The conversation in the halls is mostly about House committee assignments and who'll get what. The underlying political tension is between Democrats who think Speaker Joe Straus should reward them for making up 80 percent of the vote that put him in the corner office, and Republicans who think he needs to consolidate power within his own party in the closely divided chamber to have any chance of hanging on to the controls.

It's a dance: Straus has 76 Republicans, including himself, and 74 Democrats. He was elected by acclamation, but you're nuts if you're using that list to keep score: The first list, the one that put him over the top and turned out former Speaker Tom Craddick, was the one with 15 Republicans and 70 Democrats on it.

Democrats are relying on the "dance with who brung ya" maxim. Republicans are telling anyone and everyone that the Democrats really want control of the House and will push to get a majority and unseat Straus and put one of their own in the corner office. They hope Straus will put Republicans in the most powerful positions to secure GOP support he'll need to keep the gavel for more than one legislative session.

No pressure, right?

The kids in the House have to watch out for blasting caps lying around.

One in particular is the new rule for knocking off a speaker: It only takes 76 signatures to reboot. That was symbolically important to Democrats, in particular, who bridled at Craddick's control of the House and who wanted to put the institution back in the hands of the members — to move the power from the dais to the floor (that's also reflected in the makeup of the committees and in rules, for instance, that did away with "CBOs" from each substantive committee who served on appropriations). A calmer contingent wanted to put that power on the floor but to cool things off by requiring, say, 90 votes or 100 to depose a speaker. They didn't have the votes.

Another blasting cap is cultural. Half of the 150 state representatives don't have any experience outside the contentious Craddick years, when partisan fighting was the normal state of affairs and conversations about power and control were as common as talk of policy and governance.

What did they learn from that war? That it's a competitive place where fighting and backbiting is the norm? Or that they want to try something different?

With a new regime in place, what's the culture going to be? Were the last six years instructive, telling members How Things Work and setting the tone for this session? Or were they a cautionary tale, moving the House along to something different?

Setting committees the first time is a daunting piece of politics. It tells each politician where she or he stands in the order of things. It tells them who outranks them and who they outrank. And it's damned hard to change, once a speaker has set down the names in the first round. Two years from now, if he's still speaker, Straus will be doing this again. But he'll be bound — like David Dewhurst was in the Senate — by what he's done before.

Aides to the speaker think the committee list will come out next week. If they follow tradition, they'll wait until members are on the way out of town — the better to cool off after they see the new order of things. Then the session can really get started.

First Up

The governor's list of items that should be considered in the next six weeks includes budget issues, hurricane aid, wind insurance, state school problems, and security equipment.

The Legislature can't vote on bills during the first 60 days of a legislative session unless the governor declares an emergency. Gov. Rick Perry's emergency list is out:

• Legislation to provide supplemental appropriations to state agencies and institutions related to hurricane response and recovery associated with the hurricanes of 2008;

• Legislation to assist public and private entities with recovery from the hurricanes of 2008;

• Legislation to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and legislation to fund the Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund related to TWIA;

• Legislation to improve state schools and centers operated by the state of Texas; and

• Legislation to appropriate funds to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the purchase and use of screening and detection devices for contraband and personnel, as well as comprehensive security equipment.

Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?

The head of UTIMCO resigned during a contentious Senate Finance Committee hearing, later ending his appearance by telling the assembled senators that his successor would probably be happy to meet with them next month.

Robert Rowling, a Dallas billionaire serving as appointed chairman of UTIMCO — the University of Texas Investment Management Co. — was, along with the fund's president, taking populist salvos from the senators for bonuses paid to investment managers at a time when the fund's investments were losing money. Bruce Zimmerman, the CEO, got a $1 million bonus in November — part of a bonus package given to him and other execs there. Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst fired off a letter this week to show their displeasure; the Senate committee followed with an excoriating hearing.

"You can have my job," said Rowling, who's also on UT's Board of Regents, in response.

Rowling said the bonuses were awarded on the basis of UTIMCO's performance through the end of June — when its investments were performing well. While that deal was made in the summer, the actual bonuses were awarded, however, two or three months after the stock market and the economy tanked. He also said UTIMCO had managed to lose less money in the market fall than comparable funds. But the state's political leaders had no stomach for that. "There are not three people in the state who think that was a smart thing to do," said Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan.

Senators softened up later, asking Rowling if he really intends to resign. He said that he does. Asked if he would come back next month to talk about it, he told the committee his successor — whomever that is — would probably be happy to do that.

• Addendum: Rowling is a big Republican donor, giving almost $1.5 million to state candidates since 2000. The list includes $157,934 to Dewhurst, $282,262 to Perry, $275,000 to Attorney General Greg Abbott, and a total of $27,000 to four members of the committee that chewed his tail: Bob Deuell of Greenville, Kevin Eltife of Tyler (whose questions prompted the resignation during the hearing), Jane Nelson of Lewisville, Tommy Williams of The Woodlands, and a Democrat, Judith Zaffirini of Laredo.

Rowling has recently moved from insider to outcast in the governor's political world. He's been a major donor, was part of the Governor's Business Council, and was one of the people Perry picked for the committee that revised the state's business taxes before a special session in 2006. But he recently showed up, prominently, as a supporter of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's bid for governor in 2010. And he was one of several UT regents who supported Dr. Francisco Cigarroa over former state Sen. John Montford — Perry's favorite — for chancellor of the UT System.

Cinch It Up

Legislative leaders are asking most state agencies to trim 2.5 percent from their budgets — about $500 million — for the last year of the current two-year budget. That's the year we're in now.

In their letter, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus asked state agencies to cut the general revenue parts of their budget requests for fiscal 2009. Some programs won't be part of the cuts, including public education, acute care Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and debt service on outstanding debts.

Dewhurst told reporters that budgeteers are only concerned, at the moment, about spending in the fiscal year that ends in September. The budget after that — the same two-year budget — isn't in the mix. And agencies have the option, he said, of pushing spending planned for 2009 into the 2010 fiscal year and beyond. They hope to hear from the agencies within the next two or three weeks. The Senate Finance Committee is already working on the next budget; the members of the House Appropriations Committee have not yet been named.

This is the second round of letters from state leaders about the budget. Gov. Rick Perry and others asked the agencies last year (look here and here) to show where they'd make cuts if asked to do so. Those earlier efforts were directed at the next budget. The cuts they're talking about now would fall in the current fiscal year. In addition to cutting spending, this would lower the numbers used to figure spending limits for the next two years, which are based on current spending and an agreed-to growth rate. Lower current spending, and you lower the limit for next time.

Horse Cents

Texas horse track owners and interests want lawmakers to allow slot machines at their tracks — a move they say would help keep the horse industry alive while boosting government income during tough economic times.

One of the Laws of the (Legislative) Universe is that you can't do this sort of thing without an economic study. They've got one (click here to download it) that says their proposal would create 53,000 jobs in Texas, create $6.8 billion in economic activity, and would also pump cash into the state treasury at about the same rate as the state lottery.

Recent state history would put the odds on that last claim at one-in-three. Legalizing bingo and pari-mutuel gambling did nothing for the state budget; creating a state lottery provides a relatively steady and relatively small stream of money into the state's coffers (it's about $1 billion annually, or about five percent of what the sales tax produces).

And then there's the issue of House Speaker Joe Straus, whose family owns part of Retama Park between San Antonio and Austin. Straus has said he'll keep his mitts off the gambling issue. He went further in a recent interview on Texas Monthly Talks, saying that having him in the chair is probably more a setback than a boon to his family interests in horses and tracks.

The group behind all of this is Texans for Economic Development, which showed up in the last couple of election cycles with a pile of cash and a goal of making the Legislature friendlier to gambling policy.

"They had a successful election strategy, and the makeup of the Senate and the House are such that they have the votes this time," said Mike Lavigne, a spokesman for TED. You take that and the economic situation right now, and the fact that the group pushing for it is more unified than it's been in the past."

They want lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment that would allow video lottery terminals — better known as slot machines — at existing racetracks. That wouldn't expand the footprint of gambling, and since it wouldn't allow card games or roulette wheels and so on, it wouldn't turn the tracks into full-blown casinos. That "footprint" defense can be found in speeches from Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst over the last few years.

A constitutional amendment would skip the governor's office on its way to voters, and give lawmakers the chance to explain their vote as a choice for voters rather than as support for gambling. The same scheme got the lottery through the Legislature in 1991, and nobody lost in the next election as a result of that vote.

But there is opposition — the antis are led by Texans Against Gambling — and the issue makes lawmakers nervous. They approved the lottery, like bingo and pari-mutuel gaming before it, in the face of tight budgets and the threat that higher taxes might be the only way for the state to go forward. You can still find political folk who claim that the lottery was the only thing that prevented the state from adopting an income tax in 1991 (they might have also been looking at the polls at the time).

The Betting Window

After a spokesman for "racinos" said the industry was coming off a good election cycle in Texas, we took a look at their contributions.

Texans for Economic Development — a political action committee started by horse track owners who want lawmakers to legalize slot machines at their tracks — gave $1.4 million to 133 candidates over the last two cycles (2006 and 2008). Most of that — $1.2 million — was in 2008. And much of that — $674,600 — was spent in the primaries and runoffs last spring.

Big recipients include Reps. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels, $91,505; Joe Moody, D-El Paso, $50,000; Charlie Geren, D-Fort Worth, $45,000; Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, $40,000; Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, $25,000; Kino Flores, D-Palmview, $21,000; Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, $20,000; Chris Turner, D-Burleson, $20,000; Allen Vaught, D-Dallas, $20,000; Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, $20,000; Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, $20,000; and the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, $25,000. They bet on some losers, too, notably former Reps. Juan Escobar, D-Kingsville, $40,000; Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, $30,000; and Dan Barrett, D-Fort Worth, $20,000.

And their biggest splash? Last spring, the PAC spent $249,363 to Fero Hewitt Global, a political consulting firm, to pepper Reps. Betty Brown of Terrell, Phil King Weatherford, and Nathan Macias of Bulverde with opposition ads in the Republican primaries. Brown and King prevailed; Macias lost to Doug Miller, who went on to win the seat in November.

House Speaker Joe Straus' father, Joe Straus Jr., has contributed to TED, but his donations total less than $10,000 since 2006, when the PAC was formed. Retama affiliates, on the other hand, put $84,000 into the PAC in 2007 — money TED spent on candidates and campaigns in 2008.

Palin Pitches Perry

Gov. Rick Perry touts an endorsement from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a flyer sent to members of the Texas Federation of Republican Women.

Palin doesn't vote here, and Perry can't raise political money while the Legislature is in session. But the TFRW has been particularly fond of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison during his career, and Perry's campaign wants to stay in contention for those votes. The mailer asks recipients to sign up as a Perry supporter and included a bumper sticker along with Palin's Pitch.

Senate Committee Assignments

The Senate has the same number of committees and subcommittees as before — 20. But there are some changes. There were 15 committees and five subcommittees last session; the number now is 18 and two as three of the subs blossom into committees of their own.

Agriculture and Rural Affairs is now a full committee; a subcommittee on related material, under Natural Resources, is gone. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls chaired both the old one and the new one. Business & Commerce is intact, but its subcommittee was replaced by a new Economic Development Committee chaired by Chris Harris, R-Arlington. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, is vice chairman. Higher Education is now a committee of its own, chaired by Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo. It had been a subcommittee to Education.

Now the juicy part: None of those new committees are in the rules approved by the Senate; they're standing committees created by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, with the same powers as regular committees but without definite two-year lifetimes. The Zaffirini chairmanship got senators stirred up behind the scenes, but they never got to vote on a rule that would create (or not create) the committee over which she'll preside. The difference is invisible from the outside, but the members of the Senate Club know about it.

Chair changes: Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, will head Administration, which had been chaired by Kim Brimer, who lost his reelection bid. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, is now vice chairman of education; Kyle Janek, also R-Houston, resigned last year. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, moves up to vice chair of finance; Zaffirini is still on the committee but got a committee of her own this time. Patrick will be vice chairman of the higher education committee. He's off International Relations and Trade; Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, is now the vice chair there. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, is the new vice chairman of Jurisprudence, replacing Hinojosa there. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, replaces Williams as vice chairman of State Affairs.

The two new senators — Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and Joan Huffman, R-Houston — were the only two senators who didn't get either a chairmanship or vice chairmanship.

By Committee:

ADMINISTRATION, Williams, Chair, Uresti, Vice-Chair, Ogden, Shapiro, Wentworth, Whitmire, Zaffirini

AGRICULTURE & RURAL AFFAIRS, Estes, Chair, Uresti, Vice-Chair, Hegar, Hinojosa, Jackson

BUSINESS & COMMERCE, Fraser, Chair, Harris, Vice-Chair, Averitt, Eltife, Estes, Jackson, Lucio, Van de Putte, Watson

CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Whitmire, Chair, Seliger, Vice-Chair, Carona, Ellis, Hegar, Hinojosa, Patrick

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, Harris, Chair, Eltife, Vice-Chair, Deuell, Watson, Zaffirini

EDUCATION, Shapiro, Chair, Patrick, Vice-Chair, Averitt, Davis, Gallegos, Ogden, Van de Putte, West, Williams

FINANCE, Ogden, Chair, Hinojosa, Vice-Chair, Averitt, Deuell, Duncan, Eltife, Harris, Lucio, Nelson, Seliger, Shapiro, West, Whitmire, Williams, Zaffirini

GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION, Ellis, Chair, Hegar, Vice-Chair, Huffman, Lucio, Nelson, Ogden, Whitmire

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, Nelson, Chair, Deuell, Vice-Chair, Huffman, Nichols, Patrick, Shapleigh, Uresti, West, Zaffirini

HIGHER EDUCATION, Zaffirini, Chair, Patrick, Vice-Chair, Averitt, Duncan, West

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, West, Chair, Nichols, Vice-Chair, Gallegos, Patrick, Wentworth

SUBCOMMITTEE ON FLOODING & EVACUATIONS, Gallegos, Chair, Nichols, Patrick

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS & TRADE, Lucio, Chair, Seliger, Vice-Chair, Davis, Estes, Fraser, Gallegos, Williams

JURISPRUDENCE, Wentworth, Chair, Gallegos, Vice-Chair, Carona, Duncan, Harris, Hinojosa, Watson

NATURAL RESOURCES, Averitt, Chair, Estes, Vice-Chair, Deuell, Duncan, Eltife, Fraser, Hegar, Hinojosa, Jackson, Seliger, Uresti

NOMINATIONS, Jackson, Chair, Eltife, Vice-Chair, Hegar, Nelson, Nichols, Shapleigh, Watson

STATE AFFAIRS, Duncan, Chair, Deuell, Vice-Chair, Carona, Ellis, Fraser, Harris, Jackson, Lucio, Van de Putte

TRANSPORTATION & HOMELAND SECURITY, Carona, Chair, Watson, Vice-Chair, Davis, Ellis, Huffman, Nichols, Shapiro, Shapleigh, Wentworth

VETERANS AFFAIRS & MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, Van de Putte, Chair, Shapleigh, Vice-Chair, Davis, Estes, Huffman

SUBCOMMITTEE ON BASE REALIGNMENT & CLOSURE, Shapleigh, Chair, Estes, Huffman

By Senator:

Averitt: C-Natural Resources, Business & Commerce, Education, Finance, Higher Education

Carona: C-Transportation & Homeland Security, Criminal Justice, Jurisprudence, State Affairs

Davis: Education, International Relations & Trade, Transportation & Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs & Military Installations

Deuell: VC-Health & Human Services, VC-State Affairs, Economic Development, Finance, Natural Resources

Duncan: C-State Affairs, Finance, Higher Education, Jurisprudence, Natural Resources

Ellis: C-Government Organization, Criminal Justice, State Affairs, Transportation & Homeland Security, Business & Commerce

Eltife: VC-Economic Development, VC-Nominations, Finance, Natural Resources

Estes: C-Agriculture & Rural Affairs, VC-Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Base Realignment & Closure, Business & Commerce, International Relations & Trade, Veterans Affairs & Military Installations

Fraser: C-Business & Commerce, International Relations & Trade, Natural Resources, State Affairs

Gallegos: C-Subcommittee on Flooding & Evacuations, VC-Jurisprudence, Education, Intergovernmental Relations, International Relations & Trade

Harris: C-Economic Development, VC-Business & Commerce, Finance, Jurisprudence, State Affairs

Hegar: VC-Government Organization, Agriculture &Rural Affairs, Criminal Justice, Natural Resources, Nominations

Hinojosa: VC-Finance, Agriculture &Rural Affairs, Criminal Justice, Jurisprudence, Natural Resources

Huffman: Subcommittee on Base Realignment & Closure, Government Organization, Health & Human Services, Transportation & Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs & Military Installations

Jackson: C-Nominations, Agriculture &Rural Affairs, Business & Commerce, Natural Resources, State Affairs

Lucio: C-International Relations & Trade, Business & Commerce, Finance, Government Organization, State Affairs

Nelson: C-Health & Human Services, Finance, Government Organization, Nominations

Nichols: VC-Intergovernmental Relations, Health & Human Services, Subcommittee on Flooding & Evacuations, Nominations, Transportation & Homeland Security

Ogden: C-Finance, Administration, Education, Government Organization

Patrick: VC-Education, VC-Higher Education, Criminal Justice, Health & Human Services, Intergovernmental Relations, Subcommittee on Flooding & Evacuations,

Seliger: VC-Criminal Justice, VC-International Relations & Trade, Finance, Natural Resources

Shapiro: C-Education, Administration, Finance, Transportation & Homeland Security

Shapleigh: C-Subcommittee on Base Realignment & Closure, VC-Veterans Affairs & Military Installations, Health & Human Services, Nominations, Transportation & Homeland Security

Uresti: VC-Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources, Administration

Van de Putte: C-Veterans Affairs & Military Installations, Business & Commerce, Education, State Affairs

Watson: VC-Transportation & Homeland Security, Business & Commerce, Economic Development, Jurisprudence, Nominations,

Wentworth: C-Jurisprudence, Administration, Intergovernmental Relations, Transportation & Homeland Security

West: C-Intergovernmental Relations, Education, Finance, Health & Human Services, Higher Education

Whitmire: C-Criminal Justice, Administration, Finance, Government Organization

Williams: C-Administration, Education, Finance, International Relations & Trade

Zaffirini: C-Higher Education, Administration, Economic Development, Finance, Health & Human Services

Political People and Their Moves

The migratory pattern has changed in a small way, with a band of policy wonks leaving the Senate to work for new House Speaker Joe Straus. They'll announce a full list of hires in the next few days, but some names are out: Andrea Sheridan (education), Janna Burleson (criminal justice), and Shelly Botkin (environment), all from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's staff, will join a team that's headed by Lisa Kaufman, who worked in the Senate before working for a tort reform group, and Denise Davis, who worked on the east side of the Pink Building before becoming House Parliamentarian. Straus also hired Craig Chick from the Texas Association of Realtors (former House and Senate aide), and Andrew Blifford, a budget analyst, from Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie. Jesse Ancira, who'll be general counsel, was a House creature before working for the State Auditor and then the Comptroller.

Kurt Meachum and Jerry Philips, late of the Texas Progress Council and the House Democratic Campaign Committee, respectively, are hanging out a lobby shingle. They're both House rats, working for Democrats there for the last half-dozen sessions.

Bryan Eppstein is busting his Fort Worth-based The Eppstein Group into four parts — each with a principal who's not named Bryan Eppstein. Michael Grimes is the new president and will head Capitol Alliance, which will do public affairs, public relations and lobbying. Keats Norfleet will run the Election Group, also based in Austin, working on political campaigns for candidates and causes. John Shults will head the Fort Worth-based Lighthouse Opinion Polling and Research, taking over the firm's survey business. Jonathan Rice is the lead name at the newly created RADAR Agency — a Fort Worth-based advertising firm. Eppstein says he'll be an advisor and strategist to all four companies, focusing on growth of the ad firm at first. He'll also stay involved with "select state officeholders" and work as a pollster and lobbyist for a couple of current clients. All four principals already work for the firm; Eppstein and Grimes say the new setup will let the units work together or separately, depending on the client.

Quotes of the Week

Gov. Rick Perry, speaking at a Texas Association of Business luncheon: "I'm very concerned about the tons of fish that our federal government is flinging at us in the form of bailouts."

Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, quoted in the Austin Chronicle: "I believe that in 2010, if you register a million Latinos in Texas, with another 400,000 African-Americans, at the top of the ticket a Democrat would win. It would be an Anglo Democrat with 1 million. With 1.5 million Latinos, at the top of the ticket any person of any color would win as a Democrat."

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, telling the Fort Worth Star-Telegram what she thinks of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's endorsement of Perry over Hutchison: "I have no reaction whatsoever."

El Paso Republican Dee Margo, on the battle between Hutchison and Perry, in the El Paso Times: "I have allegiances to both sides. I just want to stay the heck away."

---

Texas Weekly: Volume 26, Issue 5, 9 February 2009. Ross Ramsey, Editor. Copyright 2009 by Printing Production Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. One-year online subscription: $250. For information about your subscription, call (512) 302-5703 or email biz@texasweekly.com. For news, email ramsey@texasweekly.com, or call (512) 288-6598.

Texas horsetrack owners and interests want lawmakers to allow slot machines at their tracks — a move they say would help keep the horse industry alive while boosting government income during tough economic times.One of the Laws of the (Legislative) Universe is that you can't do this sort of thing without an economic study. They've got one (click here to download it) that says their proposal would create 53,000 jobs in Texas, create $6.8 billion in economic activity, and would also pump cash into the state treasury at about the same rate as the state lottery. Recent state history would put the odds on that last claim at one-in-three. Legalizing bingo and parimutuel gambling did nothing for the state budget; creating a state lottery provides a relatively steady and relatively small stream of money into the state's coffers (it's about $1 billion annually, or about five percent of what the sales tax produces). And then there's the issue of House Speaker Joe Straus, whose family owns part of Retama Park between San Antonio and Austin. Straus has said he'll keep his mitts off the gambling issue. He went further in a recent interview on Texas Monthly Talks, saying that having him in the chair is probably more a setback than a boon to his family interests in horses and tracks. The group behind all of this is Texans for Economic Development, which showed up in the last couple of election cycles with a pile of cash and a goal of making the Legislature more friendly to gambling policy. "They had a successful election strategy, and the makeup of the Senate and the House are such that they have the votes this time," said Mike Lavigne, a spokesman for TED. You take that and the economic situation right now, and the fact that the group pushing for it is more unified than it's been in the past." (Here's a look at recent political contributions from the racetrack folks.) They want lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment that would allow video lottery terminals — better known as slot machines — at existing racetracks. That wouldn't expand the footprint of gambling, and since it wouldn't allow card games or roulette wheels and so on, it wouldn't turn the tracks into full-blown casinos. That "footprint" defense can be found in speeches from Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst over the last few years. A constitutional amendment would skip the governor's office on its way to voters, and give lawmakers the chance to explain their vote as a choice for voters rather than as support for gambling. The same scheme got the lottery through the Legislature in 1991, and nobody lost their next election as a result of that vote. But there is opposition — the antis are led by Texans Against Gambling — and the issue makes lawmakers nervous. They approved the lottery, like bingo and parimutuel gaming before it, in the face of tight budgets and the threat that higher taxes might be the only way for the state to go forward. You can still find political folk who claim that the lottery was the only thing that prevented the state from adopting an income tax in 1991 (they might have also been looking at the polls at the time).

The Texas Racing Commission — funded entirely from fees on the racing interests it regulates — has about three months to find a way to prevent its bottom line from turning red.In the wake of unreliable income from uncashed winning bet tickets, the agency is considering budget cuts, increases in those fees, and appeals to the governor and the Legislature as it seeks ways to remain in the black. The outstanding bets — called OUTs — rise and fall with wagering at tracks. It's the money owed to bettors who never collect. After a year, the tickets are worthless, and the money reverts to the tracks. They can offset certain expenses allowed by the state with OUTs money; the rest goes to the TRC, where it's the largest single source of revenue. When OUTs are down, TRC's income drops. Their latest projections have them running $677,833 short in their budget. They're proposing budget cuts (leaving empty race supervisor, drug-testing positions, and administrative positions unfilled) and a set of fee increases to narrow that budget gap to $255,154. They could go to the Legislature and/or the governor's office to cover that remainder. The financial troubles at the agency come at a time when the tracks say they need new products to be financially viable themselves. They want slot machines allowed at existing racetracks and are lobbying legislators to put that idea up for a popular vote next year. They contend it would save their industry, put money into the economy, and earn the state $1 billion in fees on the new gambling. Racing regulators will meet with track owners and industry groups this week to talk about increasing annual fees by $25,000 for most inactive racetrack licenses. They've proposed fees of up to $50,000 for approved "transfers of pecuniary interests" and of up to $100,000 for approved changes of locations of a licensed track. License fees for a variety occupations — from track announcers to farriers, clergy to veterinarians, tattooers to jockeys — would rise, too, under the proposal. The TRC staff will meet with some of the affected groups this week (Wednesday) and the full commission will take up the fee issues on February 25. Without changes, agency officials think they'll be in red ink sometime in May. The agency is on the Sunset Commission's review list this year; Sunset recommended replacing the OUTs income— which it deems unreliable — with higher fees on licenses. Sunset's report said one track, Lone Star in Grand Prairie, pays the most in OUTs money to the state even though it has fewer racing days than five other tracks.

Stocks are down, unemployment is up and bloggers are tracking people quitting and entering positions that pay substantially better than writing. They're also talking about privileges that go along with a press pass (like seeing the House Speaker's private apartment), a certain freshman senator from Fort Worth, blog-related news and filed legislation. We wrap it up with a medley of miscellany.

* * * * *

Employment Line

After an intense interrogation by the Senate Finance committee, Robert Rowling resigned from his positions on the boards of University of Texas regents and UT Investment Management Company. Senators weren't happy with seven-figure bonuses doled out in a poor-performing market, and Rowling wasn't happy about his treatment by legislators.

The UTIMCO fiasco is all about politics, BurkaBlog says, noting that former Gov. Rick Perry backer Rowling had recently declared himself a Kay Bailey Hutchison man. Burka also has spin from Hutchison's folks and from Rowling predecessor Charles Miller , who uses the term "sucker punch" to describe the proceedings. More from Miller here.

Come to think of it, quite a few KBH supporters have been losing their governor-appointed jobs recently, says the Dallas Morning News' Trail Blazers. More here. Postcards from the Lege reports that, compared to UTIMCO, two state pension funds offer "rather modest" incentive packages to employees. More from Postcards here. Writing on the topic, Eye on Williamson says new House Speaker Joe Straus has displayed "[Barack] Obama-like coolness and pragmatism."

Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, is calling for the head of Texas Legislative Council chief Milton Rister following revelations that Rister sanctioned the purge of former House Speaker Tom Craddick's computer files, says PoliTex, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's blog. (Capitol Annex has heard rumors of a special grand jury convening in Austin to get to the bottom of the matter.) [eds. note: TLC says, officially, that the records are the property and responsibility of each legislator and that the agency itself has no obligation to examine or preserve them.]

Speaking of heads rolling, Trail Blazers notices Rep. Susan King, R-Abilene, accessorizing with a snake's severed head. After some research, Trail Blazers posts a newspaper article featuring King, a rattlesnake and a machete, that doesn't end well for the snake.

A local Dallas hardware store has offered former Pres. George W. Bush a job as a greeter, says Dallas.org, adding that they'll let Bush become a guest blogger if he wants. (No word on the employment opportunities yet from Pres. Bush, who after all has a Harvard MBA on his resume.)

Despite the proximity of its city hall to the State Capitol and the consequent savings on gasoline, the City of Austin is paying $830,000 for lobbyists this session, the most in the state, says KVUE's Political Junkie. She's posted Austin's legislative menu and the list of 15 lobsters.

* * * * *

Eat at Joe's

House Speaker Joe Straus let a scrum of reporters tromp through the Speaker's Apartment for a Friday morning breakfast. Being polite, well-mannered guests, they peppered their hosts with questions and videotaped everything. Here's video and links to supporting entries from Trail Blazers. Here's film from Texas Politics, the Houston Chronicle's blog, and some from KUT's notes from the Lege. And follow these links for a video and photos from NewspaperTree.com Blog.

Texas Watchdog posts the paperwork associated with the renovation of the House lounge. Put it all on eBay, suggests Half Empty, who, it appears, like Out There, also did not receive an invitation to breakfast. [eds. note: Cheap shot. Out There's boss went.]

* * * * *

Hazy Hazing

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, definitely did not make an indecent proposal to freshman Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, says Texas Observer's Floor Pass after earlier reporting to the contrary. Here's a Burnt Orange post complaining about the erroneous entry, which Floor Pass deleted. And here's a link to the series of posts a Burnt Orange blogger wrote about spending the day with Davis.

* * * * *

Blog Log

Lone Star Times is passing the virtual hat around for real money to pay for diapers. (Readers had given $411 toward the $500 goal as of Sunday afternoon.)

Texas on the Potomac, the Houston Chronicle's blog, talks about their multimedia goals in their first video blog, starring D.C. bureau chief Rick Dunham. New Potomac members Helen Thomas and David Horsey write about former Pres. Bush and draw about Obama's Cabinet picks, respectively.

Texas Freedom Network released its annual State of the Religious Right in Texas report.

The new Ellis County Observer's news team posted a picture of themselves.

Texican Tattler road tripped to Big Bend State Park (next door to the national park) and snapped some photos. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn made a videotaped message meant for direct consumption by bloggers.

If bloggers had editors, this lede would not exist: "An opportunity to interview Jim Cardle, founder of TexasInsider.org was presented to me and I took it," says Pondering Penguin.

Headline of the Week award was no contest, with Texans for Rick Perry taking it with an entry on how cool their boss is, titled, "Governor Perry: against bailouts before being against bailouts was cool."

* * * * *

Billfold

PoliTex reports on the very first bills filed by freshmen Reps. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, and Chris Turner, R-Burleson. Annex spotlights bills related to the franchise tax, removing the Attorney General from redistricting and restraining dogs.

Mike Falick's Blog looks at a bill calling for drug-and-alcohol testing for at least 10 percent of "professional employees of a school district" each year. (That means principals, teachers, nurses, bus drivers, board members and employees who require certification.)

A bill by Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont, would allow public schools-sponsored shooting sports, says A Keyboard and a .45. And Bay Area Houston looks at legislation aimed at reforming the Texas Residential Construction Commission.

* * * * *

Hodge Podge

U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, (or someone who looks and sounds just like him) is making himself available for a one-hour online town hall meeting on Potomac, starting at noon Houston time Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Blue Dot Blues reports that former Highland Village mayor Bill Lawrence is exploring either the Texas gubernatorial or U.S. Senate race in 2010. Lawrence ran in the 2006 GOP Primary in House District 63, finishing fourth in a field of five, with Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, going on to take the gold medal.

Letters from Texas channels a vision of what a Texas Senate session may look like whenever the Lege is broadcast statewide on cable TV. Meanwhile, an expert on the topic writes in to Burnt Orange saying that it's a difficult task, but one that could be done.

Capitol staffers are competing against 13 other states to see who can walk the most. It's one of the fitness initiatives Perry is pushing, and the winners will be posted here on Feb. 20.

Important people from Dallas rendezvoused with other important people from Dallas at the Austin Club and talked political agendas, says Trail Blazers. Meanwhile, Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, got to meet Maria Cristina Chirolla, Columbia's consul general. He also posts on his A Capitol Blog a video following her career fighting drug lords.

---

This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria but is semi-settled in Austin. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.

Texas ought to divorce political contributions and contests from its judges, the state Supreme Court's chief justice said in his latest State of the Judiciary address.Justice Wallace Jefferson said he's "concerned by the public's perception that money in judicial races influences outcomes." He said the perception alone — whether based in fact or not — corrodes confidence in the courts. Jefferson said he's working with legislators to change how judges are chosen in an effort to get them off the political money train, and out of party politics. "Sadly, we have now become accustomed to judicial races in which the primary determinants of victory are not the flaws of the incumbent or qualities of the challenger, but political affiliation and money," he said. "... I would like to claim that voters gave me the honor of continued service due to stellar credentials but it may just as well have been tied to McCain's success in Texas." Jefferson said Texas is one of only seven states that still pick judges in partisan elections and said (again) that he'd prefer a merit selection system where judges are appointed and later can be unelected by voters. His comments paralleled complaints from activists who held a press conference before his speech calling for judicial reforms that would separate judges from political money. Texans for Public Justice, Texas Watch, the League of Women Voters and the AFL-CIO joined to call for an end to partisan election of judges. Those groups — like Jefferson — pointed to a pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court in which one side is arguing that a judge should be recused from a case because lawyers on one side of it contributed to the judge's campaign. That case, Caperton v. Massey, will be argued before the federal high court next month. Meanwhile, Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, will again carry legislation to change the way judges are selected. He says it'll only affect appellate courts; state district judges have opposed such efforts in the past. And there's another hurdle in the middle office: A spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry says the Guv wants to leave judge-picking to the voters.

Jim Dunnam, leader of the House Democrats, got a committee assignment that wasn't in the original list from House Speaker Joe Straus, though a mention of it was tacked to the bottom of a press release on the panels.Dunnam will head a "Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding" that will "monitor actions of the federal government, including legislation and regulations, related to efforts to promote economic recovery by providing federal funds to the states" and to develop legislation to "maximize the state's receipt of federal funds." The members of that panel include Dunnam, Crownover (vice chair), Coleman, Darby, Eiland, Kent, Ortiz, Pitts, and Truitt.

Some winners, some losers in House committee assignments.

Joe Straus got his job after a Friday evening meeting at Byron Cook's house on Polo Road in Austin at the beginning of the year. The eleven Republicans there picked him as their sole candidate against Speaker Tom Craddick. The Democrats joined in the next day. Craddick folded that weekend. A short-lived effort to substitute John Smithee of Amarillo as the new speaker was, well, short-lived. And Straus started the next week with the announcement that he was the new sheriff.

In his committee assignments, the Polo Road Gang collected their booty. In the currency of the Texas House, they're rich. All of them chair committees, including the most powerful panels on their end of the building: Appropriations (Jim Pitts, Waxahachie), Calendars (Brian McCall, Plano), State Affairs (Burt Solomons, Carrollton), House Administration (Charlie Geren, Fort Worth), Public Education (Rob Eissler, The Woodlands), Redistricting (Delwin Jones, Lubbock), Licensing & Administrative Procedures (Edmund Kuempel, Seguin), Environmental Regulation (Cook, Corsicana), Energy Resources (Jim Keffer, Eastland), and Public Safety (Tommy Merritt, Longview).

Five of the PRG are on four committees each. Six are on the agenda-setting Calendars panel. Two other Republicans who joined early enough to be on Straus' first list — Dan Branch of Dallas and Todd Smith of Euless — are chairs now, too.

On the other side of the court, the three Democrats who got most of the credit/blame for antagonizing Craddick and engineering his downfall — Jim Dunnam of Waco, Pete Gallego of Alpine, and Garnet Coleman of Houston — got leftovers. Gallego and Coleman are both chairmen and got pretty good assignments: Gallego on State Affairs and General Investigating & Ethics, Coleman on Calendars and Public Health. Dunnam, the leader of that bunch, will chair a special committee on the federal stimulus package and got spots on Transportation and Environmental Regulation. Craddick, by way of comparison, got on the State Affairs and Energy Resources panels.

Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, is the House's new speaker pro tempore, a largely honorary gig, but also will be on Appropriations and Insurance.

A couple of members shared in the spoils even though they weren't in either group. The big surprise on the list is Rep. Brandon Creighton, a sophomore Republican from Conroe whose lottery winnings includes spots on Appropriations, Calendars, General Investigating & Ethics, and Natural Resources. Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, will chair the Public Health panel and also sit on Calendars and Corrections. They must know somebody.

It didn't hurt at all to be a member of the San Antonio delegation, or from any of the counties and towns in the general vicinity of San Antonio. Frank Corte is a chairman. El Paso's delegation — with Democrat Joe Pickett chairing Transportation and Norma Chavez on both Appropriations and Calendars, has more juice than before, even with two freshmen in the group.

And being a freshman didn't necessarily hurt. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels, made it onto Appropriations, House Administration, and Natural Resources. Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson, also got on Appropriations. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, is on State Affairs. And here's an oddity: Freshman Allen Fletcher, R-Tomball, made it on to Urban Affairs — as a "seniority appointment."

The rural WD-40s (White Democrats over 40) — fared pretty well in Straus' freshman effort. Mark Homer of Paris, Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville, Jim McReynolds of Lufkin, and Allan Ritter of Nederland are all chairmen this time. In order: Culture, Recreation & Tourism; General Investigating & Ethics; Corrections; and Natural Resources.

Finally, two former members are back in the House. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, will chair Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence. It probably didn't hurt that his old deskmate, Clyde Alexander, is now the speaker's chief of staff. Al Edwards, D-Houston, got a spot on Appropriations.

The House rules bar the chairmen of Appropriations and State Affairs from serving on substantive committees — not all of the members on those panels. Other than those two chairs, everybody on the House serves on two substantive committees. Who serves on the procedural committees — Calendars, Administration, etc. — is up to the speaker. A smart reader who called to clarify last week's murk on this subject also pointed out that there's a math problem at the root of it. If you bar those two chairs from being on committees of substance, the numbers work out right; if you don't, they don't.

The new speaker's first bit of danger is out of the way, with House members on their way home for a long weekend to mull their committee assignments and to consider the difference between what they hoped for and what they got.

In early returns, Joe Straus got out of it alive. In a House with a two-vote difference in the strength of the parties, that's probably a win. By his numbers, the chairmanships of the 34 committees are divided 18-16 in favor of the Republicans and 15 of the chairs are in that position for the first time in their legislative careers. There are fewer Republican chairs and more Democrats, more African-Americans (5) and Hispanics (4) than two years ago, and the same number of women (7). The number of urban chairs fell by two, while the number of rural chairs fell by four; that balance is now 23 urban, 11 rural, according to Straus' count.

That popped the cork on the session, on the House side. The budget-writing Appropriations Committee held its first meeting before members were out of town. Bills are already being referred to other panels, and the House will be in full gear next week, a month into the session.

Put former U.S. Ambassador and state Rep. Tom Schieffer on the list of people who might be running for governor of Texas next year. "I've been talking to people and I've been very encouraged," he says.

He's been calling around, visiting people, and drove the perimeter of the state to get a feel for it over the last few weeks. "I'm prepared to do it, if it's doable, and I'm convinced that it needs to be done," he says. "People have been very encouraging... but I need to be convinced that it's something that can be done."

Schieffer was president of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club and one of George W. Bush's partners there. He served as ambassador to Australia and Japan while Bush was president. But he says he's a Democrat and served three terms in the Texas House in the 1970s — part of a huge 77-member freshman class that included Pete Laney, Kay Bailey, her future husband Ray Hutchison, Jim Mattox, and Buddy Temple, among others. Those last three ran for governor and lost; Schieffer and Hutchison, if both run, would be the fourth and fifth gubernatorial candidates from that House class.

If he runs, Schieffer says, he'll run as a Democrat. He's concerned about the state of education in Texas and worries that education here could fall behind other countries like India and China.

Schieffer says he'll make a decision in the next few weeks.

The details of the federal stimulus money aren't out, but the Texas Conservative Coalition is already hitting the brakes, urging the Lege to be careful about the federal dough. Their wish list: Do the 2.5 percent budget cuts requested by state leaders during the current fiscal year; hold the equivalent of five percent of general spending in the Rainy Day Fund; limit "emergency" appropriations; try to use stimulus funds on one-time spending items so the state's not obligated in future years when the feds aren't helping; and put stronger limits on state spending. That group is full of lawmakers, who'll presumably put all that in bill form before the session is over.

State officials are waiting to get their mitts on the actual numbers, conditions, provisos, etc., but they've got some rough figures, and they're big. The House version of the stimulus bill would have sent $19.7 billion in this direction. The Senate number was $14.7 billion. That's for a variety of things, from highways to Medicaid to aid for the homeless, public housing to school construction, education to childcare to health care — you name it. They hope to have good numbers in the next few days.

• Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst put a low bill number on the eminent domain bill, giving his push to a bit of legislation the governor is keen to see. Last session, Rick Perry vetoed an eminent domain bill that had broad approval in the Legislature. This time, he's asked for a constitutional amendment, which requires a two-thirds vote from the Legislature, and which would then go to voters — bypassing Perry's desk and his pen. The sticking point last time had to do with access to the uncondemned part of a property, and compensation for the decreased value of what's left after the government comes in and starts building stuff. Sens. Craig Estes, Glenn Hegar, and Robert Duncan are heading that effort in the Senate.

• Another bit of legislation has more than enough senators to get to the floor — it takes two-thirds, most of the time — but hasn't been referred to a committee yet. It's Sen. Chuy Hinojosa's moratorium on increases in college tuition. He's got more than the required 21 signatures and is waiting to see whether it'll land in education, higher education, or finance.

• Department of Corrections: Jana Burleson was at the Texas Youth Commission, and with Sen. Royce West's office before moving to House Speaker Joe Straus' policy crew. We had her on the Lite Guv's staff, which is incorrect... We misspelled Kurt Meachum and Jerry Philips in the same sentence last week. We'll just quote our high school band director here: "If you're gonna make a mistake, make a big one." Sorry, sorry, sorry.

House Speaker Joe Straus announced his much-anticipated committee assignments. Here they are:Printable .pdf versions are here: By committee, and by member And here, in plain text:

By Committee:

AGRICULTURE & LIVESTOCK: Gonzalez Toureilles-C; Anderson-VC, B. Brown, Crabb, Hardcastle, Heflin, Kleinschmidt, Rios Ybarra, Swinford

APPROPRIATIONS: Pitts-C; Raymond-VC, Chavez, Crownover, Dukes, Edwards, Flores, Giddings, Isett, McClendon, Morrison, Pitts, Riddle, Villarreal, Aycock, F. Brown, Button, Cohen, Creighton, Darby, Driver, Eiland, Herrero, Hochberg, S. King, D. Miller, Otto, Zerwas

BORDER & INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: Gonzales-C; Flynn-VC, Flores, Guillen, Leibowitz, Moody, Olivo, Raymond, Shelton

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY: Deshotel-C; Elkins-VC, Christian, Elkins, Gattis, S. Miller, England, Giddings, Keffer, Orr, Quintanilla, S. Turner

CALENDARS: McCall-C; Lucio-VC, Chavez, Coleman, Cook, Creighton, Geren, Keffer, Kolkhorst, Kuempel, McReynolds, Ritter, Solomons

CORRECTIONS: McReynolds-C; Madden-VC, England, Hodge, Madden, Dutton, Kolkhorst, Marquez, Martinez, S. Miller, Ortiz, Sheffield

COUNTY AFFAIRS: Coleman-C; Morrison-VC, J. Davis, W. Smith, Berman, Bolton, Castro, Marquez, Sheffield

CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE: Gallego-C; Christian-VC, Miklos, Moody, Pierson, Fletcher, Hodge, Kent, Riddle, Vaught, Vo

CULTURE, RECREATION, & TOURISM: Homer-C; D. Howard-VC, Phillips, Dukes, T. King, Kleinschmidt, Kuempel, McCall, Thibaut

DEFENSE & VETERANS' AFFAIRS: Corte-C; Vaught-VC, Farias, C. Turner, Chavez, Edwards, Maldonado, Ortiz, Pickett

ELECTIONS: T. Smith-C; Peña-VC, B. Brown, Allen, Anchia, Bohac, Bonnen, Harper-Brown, Heflin

ENERGY RESOURCES: Keffer-C; Crownover-VC, Crabb, Hardcastle, Keffer, Craddick, Farabee, Gonzalez Toureilles, Rios Ybarra, Strama

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION: Cook-C; Chisum-VC, Burnam, Dunnam, Farrar, Hancock, Legler, Veasey, Weber

GENERAL INVESTIGATING & ETHICS: Hopson-C; Phillips-VC, Creighton, Gallego, Hunter

HIGHER EDUCATION: Branch-C; Castro-VC, Alonzo, Berman, McCall, Cohen, D. Howard, Patrick, Rose

HOUSE ADMINISTRATION: Geren-C; Rose-VC, Allen, Callegari, Eissler, D. Howard, D. Miller, Ortiz, Riddle, Shelton, Vo

HUMAN SERVICES: Rose-C; Herrero-VC, Herrero, Naishtat, Walle, Darby, Elkins, Hernandez, Hughes, Legler

INSURANCE: Smithee-C; Martinez Fischer-VC, Deshotel, Eiland, Hunter, Hancock, Isett, Taylor, Thompson

JUDICIARY & CIVIL JURISPRUDENCE: Hunter-C; Hughes-VC, Branch, Hartnett, Hughes, Leibowitz, Alonzo, Jackson, Lewis, Madden, Martinez, Woolley

LAND & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: Bonnen-C; Farrar-VC, Orr, Alvarado, Bolton, Hamilton, Homer, Paxton, Thibaut

LICENSING & ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES: Kuempel-C; Thompson-VC, Jones, Menendez, Thompson, Chisum, Geren, Gutierrez, Hamilton, Quintanilla

LOCAL & CONSENT CALENDARS: Thompson-C; Cook-VC, Anchia, Bohac, Bolton, Gutierrez, Laubenberg, Martinez Fischer, Merritt, Morrison, Orr

NATURAL RESOURCES: Ritter-C; Callegari-VC, Corte, T. King, Martinez Fischer, Smithee, Creighton, Frost, Laubenberg, Lucio, D. Miller

PENSIONS, INVESTMENTS, & FINANCIAL SERVICES: Truitt-C; Anchia-VC, Anderson, Flynn, Woolley, Hernandez, Hopson, Parker, Veasey

PUBLIC EDUCATION: Eissler-C; Hochberg-VC, Allen, Dutton, Jackson, Olivo, Aycock, Farias, Patrick, Shelton, Weber

PUBLIC HEALTH: Kolkhorst-C; Naishtat-VC, Coleman, Hopson, McReynolds, Truitt, J. Davis, Gonzales, S. King, Laubenberg, Zerwas

PUBLIC SAFETY: Merritt-C; Frost-VC, Driver, Vo, Burnam, P. King, Lewis, Mallory Caraway, Rodriguez

REDISTRICTING: Jones-C; Villarreal-VC, Alvarado, Deshotel, Eissler, Harless, Herrero, Hilderbran, Keffer, Merritt, Peña, Pickett, Pitts, T. Smith, Veasey

RULES & RESOLUTIONS: McClendon-C; Crabb-VC, Anderson, Edwards, Farias, Kent, Kleinschmidt, Marquez, Rios Ybarra, Sheffield, Walle

STATE AFFAIRS: Solomons-C; Menendez-VC, Craddick, Gallego, Hilderbran, Oliveira, Swinford, S. Turner, Cook, Farabee, Geren, Harless, Jones, Lucio, Maldonado

TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, & WORKFORCE: Strama-C; Parker-VC, F. Brown, Eissler, Ritter, Button, Gattis, Harless, Rodriguez

TRANSPORTATION: Pickett-C; Phillips-VC, Callegari, Y. Davis, Merritt, T. Smith, Dunnam, Guillen, Harper-Brown, McClendon, W. Smith

URBAN AFFAIRS: Y. Davis-C; C. Howard-VC, Fletcher, Mallory Caraway, Alvarado, Gutierrez, Kent, Miklos, Pierson, C. Turner, Walle

WAYS & MEANS: Oliveira-C; Otto-VC, Bohac, C. Howard, P. King, Paxton, Hartnett, Hilderbran, Peña, Taylor, Villarreal

---

By member:

Allen: Elections; House Administration; Public Education

Alonzo: Higher Education; Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Alvarado: Land & Resource Management; Redistricting; Urban Affairs

Anchia: Elections; Local & Consent Calendars; VC-Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

Anderson: VC-Agriculture & Livestock; Pensions, Investments & Financial Services; Rules & Resolutions

Aycock: Appropriations; Public Education

Berman: County Affairs; Higher Education

Bohac: Elections; Local & Consent Calendars; Ways & Means

Bolton: County Affairs; Land & Resource Management; Local & Consent Calendars

Bonnen: Elections; C-Land & Resource Management

Branch: C-Higher Education; Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

B. Brown: Agriculture & Livestock; Elections

F. Brown: Appropriations; Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Burnam: Environmental Regulation; Public Safety

Button: Appropriations; Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Callegari: House Administration; VC-Natural Resources; Transportation

Castro: County Affairs; VC-Higher Education

Chavez: Appropriations; Calendars; Defense & Veterans' Affairs

Chisum: VC-Environmental Regulation; Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Christian: Business & Industry; VC-Criminal Jurisprudence

Cohen: Appropriations; Higher Education

Coleman: Calendars; C-County Affairs; Public Health

Cook: Calendars; C-Environmental Regulation; VC-Local & Consent Calendars; State Affairs

Corte: C-Defense & Veterans' Affairs; Natural Resources

Crabb: Agriculture & Livestock; Energy Resources; VC-Rules & Resolutions

Craddick: Energy Resources; State Affairs

Creighton: Appropriations; Calendars; General Investigating & Ethics; Natural Resources

Crownover: Appropriations; VC-Energy Resources

Darby: Appropriations; Human Services

J. Davis: Public Health; County Affairs

Y. Davis: Transportation; C-Urban Affairs

Deshotel: C-Business & Industry; Insurance; Redistricting

Driver: Appropriations; Public Safety

Dukes: Appropriations; Culture, Recreation & Tourism

Dunnam: Environmental Regulation; Transportation

Dutton: Corrections; Public Education

Edwards: Appropriations; Defense & Veterans' Affairs; Rules & Resolutions

Eiland: Appropriations; Insurance

Eissler: House Administration; C-Public Education; Redistricting; Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Elkins: VC-Business & Industry; Human Services

England: Business & Industry; Corrections

Farabee: Energy Resources; State Affairs

Farias: Defense & Veterans' Affairs; Public Education; Rules & Resolutions

Farrar: Environmental Regulation; VC-Land & Resource Management

Fletcher: Criminal Jurisprudence; Urban Affairs

Flores: Appropriations; Border & Intergovernmental Affairs

Flynn: VC-Border & Intergovernmental Affairs; Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

Frost: Natural Resources; VC-Public Safety

Gallego: C-Criminal Jurisprudence; General Investigating & Ethics; State Affairs

Gattis: Business & Industry; Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Geren: Calendars; C-House Administration; Licensing & Administrative Procedures; State Affairs

Giddings: Appropriations; Business & Industry

Gonzales: C-Border & Intergovernmental Affairs; Public Health

Gonzalez Toureilles: C-Agriculture & Livestock; Energy Resources

Guillen: Border & Intergovernmental Affairs; Transportation

Gutierrez: Licensing & Administrative Procedures; Local & Consent Calendars; Urban Affairs

Hamilton: Land & Resource Management; Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Hancock: Environmental Regulation; Insurance

Hardcastle: Agriculture & Livestock; Energy Resources

Harless: Redistricting; State Affairs; Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Harper-Brown: Elections; Transportation

Hartnett: Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence; Ways & Means

Heflin: Agriculture & Livestock; Elections

Hernandez: Human Services; Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

Herrero: Appropriations; VC-Human Services; Redistricting

Hilderbran: Redistricting; State Affairs; Ways & Means

Hochberg: Appropriations; VC-Public Education

Hodge: Corrections; Criminal Jurisprudence

Homer: C-Culture, Recreation & Tourism; Land & Resource Management

Hopson: C-General Investigating & Ethics; Pensions, Investments & Financial Services; Public Health

C. Howard: Ways & Means; VC-Urban Affairs

D. Howard: VC-Culture, Recreation & Tourism; Higher Education; House Administration

Hughes: Human Services; VC-Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Hunter: General Investigating & Ethics; Insurance; C-Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Isett: Appropriations; Insurance

Jackson: Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence; Public Education

Jones: Licensing & Administrative Procedures; State Affairs; C-Redistricting

Keffer: Business & Industry; Calendars; C-Energy Resources; Redistricting

Kent: Criminal Jurisprudence; Rules & Resolutions; Urban Affairs

P. King: Public Safety; Ways & Means

S. King: Appropriations; Public Health

T. King: Culture, Recreation & Tourism; Natural Resources

Kleinschmidt: Agriculture & Livestock; Culture, Recreation & Tourism; Rules & Resolutions

Kolkhorst: Calendars; Corrections; C-Public Health

Kuempel: Calendars; Culture, Recreation & Tourism; C-Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Laubenberg: Local & Consent Calendars; Natural Resources; Public Health

Legler: Environmental Regulation; Human Services

Leibowitz: Border & Intergovernmental Affairs; Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Lewis: Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence; Public Safety

Lucio: VC-Calendars; Natural Resources; State Affairs

Madden: VC-Corrections; Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Maldonado: Defense & Veterans' Affairs; State Affairs

Mallory Caraway: Public Safety; Urban Affairs

Marquez: Corrections; County Affairs; Rules & Resolutions

Martinez: Corrections; Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Martinez Fischer: VC-Insurance; Local & Consent Calendars; Natural Resources

McCall: C-Calendars; Culture, Recreation & Tourism; Higher Education

McClendon: Appropriations; C-Rules & Resolutions; Transportation

McReynolds: Calendars; C-Corrections; Public Health

Menendez: Licensing & Administrative Procedures; VC-State Affairs

Merritt: Local & Consent Calendars; C-Public Safety; Redistricting; Transportation

Miklos: Criminal Jurisprudence; Urban Affairs

D. Miller: Appropriations; House Administration; Natural Resources

S. Miller: Business & Industry; Corrections

Moody: Border & Intergovernmental Affairs; Criminal Jurisprudence

Morrison: Appropriations; VC-County Affairs; Local & Consent Calendars

Naishtat: Human Services; VC-Public Health

Oliveira: State Affairs; C-Ways & Means

Olivo: Border & Intergovernmental Affairs; Public Education

Orr: Business & Industry; Land & Resource Management; Local & Consent Calendars

Ortiz: Corrections; Defense & Veterans' Affairs; House Administration

Otto: Appropriations; VC-Ways & Means

Parker: Pensions, Investments & Financial Services; VC-Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Patrick: Higher Education; Public Education

Paxton: Land & Resource Management; Ways & Means

Peña: VC-Elections; Redistricting; Ways & Means

Phillips: Culture, Recreation & Tourism; VC-General Investigating & Ethics; VC-Transportation

Pickett: Defense & Veterans' Affairs; Redistricting; C-Transportation

Pierson: Criminal Jurisprudence; Urban Affairs

Pitts: C-Appropriations; Redistricting

Quintanilla: Business & Industry; Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Raymond: VC-Appropriations; Border & Intergovernmental Affairs

Riddle: Appropriations; Criminal Jurisprudence; House Administration

RiosYbarra: Agriculture & Livestock; Energy Resources; Rules & Resolutions

Ritter: Calendars; C-Natural Resources; Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Rodriguez: Public Safety; Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Rose: Higher Education; VC-House Administration; C-Human Services

Sheffield: Corrections; County Affairs; Rules & Resolutions

Shelton: Border & Intergovernmental Affairs; House Administration; Public Education

T. Smith: C-Elections; Redistricting; Transportation

W. Smith: County Affairs; Transportation

Smithee: C-Insurance; Natural Resources

Solomons: Calendars; C-State Affairs

Strama: Energy Resources; C-Technology, Economic Development & Workforce

Swinford: Agriculture & Livestock; State Affairs

Taylor: Insurance; Ways & Means

Thibaut: Culture, Recreation & Tourism; Land & Resource Management

Thompson: Insurance; VC-Licensing & Administrative Procedures; C-Local & Consent Calendars

Truitt: Public Health; C-Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

C. Turner: Defense & Veterans' Affairs; Urban Affairs

S. Turner: Business & Industry; State Affairs

Vaught: Criminal Jurisprudence; VC-Defense & Veterans' Affairs

Veasey: Environmental Regulation; Pensions, Investments & Financial Services; Redistricting

Villarreal: Appropriations; VC-Redistricting; Ways & Means

Vo: Criminal Jurisprudence; House Administration; Public Safety

Walle: Human Services; Rules & Resolutions; Urban Affairs

Weber: Environmental Regulation; Public Education

Woolley: Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence; Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

Zerwas: Appropriations; Public Health

What happened to the people chairing committees under deposed Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland?

Five of those 40 chairmen are no longer in the House. Four were among the Republicans who brought Craddick down last month. Nine joined that bunch and made Joe Straus the new speaker. The rest stuck with Craddick. The end result? A dozen of the 40 still have committees.

Some of Craddick's chairfolk aren't in the House anymore: Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, and Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, got beat; Dianne White Delisi, R-Temple, Fred Hill, R-Richardson, and Mike Krusee, R-Austin, didn't seek reelection.

Several were in the "Polo Road Gang" of 11 Republicans who met at Byron Cook's Austin home (thus the moniker) to elevate Straus as the lone opponent to Craddick, team up with the House Democrats, and toss the boss. That bunch includes Cook, R-Corsicana; Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, and Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton. They made out like bandits in Straus' assignments: He's the speaker and the other ten guys who were in the room are all chairing committees. In addition, each is either on the Calendars Committee that sets bills for consideration, or on the Redistricting Committee, which is setting the table for legislative and congressional redrawing of political districts in 2011.

Some were among the 15 Republicans and 70 Democrats on the first list of names that put Straus over the top: Dan Branch, R-Dallas, Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont, Kino Flores, D-Palmview, Helen Giddings, D-Dallas, Tracy King, D-Batesville, Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, and Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs. And Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, R-Mauriceville, had pledged to vote for another Craddick opponent. Branch, Deshotel, McClendon, and Rose all won chairs.

The remaining chairmen stuck with Craddick, at least until Straus had the votes to declare victory: Leo Berman, R-Tyler, Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, Bill Callegari, R-Katy, Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, Joe Crabb, R-Humble, Joe Driver, R-Garland, Harold Dutton, D-Houston, Rick Hardcastle, R-Vernon, Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, Phil King, R-Weatherford, Jerry Madden, R-Richardson, Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria, Rob Orr, R-Burleson, Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, Wayne Smith, R-Baytown, John Smithee, R-Amarillo, David Swinford, R-Dumas, Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, and Beverly Woolley, R-Houston.

But that status didn't kill their chances of making Team Straus — it just made it highly unlikely. Of the bunch, Bonnen, Corte, Smithee, and Truitt are still chairs. Bonnen moved from Environmental Regulation to Land & Resource Management. Corte remains at Defense & Veterans Affairs, but he's the only Republican on his nine-member committee. Smithee, a late and semi-reluctant candidate offered by Craddick Rs as an alternative to Straus, will remain at Insurance. And Truitt will remain in the middle seat at the renamed Pensions, Investments & Financial Services.

Members who chaired the top committees for Craddick didn't fare as well. Chisum, King, Swinford, and Woolley — who chaired Appropriations, Regulated Industries, State Affairs, and Calendars, respectively — won't chair any committees this year.