Enlarge Bob Daemmrich

State Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano, talks with a member on the House floor on May 16, 2011.

A centerpiece of work this week in the Senate was a major ethics overhaul bill, an effort tagged as a priority by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, Senators gave the OK to Senate Bill 19, authored by Sen. Van Taylor, R-Plano. Taylor called the bill the most significant ethics reform in a generation. But others weren't as impressed, and the debate got heated at times.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, said Taylor's description of the bill did a "horrible disservice to the Legislature," which he said is not nearly in need of reform as Taylor has implied.

"It is wrong to suggest that this body suffers from a corrupt environment," Whitmire said.

Senators passed amendments that would require personal finance disclosures be posted online, would prohibit legislators from serving on elected boards and would require current lawmakers to abide by a two-year "cooling-off period" before they could lobby the Legislature after leaving office.

The amendment that generated the most talk may have been the one by Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, that would require candidates who run for elected office to take a drug test. The test wouldn't have consequences, but the results would be posted on the Texas Ethics Commission's website. That amendment passed 22-9.

*****

For the most part, the amendments bolstered the rigor of the bill, an interesting development after some critics accused the Senate of watering down the bill in committee.

In addition, the bill became a vehicle for Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, to add his legislation making it tougher for lobbyists to buy meals for lawmakers without disclosing who they were feeding.

His language set the reporting threshold at a fixed $50 and also would stop the practice of splitting the ticket among lobbyists to skirt reporting requirements.

One takeaway is that lawmakers who might otherwise be opposed to these new restrictions couldn’t afford to vote against them with the public watching. Whether these amendments stay on the bill until it reaches the governor’s desk is an open question.

But approving an ethics bill today that is high on the governor’s legislative agenda gave Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick a signature accomplishment to bring to this week’s breakfast with Abbott and Speaker Joe Straus.

*****

That was not the only contentious bill to hit the Senate floor this week. Senate Democrats and Republicans sparred for roughly two hours Wednesday over SB 1628 by state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood. The bill aims to overhaul how property owners can sue their insurance providers for failing to provide timely and adequate claims.

Among other things, it would put a two-year time limit on seeking claims and require homeowners to show proof of storm damages when filing a lawsuit.

The controversial insurance bill is one that consumer groups argue is an assault on homeowners’ rights but one that tort reformers call essential to stopping frivolous lawsuits.

Senators ended up giving their tentative approval to the legislation late Wednesday afternoon with the understanding that further corrective language would be added the following day on final reading.

The legislation received final approval on Thursday.

*****

On Thursday, the Senate debated SB 455 by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, a bill that would require the state Supreme Court chief justice to name a three-judge panel in cases related to school finance and redistricting.

"All Texans will be very well represented by the adding of two additional judges on issues of statewide impact," Creighton said. "In the process that we have right now, they could not."

Several Democrats spoke against the bill, concerned that the GOP was using its majority to extend influence into the legal system.

"You say that a judge from your county, my county should be able to weigh in on these two constitutional issues – why can't they weigh in on all constitutional issues?" asked West. "Republicans have control of the Senate, but I think this is overreaching in the judiciary."

Reporter Eva Hershaw contributed to this report. 

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

The House isn’t working for the weekend this week. It’s working up until the weekend.

The chamber has set a large daily calendar for today, a clear signal that lawmakers are gearing up for their customary legislative sprint to the end of session.

The House originally intended to meet both today and Saturday, but late on Thursday the calendars committee revised the schedule, combining both calendars into a single, four-page agenda. In other words, it could be another long day for the members.

The House gavels in at 9 a.m.

*****

Budget conferees earlier in the week held their first organizational meeting, where Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, laid out one overriding priority: that the group not meet on Mother’s Day.

And tracking another important legislative initiative of the session, an expected debate on contracting reform in the Texas House didn’t materialize Monday. House Bill 15 from Appropriations Chairman John Otto, R-Dayton, was scheduled to reach the House floor. Otto, however, postponed the measure.

*****

Tax cuts, as could be reasonably predicted, proved to be an irresistible option for House members on Tuesday as a proposed cut in the sales tax rate, which would be a first in the 50-plus year history of the tax, received unanimous support.

More Democrats voted no on a tax rate reduction for the business franchise tax, but the caucus was far from unified in opposing the measure.

In fact, the most spirited moment of the debate occurred around Amarillo Republican John Smithee’s attempt to increase the number of businesses exempted from the tax. This change would have moved the House closer to what the Senate is proposing on the franchise tax.

The Smithee amendment, though, was soundly defeated with Speaker Joe Straus making the rare move of casting a vote to table the language.

In other words, the House isn’t yet signaling any willingness to move toward the Senate’s position on tax cuts.

*****

State Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas, caused a brief stir when he attempted to attach language to a proposed constitutional amendment by Joan Huffman, R-Houston, allowing the governor and lieutenant governor to take office the day before a legislative session.

Huffines, though, had something else in mind. His language would limit governors and lieutenant governors to two consecutive terms. His language drew support from Houston Democrat Rodney Ellis, who no doubt saw an opportunity to gig Senate Republicans. But after a discussion at the dais on whether the amendment was germane, Huffines withdrew his amendment.

Huffman’s constitutional amendment passed and now awaits action by the House.

Enlarge

For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about the odds of a special session this summer.

A strong majority of the insiders pegged the chance of lawmakers spending some extra time in Austin at even odds or less. Fully 35 percent believed the odds are 20 percent or less and another 35 percent calculated the odds as between 21 and 50 percent.

Another 20 percent put the odds at between 51 and 80 percent. And 9 percent were nearly certain lawmakers wouldn't get everything done they will need to, putting the odds of a special session at higher than 80 percent.

There was little doubt as to what would spur an extra session. Three in four said budget and taxes would be the cause. One in four thought education and pre-K would trigger the special. Interestingly, no one thought ethics would cause more meeting time for lawmakers despite recent debates on the issue tagged as an emergency item by the governor.

We closed with a question asking what Magic 8 Ball response best describes whether the House and Senate have patched up their differences. The biggest group — 43 percent — said "Outlook not so good," while 40 percent said "Ask again later." Be sure to check out the insider-supplied suggestions on this one.

We collected comments along the way, and a full set of those is attached. Here’s a sampling:

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

What are the odds of a special session this summer?

• "The biggest problem with a special session is the Comptroller will need to redo the revenue forecast. I suspect the number would be lower, potentially killing the tax cuts that might necessitate going to a special session."

• "Very low. If they hate each other so much, Abbott will have to give them time to let the dust settle."

• "IF there is a special session in this biennium, it will be very soon. No way they will let this show holdover into an election year."

• "If the tax reform messes up the budget, we will be back. As to whether it will be in the summer depends on the new governor's understanding of how the special session game is played."

• "I bought my vacation cancellation insurance policy, didn't you?"

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

If there’s a special session, what would cause it?

• "I believe the Governor will call a special session on Redistricting."

• "Dan Patrick's Tea Party Advisory Council"

• "Only public school finance by court order will send this bunch back in before 2017..."

• "Federal court decisions on redistricting."

• "School finance."

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

News reports this past week gave differing accounts of how well the House and Senate are working together. Let’s play Magic 8 Ball: have the chambers resolved their differences?

• "Both chambers are working with each other. The media is bored and making stuff up to fill their newspapers and websites. In other words, the media is trying to generate excitement of a rather boring session. News flash: the process we are seeing today is the same process which has taken hold for past sessions."

• "Outlook not so good at moment but you would think that a Republican Administration would get it done — and I'm hearing that may be the motivation needed — Republicans worried about re-election."

• "Patrick's problem isn't his shaky math, it's that he wants to pick a fight with Gov. Abbott."

• "Let's play another game, Legislative Monopoly and the House owns Park Place and Boardwalk with 3 hotels on each, 2 Railroads and the Electric Company and the Senate has no get out of jail free cards."

• "You left out the possible Magic 8 Ball responses of 'Don't Count On It,' 'Better Not Tell You Now,' and 'My Sources Say No' — all of which are applicable."

Our thanks to this week's participants: Gene Acuna, Cathie Adams, Jennifer Ahrens, Brandon Alderete, Clyde Alexander, George Allen, Jay Arnold, Charles Bailey, James Bernsen, Andrew Biar, Allen Blakemore, Tom Blanton, Chris Britton, Raif Calvert, Lydia Camarillo, Kerry Cammack, Elna Christopher, Harold Cook, Kevin Cooper, Randy Cubriel, Curtis Culwell, Denise Davis, June Deadrick, Tom Duffy, David Dunn, John Esparza, Jon Fisher, Tom Forbes, Dominic Giarratani, Bruce Gibson, Stephanie Gibson, Eric Glenn, Kinnan Golemon, Daniel Gonzalez, Jim Grace, John Greytok, Clint Hackney, Wayne Hamilton, Bill Hammond, Ken Hodges, Steve Holzheauser, Deborah Ingersoll, Mark Jones, Lisa Kaufman, Robert Kepple, Richard Khouri, Tom Kleinworth, Sandy Kress, Dale Laine, Pete Laney, Dick Lavine, James LeBas, Luke Legate, Myra Leo, Ruben Longoria, Vilma Luna, Matt Mackowiak, Jason McElvaney, Steve Minick, Mike Moses, Nelson Nease, Todd Olsen, Gardner Pate, Jerod Patterson, Robert Peeler, Tom Phillips, Gary Polland, Jay Pritchard, Jay Propes, Patrick Reinhart, David Reynolds, Carl Richie, Grant Ruckel, Tyler Ruud, Jason Sabo, Andy Sansom, Jim Sartwelle, Barbara Schlief, Stan Schlueter, Ben Sebree, Christopher Shields, Nancy Sims, Jason Skaggs, Ed Small, Martha Smiley, Larry Soward, Dennis Speight, Colin Strother, Sherry Sylvester, Sara Tays, Jay Thompson, Trey Trainor, Vicki Truitt, Corbin Van Arsdale, Ware Wendell, David White, Darren Whitehurst, Peck Young, Angelo Zottarelli.

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

Friday, May 1

• TexMed 2015; 500 E. Fourth St. and 500 E. Cesar Chavez Blvd., Austin (May 1-2)
• A Conversation With HUD Secretary Julián Castro; 110 E. 9th St., Austin (8-9 a.m.)

Monday, May 4

• A Symposium on Health Care, presented by the Texas Tribune and Huston-Tillotson University; 900 Chicon St., Austin (8 a.m.-3 p.m.)
  

Tuesday, May 5

• Early voting ends in San Antonio municipal elections.
• Free Speech and the Non-Profit Community: Freedom of Association vs Forced Disclosure, presented by the Texas Public Policy Foundation; 901 Congress Ave., Austin (5-7 p.m.)

Thursday, May 7

• A Conversation With John Sharp, Texas A&M University System Chancellor; 110 E. 9th St., Austin (8-9 a.m.)

Gov. Greg Abbott showed up for jury duty on Monday, chatting with other potential jurors about the weather, parking woes and his puppy, Pancake. He waited about two hours before being told he was not selected.

The House approved a $4.9 billion tax relief package split between a first-ever reduction in the state sales tax rate and a reduction in the business franchise tax rate. Next up is an attempt to find a compromise on tax cuts with the Senate that is emphasizing property tax cuts over trimming sales tax revenue.

A panel of judges on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Tuesday in the legal challenge to Texas' voter ID law. Questions centered on whether the state intentionally discriminated against minorities with the law as well as state lawmakers' decision not to address criticisms of the law.

The Texas Senate approved a broad-based ethics bill this week, adding items during floor debate to strengthen legislation that had been significantly weakened in committee. One change garnering attention would require political candidates to take a drug test.

The Texas House has given initial approval to a major boost in transportation funding from sales taxes, setting the stage for a showdown with the Senate over the best way to pay for Texas roads.

The Senate Education Committee passed legislation on Thursday that would create a free, high-quality pre-K program for Texas. The action on the high-priority item for Abbott comes about a week after it came under criticism from an advisory panel of grassroots conservatives allied with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

The Senate this week approved a controversial bill authored by state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood that would make it harder for homeowners and companies to recover certain damages from their insurance companies.

A move by Houston Democratic state Sen. Rodney Ellis to repeal a program that requires drivers convicted of certain traffic offenses to pay annual surcharges to keep their driver's licenses received backing this week from a couple of Tea Party conservatives in the Senate — Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas, and Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood.

S. Javaid Anwar of Midland was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Higher Education Coordinating Board for a term to expire on Aug. 31, 2015.

Veronica Muzquiz Edwards of San Antonio and Alan L. Tinsley of Madisonville was appointed by Abbott to the Texas State University Board of Regents. David Montage of Beaumont was reappointed to the board. Their terms expire Feb. 1, 2021.

Carey Patrick, Ronald Hopping and Rene Peña were appointed by Abbott to the Texas Optometry Board for terms to expire on Jan. 31, 2021. In addition, John Coble was named board chairman.

Patricia “Patti” James of Houston and Claude “C.D.” Siems of Houston were appointed by Abbott to the Private Security Board for terms to expire on Jan. 21, 2021. In addition, James was named board chairwoman.

Greg Compean of Richmond and Larry Allen of Mesquite were named by Abbott to the Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) for terms to expire Feb. 1, 2021.

Cliff Thomas of Victoria and Elaine Mendoza of San Antonio were selected Thursday as chairman and vice chairwoman, respectively, of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Their terms run through Feb. 1, 2017. Thomas succeeds Phil Adams of Bryan-College Station as chairman.

Katharine Priddy McAden has been promoted to state director for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. She was operations director for Cruz's 2012 Senate before taking the job of deputy state director.

Deaths: Bruce Alger, 96, who when elected to represent a Dallas area congressional district in 1954 became the first Republican congressman from Texas in more than 20 years. He was known for extreme conservative views in his 10-year congressional career.

Nelson Salinas, 37, who was governmental affairs manager at the Texas Association of Business specializing in public and higher education issues. Prior to that, he served stints in the offices of state Reps. Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg, Roberto Gutierrez, D-McAllen, and Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, D-Alice.

Disclosure: The Texas State University System, the Texas A&M University System and the Texas Association of Business are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.