![]() Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) emphatically voiced his desire to pass so-called Constitutional Carry, but, equally emphatically, also joined Representative Wu in citing the need for CPS reform, including more spending on efforts to reduce caseloads, strengthening family rights in placement, and encouraging more involvement from faith-based groups. Chris Turner (D-Arlington) said he would focus on overhauling school finance (a subject of much discussion earlier on the panel). Gene Wu (D-Houston) led off with a good joke, which you‘ll have to ask him about, then said he wanted to work on raising the legal age of prosecution as an adult in Texas, and increasing funding for child protective services in the wake of ongoing troubles at that division of the Department of Family and Protective Services. (They are listed in their seating order on stage.) The members and their responses, best as I could recall with the helpful aid of some notes from a generous and diligent audience member, are below, followed by some more general observations. I moderated both panels, and toward the end of each panel asked each member to tell the audience what item they would get on the agenda if they could. The Senate panel was equally bipartisan, with the slightly curious twist by the organizers of including Republican candidate Dawn Buckingham, the favorite to win the Senate to be vacated by Senator Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay). One sample of who wants what, and the context in each chamber, was delivered on Saturday’s panels on “the House Agenda” and “the Senate Agenda.” The former was populated by 6 house members, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. ![]() ![]() The Texas Tribune’s annual festival at UT Austin weekend before last generated lots of clues about what issues might rise to the surface - and glimpses of how the friction between the chambers, as well as within and between the parties, is shaping the jockeying for position in Austin. While the 2016 presidential election dominates political coverage even more than usual, outside the spotlight the pace and volume of efforts to get issues on the state legislature's agenda increase daily. ![]() It’s not lost on participants in the legislative process, from members to their staffs, from the lobby to the state agencies, that the maneuvering to shape the agenda of the 85th Texas Legislature is well underway. ![]()
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