On this date 175 years ago, at around 4:30 p.m., a ragtag Texian Army of Anglo immigrants, Tejano natives, and foreign volunteers, with a member of the Cherokee Nation as their Commander-in-Chief, surprised the Mexican field army along the banks of the San Jacinto River and won a stunning victory—and eventual independence—for Texas. This morning, in the presence of one of the most famous depictions of that monumental battle, members of the Texas Senate walked in the footsteps of those giants of Texas history by approving such vital bills as SB 1598 by Carona "relating to the inspection of portable fire extinguishers" and SB 1831 by Wentworth "relating to the designation of the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail as a historic highway." Then, after that heroic work, they adjourned until Tuesday to take their traditional four-day Easter break. (They just don't make 'em like they used to, do they?) Accordingly, due to the holiday weekend, we are also putting this out a day early. Happy Easter!

Floor recap

The Senate passed SB 152 by Huffman (extraneous evidence admissible in trial of certain sex crimes), SB 167 by West (expunction after pardon), SB 348 by Estes (sale/delivery of salvia to a minor), SB 838 by Dan Patrick (DWI enhancement for BAC of 0.15 or above), SB 843 by Dan Patrick (failure to ID after lawful detention), SB 913 (tracking OTC sales of ephedrine products), SB 958 by Wentworth (dangerous wild animals), SB 1243 by West (risk management pool in lieu of officeholder bonds), and SB 1269 by Wentworth (honorariums). Meanwhile, the House approved HB 3 by Thompson (life without parole for repeat sex offenders), HB 470 by Anderson (adding salvia to PG3), HB 1137 by Darby (electronic tracking of certain OTC drug sales), HB 1601 by Price (stacking of certain injury to a child/et al cases), HB 1633 by Bonnen (jurors must read and write English), and HB 2337 by Gallego (juvenile statements). In addition, after initially approving HB 115 by McClendon (innocence commission) on 2nd reading yesterday, the House changed course today on 3rd (and final) reading and voted down the measure on a party-line vote of 91-51, with all but six Republicans voting against the bill. Rumor has it that the governor's office was not keen on having that bill land on his desk. But then, the bill was reconsidered and left pending. Confused yet? So are we. I guess the upshot of it all is that the bill is only mostly dead and can be called up again at any time.

Committee news

Here is the roll call of some of the bills that got out of their initial committees in time to have a chance of passage. That's not to say that a bill is definitely dead if it hasn't passed out of its originating committee yet, but let's just says those bills should not buy any green bananas, if you get our drift ... House Criminal Jurisprudence approved HB 96 by Fletcher (excusing state's investigator from The Rule), HB 189 by T. Smith (deferred for DWI-1st), HB 227 by T. Smith (de-registration of certain youthful sex offenders), HB 1043 by Christian (cockfighting), HB 1199 by Gallego (increasing punishment for certain intoxication assaults), HB 1721 by Lucio III (stalking protective orders), HB 2019 by McClendon (victim-offender mediation), HB 2397 by S. Miller (breach of computer security), HB 2822 by Coleman (making bathroom peeping a felony), and HB 2847 by Madden (use of videoconferencing systems) ... House Corrections passed HB 599 by J. Jackson (limiting access to records sealed by orders of non-disclosure), HB 961 by Turner (restricting access to certain juvenile records), and HB 1915 by Madden (TYC/TJPC re-organization bill) ... House Elections approved HB 1226 by Dutton (deferred adjudication not a bar to voting) ... House Homeland Security & Public Safety voted out HB 1743 by Martinez Fischer (warning that refusal to give a sample may result in a warrant being obtained) ... House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence approved HB 2425 by Thompson (notice to AG of constitutional challenges to state statutes) ... Senate Criminal Justice voted out SB 462 by West (expanding expunctions) and SB 877 by Hinojosa (discharge of surety liability) ... Senate Transportation and Homeland Security voted out SB 9 by Williams (omnibus border security bill) ... and Senate Finance approved SB 1582 by Ogden (judicial branch fiscal matters).

Scheduled floor debates

The holiday break interferes with regular posting schedules, so as of now, the only thing we can tell you about potential floor debates for next week is that on Wednesday, the House will take up their own redistricting bill (HB 150—get it? There are 150 House districts? Aren't they clever?), which should be fun to watch. They will also kick the tires on Sunset bills for the Railroad Commission and TxDOT, and they are likely to drive the final nails into the coffin of TYC and TJPC, combining them into a new Juvenile Justice Department as laid out in SB 653 by Whitmire/Madden. The Senate's schedule is also sketchy right now, but it looks like senators will debate HB 1, the state budget bill, at some point next week, after which the bill will go to a conference committee to hash out all the differences behind closed doors.

Committee hearings

Here are some of the bills that will be considered next week:

Tuesday, April 26

House Criminal Jurisprudence (10:30 a.m. or upon adjournment, JHR 120)

HB 3759 by White relating to the detection and interception of certain communications
HB 3034 by McClendon authorizing any magistrate to issue evidentiary search warrants
HB 515 by Dutton requiring the trier of fact to making any family violence findings
HB 3777 by Gallego relating to private providers of criminal history record information
HB 3523 by Bonnen standardizing monetary penalties for fine-only/Class C misdemeanors
HB 3598 by Huberty creating a registry of arson offenders
HB 2780 by Bohac relating to the punishment for burglary of a vehicle
HB 2807 by Burnam criminalizing certain semiautomatic assault weapons

Senate Criminal Justice (1:30 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.016)

SB 533 by W. Davis relating to SANE standards and certifications
SB 972 by Hinojosa authorizing the taking of a defendant's bail bond by county jailers
SB 1529 by Hinojosa expediting the date by which arrests must be reported to DPS
SB 1636 by W. Davis relating to sexual assault and DNA evidence
SB 1658 by Hinojosa relating to the Texas Forensic Science Commission

Senate Jurisprudence (1:30 p.m. or upon adjournment, 2E.20)

SB 297 by Wentworth relating to juror questions and juror note-taking during civil trials
HB 905 by Thompson relating to child hearsay statements in a protective order proceeding

House Environmental Regulation (1:30 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.016)

HB 1995 by Weber limiting the prosecution of certain environmental crimes and changing the state-local fine split in favor of the state

House Pensions, Investments, & Financial Services (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.024)

HB 2506 by Chisum creating mandatory defined contribution retirement plans for persons participating in the Employees Retirement System of Texas—including felony prosecutors in the Elected Class who are first elected to that office after 9/1/2011

Wednesday, April 27

Senate Intergovernmental Relations (9:30 a.m., E1.028)

SB 1354 by Carona regulating off-premise signs in the unincorporated area of a county
SB 1382 by Wentworth limiting awards vs. a local gov'tal entity for breach of contract

House Corrections (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.014)

HB 1763 by Harper-Brown relating to the timely transfer of inmates from jails to TDCJ
HB 3455 by Parker relating to the Internet access of certain high-risk sex offenders