When Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stood before the Texas Senate on Monday, gavel in hand, ready to adjourn for the state’s 89th Legislature, he had nothing but praise for the chamber he leads.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a better group of 31 Senators,” said Patrick. "I believe, in modern times — I can’t go back 100 years — this is the finest session any Texas Senate has ever had.”
Next door, House Speaker Dustin Burrows shared a similar sentiment while also acknowledging a rocky beginning for the chamber.
"We started this session as a House in a bit of uncertainty,” Burrows said from the dais on the floor of the Texas House. “I believe that we ended in a much more unified and solid place.”
While not always peaceful, the session was — from at least a numerical standpoint — a productive one.
This year, lawmakers passed more than 1,200 bills, including controversial measures like creating a $1 billion school voucher program and another that puts the Ten Commandments in public schools. But the Texas Legislature also made big, bipartisan moves, like expanding public school funding by $8.5 billion and making a promise to invest billions into the state's water infrastructure over the next 20 years.
So was it, as Burrows and Patrick said, a banner year where legislators worked together to accomplish more than ever? Or a wild, partisan circus? Well, the answer to that question varies depending on which lawmakers you ask.
The Texas House finds its footing
As Burrows alluded to in his Sine die closing remarks, things on the Texas House side started on a tumultuous note. But that was to be expected: Weeks before opening day, previous House Speaker Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) chose to bow out of the speaker’s race amid growing pressure.
Challengers from within the Republican Party were seeking to replace Phelan with someone they perceived as more conservative.
That led to a dramatic first day of the session, and a face off for the powerful leadership role between two Republicans: Mansfield Rep. David Cook and Lubbock Rep. Dustin Burrows.
In the end, Burrows snagged the votes needed to secure the job — but that didn’t end the drama around the selection. That mainly stemmed from House Democrats helping Burrows secure the speakership.
One of Burrows' biggest critics throughout the session was Midlothian Republican Rep. Brian Harrison, who often accused the Speaker of purposely running down the clock and putting too many bills sponsored by Democrats on the calendar.
On Monday, he told The Texas Newsroom “very little good” got done this session.
“I’m very grateful that this train wreck of a session is coming to a conclusion today,” he said. “It would’ve been better for Texans if this session ended the day after it started.”
More specifically, Harrison said the state just did too much to limit Texans freedoms and spent too much taxpayer dollars.
But other Republicans who spoke with The Texas Newsroom this week had a more positive view.
“I think we ended with a great session,” said Rep. Carolina Harris Davila of Round Rock. “I think we see historic funding for education which has been amazing.”
Democrats expressed more measured enthusiasm.
“It was definitely a mixed bag for us,” said Rep. Jon Rosenthal of Houston. “For Democrats, I think we were a little taken aback by the number and veracity of the things I think we’d consider most egregious.”
Rosenthal did commend Burrows for the session’s overall flow.
“Functionally, and the running of the House, for the most part I thought it was really well done. Better organized.” he said.
‘The legislature failed’
When it comes to the best bills that passed this session, almost every lawmaker mentioned House Bill 2, the school funding bill.
But lawmakers' effort to lower Texans’ property taxes by increasing the homestead exemption received mixed reviews.
While several told The Texas Newsroom the property tax bills — Senate Bill 4 and 23 — said they believed it would put money into people’s pockets right away, Rep. Rosenthal thought differently.
“The legislature failed. We did a property tax package without considering the massive increases in insurance,” said Rosenthal. “So even that little piece that we thought would be helpful will be swallowed up by the increase in insurance.”
He wasn’t alone in his thoughts on the bills. Rep. Harrison agrees. But he also took issue with Senate Bill 3 which bans THC even for adults in the state.
“It’s for a very simple reason: The government is not your parent,” he said.
‘95% of what we pass is bipartisan’
Perhaps surprisingly to the casual observer of Texas politics, the majority of bills passed this session (and most other sessions) did so with support from both sides of the aisle.
“The Texas legislature is so unique because 95% of what we pass is bipartisan,” said Rep. Davila.
For Rep. Cook, his highlight was Senate Bill 1080.
“It gets inmates ready so they can get their license while they’re still incarcerated. And can actually do their interviewing where employers come into the prison facilities,” said Cook.
Cook sponsored SB 1080’s companion bill in the House. That measure passed with a unanimous vote in the Senate, and 148-2 in the House.
“They’re actually able to interview for a job so that when they leave prison they are going into a job,” said Cook. “So that they’re chances of returning to prison are greatly reduced.”
Rep. Mihaela Plesa, a Dallas Democrat, said working together is when the legislature really shines.
“When we are in the Capitol building, us working together on a bipartisan basis is when we get the best work done," Plesa told The Texas Newsroom.
To her, their best collaborative work this year was on the aforementioned property tax legislation. SB 4 passed unanimously in both chambers, while SB 23 was just one vote shy of that.
Bills lawmakers wished passed
Though more than 1,200 bills passed, there were also thousands that didn’t.
Rep. Rosenthal expressed disappointment that his bill banning child marriage didn’t make it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
“The fact that my personal favorite passed off the House floor (and then) died in the Senate. I’m sad about that,” said Rosenthal.
For Rep. Venton Jones, a Dallas Democrat, his top bill that didn’t pass was House Bill 50.
“That would work to improve HIV testing across our state,” Jones told The Texas Newsroom. “Making sure that if a person went to their doctor to get screened for STI’s, that an HIV test would be offered as part of STI screenings.”
But he also saw issues with a bill that did pass.
“We’re still in the hole when it comes to providing needed raises to teachers, and investing in our schools infrastructure so that safety can be improved,” said Jones, commenting on HB 2, the school funding bill.
Sine die
All in all, there was one thing every lawmaker could agree on: Not one complained about the session coming to an end.
After 140 days, most said they were ready to get back to their districts and tell their constituents about all the good work they'd done.
Most will also be getting back to their real careers — something the majority of state lawmakers have. That’s because the Texas Legislature only meets every other year, and legislators are only paid around $45,000 over the course of that 2-year cycle.
