Legislature returns

AUSTIN (AP) - Lawmakers huddled for group photos and Texas House employees tested voting equipment Tuesday morning as the Legislature counted down the hours to the start of its 2009 session.

"I'm excited. I'm nervous, of course. I feel like the new kid on the first day of school," said Democratic Sen.-elect Wendy Davis of Fort Worth as she gathered with women lawmakers in front of the state Capitol. She and other lawmakers take the oath of office after the Senate and House convene at noon.

The Legislature is meeting for 140 days in its 81st session. Lawmakers will propose and pass new laws ranging from the serious to the silly, and the impact may be felt for many years to come.

There will be vigorous arguments over public schools, criminal justice and how to best prepare for the next hurricane. Hot-button issues like "Choose Life" license plates, casino-style gambling and a proposed ban on smoking in public places will spark outrage.

There will be somber dedications to servicemen and women who died fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There will be lighthearted hazing of freshmen lawmakers, homages to beauty queens and high school football kings and debate over what should be designated the state dinosaur. That honor belongs to a 60-foot long vegetarian, the pleurocoelus, and at least one lawmaker thinks it's time to change it to the paluxysaurus, a beast researchers believe was distinct to Texas.

Parents of college-bound children will want to pay attention to attempts to curtail rising tuition costs and cut back on the numbers of students enrolled under the Top 10 Percent law, which gives automatic admission to state universities to students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

Families with relatives in state schools for the mentally disabled will be watching to see how lawmakers react to a federal report that said the schools routinely abuse and neglect patients, violating their civil rights.

Republicans are still in charge, although their grip has loosened a bit.

In the Senate, Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst presides over his fourth session in the GOP-controlled chamber. In the House, Speaker Tom Craddick is being dumped from his leadership post and relative unknown Rep. Joe Straus of San Antonio, another Republican, is set to take over a chamber where his party holds a thin 76-74 majority. Democrats who put their support behind Straus to oust Craddick probably expect some payback.

And Gov. Rick Perry, also a Republican, is gearing up to run for a third full term in 2010, meaning he could be coming in with some bold new ideas.

Whether it's politics or policy, the next four and a half months will have a little bit of something for everyone.

The current $167 billion budget may sound like a whopper, but it's surprising how far $167 billion doesn't go these days. Comptroller Susan Combs delivered the grim news Monday that the Legislature would have about $9 billion less to spend over the next two years.

Addressing the financial effects of Hurricane Ike, lawmakers will decide whether to put money into a disaster account they created two years ago but never made any deposits in.

Legislators also must consider the future of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Damage to the state's oldest medical school - the island's largest employer and a major provider of indigent care in the state - is estimated to exceed $1 billion, local officials say. The university laid off 3,000 employees from the medical school, and it has fewer available beds.

Galveston may also be in the spotlight as proponents of Las Vegas-style casino gambling again try their luck with the Legislature. Casino proponents could suggest gambling as a way to revive the devastated island's economy. Meanwhile, Texas Indian tribes will work to get limited casinos allowed on their land after a narrow defeat in the House two years ago.

The big hitch in all this: Perry says he doesn't want to expand the footprint of gambling in the state beyond horse and dog racing and the state lottery.

Building roads remains high on Perry's agenda. He'll also join the calls to beef up the state's disaster fund and will look to continue luring jobs to Texas as the state and national economy slump.

Work gets going in earnest in the weeks to come as Straus and Dewhurst will appoint lawmakers to committees, where the Legislature's initial work gets done.