debt itself. As one example, the combined school district debt in Texas is $58.8 billion, and the servicing on that debt is an estimated $44 billion. Below is her written committee testimony, as submitted, via AFP's Web site.

The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff released its recommendations for the 82nd Legislature this morning.

Among the major changes are calling for a single Commissioner of Transportation replacing the five-member commission, continuing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality so long as reforms to its public visibility are made, and abolishing the Railroad Commission and replacing it with paid staff. LSR will have further commentary in our subscription-only edition on Friday.

Ten, count 'em, 10, candidates are in the running to replace the late Rep. Ed Kuempel (R-Seguin) in a special election.

Kuempel died two days following the general election, following a bout of heart complications. Gov. Rick Perry announced Dec. 14 (a Tuesday) as the date of the special election for HD 44 (Guadalupe, Gonzales, and Wilson counties), and the filing deadline was 5 p.m. Monday. They are, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office:

The Texas Legislative Council will welcome a familiar face as its new director, a press release from House Speaker's office said this afternoon.

Deborah K. Irvine, interim director of the Texas Legislative Council since September and a 35-year veteran of the group, takes the helm. The agency provides bill drafting, computing, research, and publishing services to the Legislature and various agencies.