Texas lawmakers ready to begin '09 session

AUSTIN (AP) - Brace yourself, Texans. How you live, work, play and plan for the future could change over the next 140 days.

The Texas Legislature is back in the Capitol and ready for business. From Tuesday until June 1, state lawmakers will propose and pass new laws that will range 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 likely 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. It all starts with money and how much lawmakers are willing to spend.

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.

That's where things get serious.

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.

"We must fund our disaster fund so that money is there in the future," said Rep. Craig Eiland, a Galveston Democrat who plans to make disaster preparation a leading legislative issue.

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. Perhaps in an effort to beat lawmakers to the punch, he and the Texas Department of Transportation have declared his pet toll road project, the Trans-Texas Corridor, dead - on paper, anyway. But even though the name has been scrapped, Perry's aides say large highway construction projects in the works will move forward.

The session will also have its share of the quirky and unpredictable, like in 2003, when Democrats stormed off to Oklahoma and New Mexico to protest Republican plans to redraw voting districts.

The next 140 days could get wild and woolly. Anything less wouldn't be the Texas Legislature.

Here are some of the expected highlights:

-STATE BUDGET: It's the only piece of legislation lawmakers must pass before they adjourn June 1. Comptroller Susan Combs says state revenue will drop about $9 billion in the coming two-year budget cycle.

-HURRICANE IKE: The financial fallout from the Category 2 hurricane that hit southeast Texas will take a toll on the state budget and play a large part in attempts to update the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. Legislators also will consider whether to supply money to a disaster account they created in 2007 but never funded.

-COLLEGE TUITION: Some lawmakers want to temporarily freeze tuition at state universities, but higher education leaders warn that could disrupt their budgets.

-TOP 10 PERCENT: The state policy granting automatic college admission to those in the top 10 percent of their high school class will be on the table again. The University of Texas says the policy prevents it from having a say in which freshmen are admitted, but proponents say the policy promotes diversity and is working well.

-STEROID TESTING: A $6 million high school steroid testing program put in place in 2007 is up for debate. Lawmakers will decide whether to keep it, scale it down or eliminate it.

-TRANSPORTATION: Gov. Rick Perry's vision of building roads to relieve traffic congestion will continue to be a leading item, as it was last session. Lawmakers are looking closely at public-private construction partnerships and whether to change the oversight of the Texas Department of Transportation. Perry says his proposed road network dubbed the Trans-Texas Corridor is dead, but some toll road projects will press on as planned.

-GAMBLING: Casino gambling advocates are expected to make another push to bring Las Vegas-style gaming to Texas, possibly as an attempt to revitalize hurricane-ravaged Galveston. Texas Indian tribes also will try anew to authorize limited casinos on their land.

-SMOKING: Citing health concerns, a bipartisan group of legislators will attempt to establish a ban on smoking in public places.

-ABORTION: Abortion opponents will try to pass legislation requiring doctors to make ultrasound images of a fetus available to a woman for viewing before she has an abortion. Anti-abortion activists also want to make "Choose Life" specialty license plates available.

-DINOSAUR: A 60-foot-long extinct vegetarian, the pleurocoelus, is currently the official state dinosaur. One lawmaker want to change it to the paluxysaurus, a reptile researchers believe was unique to Texas.