This past Tuesday we spent 12 hours in a committee hearing with a bunch of conspiracy theorists, "birthers," and other members of the public doing their part to keep Austin weird. Next week, we'll watch to see whether public safety can compete with budget cuts on Monday, try to survive "Gambling Day" and "Death Penalty Day" (both on Tuesday!), and participate in a marathon meeting on border security issues on Wednesday. On top of that, the House will start work on redistricting and will hold floor debates on the state budget next week. In light of all of that, if you don't receive an update from us next Friday, it will be because the political rhetoric melted the Capitol and our office building was razed in the conflagration.

Floor action

This week, the Senate cranked up its bill-passing machine and approved SB 24 by Van de Putte (human trafficking); SB 116 by Uresti (third-party protective orders); SB 144 & SJR 9 by West (making deferred adjudications eligible for a gubernatorial pardon); SB 250 by Zaffirini (stalking protective orders); SB 279 by W. Davis (including pets in protective orders); SB 485 by Huffman (mortgage fraud venue), and SB 622 by Nelson (which includes penalty enhancements for crimes related to "protected health information"). Meanwhile, the House approved SB 14 by Fraser/Harless (voter ID)—proof that elections have consequences, in light of last year's debacle over that bill.

Committee recap

The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved HB 115 by McClendon (creating an innocence commission) and HB 1643 by Aliseda (prosecutor disqualification), among other bills, while House State Affair voted out HJR 56 by Solomons (proposing a constitutional amendment to limit unfunded mandates).

In the Senate, the Criminal Justice Committee voted out SB 82 by Nelson (stalking), SB 122 by Ellis (expanded post-conviction DNA testing), SB 331 by Shapiro (fake weed), SB 377 by Huffman (death penalty for murder of child under 10 yoa), and SB 779 by Whitmire (animal cruelty registry), among others.

Scheduled floor debates

The House has scheduled debate on some controversial budget bills next week. On Thursday, March 31, they will take up HB 4 by Pitts (supplemental revenue and cuts for the current fiscal year) and HB 275 by Pitts (tapping the Rainy Day Fund to balance the current budget), and HB 1 by Pitts (the FY 2012-2013 budget) is set for floor debate on Friday, April 1 (no foolin'!). If you come to Austin next week, hold your wallet tightly.

Committee hearings

Here's a glimpse of what's on tap; it's the busiest week yet!

Monday, March 28

House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.010)

HB 323 by Laubenberg including pets in protective orders; providing a penalty
HB 1207 by S. Davis adopting the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act
HB 1633 by Bonnen requiring a juror to read and write in English
HB 2014 by Thompson relating to criminal and civil consequences of human trafficking
HB 2015 by Thompson making certain juvenile prostitution a CINS offense
HB 2294 by Hunter relating to declaratory judgments and sovereign immunity
HB 2437 by Sheets relating to an award of costs after rejection of certain settlement offers
HB 2661 by Kleinschmidt relating to settlements of actions involving governmental units
HB 2973 by Hunter protecting a person's right to petition, free speech, and association
HB 3000 by Thompson creating the offense of continuous trafficking of persons
HB 3445 by J. Jackson relating to the operation and administration of the judicial branch
HJR 61 by Raymond proposing to increase the terms of district judges to six years

House Elections (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.028)

HB 1226 by Dutton authorizing persons who have received deferred adjudication to vote
HB 1679 by Burkett relating to aid provided to certain voters; providing penalties
HB 2449 by Aliseda increasing the penalty for illegal possession of another's mail-in ballot
HB 2585 by Pena increasing the penalty for illegal possession of another's mail-in ballot
HB 2817 by L. Taylor relating to certain election practices and procedures
HB 3055 by Pena increasing the penalty for lying on an application for a mail-in ballot

House Corrections (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.014) (re-scheduled from Wednesday, March 23, due to voter ID debate; note new room location)

HB 1477 by Allen awarding "street credit" to revoked TDCJ parolees
HB 1962 by Villarreal relating to programs that a JP/muni court may require of a juvenile
HB 1964 by Villarreal relating to discharging fines and costs assessed against juveniles
HB 2352 by Allen expanding mandatory supervision from TDCJ for most felons
HB 2354 by Madden authorizing the use of certain surveillance equipment within TDCJ

Tuesday, March 29

House Licensing and Administrative Procedures (8:00 a.m., E2.012) (gambling day!)

HB 382 by Menendez authorizing and regulating poker gaming
HB 594 by Raymond relating to coin-operated machines and gambling promotion
HB 1123 by Dutton relating to the regulation of athlete agents
HB 1183 by Raymond relating to local option elections to legalize/prohibit eight-liners
HB 2111 by Woolley relating to video lottery games at racetracks and by Indian tribes
HB 2424 by Thompson relating to video gaming by bingo operators
HB 3575 by Thompson authorizing and regulating casino gaming by Indian tribes
HB 3576 by Thompson authorizing and regulating casino gaming
HJR 28 by Alvarado establishing a state gaming commission
HJR 41 by Raymond authorizing local option elections to legalize/prohibit eight-liners
HJR 43 by Quintanilla authorizing and regulating local option gaming
HJR 111 by Woolley authorizing a state video lottery system
HJR 112 by Menendez creating the Texas Gaming Commission and authorizing casinos
HJR 119 by Thompson authorizing video gaming by bingo operators
HJR 147 by Hamilton authorizing Indian casino gaming
HJR 151 by Thompson authorizing Indian casino gaming
HJR 152 by Thompson authorizing casino gaming

(Don't quit reading! There is still more important stuff in here—power through it! J )

House Criminal Jurisprudence (Upon adjournment, JHR 120) (death penalty day + more!)

HB 17 by Riddle creating the offense of criminal trespass by an illegal alien
HB 168 by Raymond relating to expiration dates for bail bonds
HB 488 by Dutton lowering the standard of review in capital writs
HB 543 by Dutton limiting the admissibility of certain confessions in DP cases
HB 566 by Christian making murder of a protective order applicant eligible for the DP
HB 689 by Dutton restricting the use of certain evidence in DP cases
HB 748 by Menendez relating to incompetency, time credits, and restorations
HB 777 by N. Gonzalez relating to courthouse security fund court costs
HB 809 by Darby expanding the permissible use of pre-trial intervention fees
HB 819 by Farrar abolishing the DP
HB 852 by Dutton abolishing the DP
HB 855 by Dutton eliminating the DP for a party to a capital crime
HB 1029 by Carter requiring electronic monitoring for certain burglary bonds
HB 1043 by Christian creating the offense of cockfighting
HB 1113 by Raymond requiring judges to sentence drug defendants in a school setting
HB 1205 by Turner granting time credits for early termination of probation
HB 1641 by Dutton imposing a DP moratorium while studying the issue
HB 1646 by Gallego relating to capital writ representation
HB 1670 by Coleman imposing procedures related to mental retardation and the DP
HB 1918 by Larson relating to the appointment of counsel in DP case
HB 1973 by Lucio III relating to forfeiture by wrongdoing in DP cases
HB 2200 by Miles requiring the severance of DP co-defendants
HB 2337 by Gallego relating to juvenile statements given to non-Texas peace officers
HB 2374 by Gallego relating to juveniles taken into custody by non-Texas officers
HB 2511 by Dutton requiring severance of DP co-defendants, eliminating party liability
HB 2662 by Hochberg relating to missing/abducted children
HB 2822 by Coleman making DOC-Peeping in a bathroom a state jail felony
HB 2856 by Gallego reforming asset forfeiture procedures
HB 3346 by Burnam relating to public information on the sex offender registry
HB 3375 by Murphy relating to Medicaid fraud investigations and prosecutions
HB 3526 by Y. Davis relating to victim information on certain arrest warrants
HB 3400 by Walle instructing a jury about the effect of certain verdicts

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

SB 146 by Hinojosa creating the offense of unlawful transport of an undocumented person
SB 198 by West exempting certain persons from registering as a sex offender
SB 407 by Watson creating an offense for "sexting"
SB 883 by Whitmire awarding "street time" credit to certain parolees
SB 1116 by Whitmire limiting the types of punishment for certain conduct on a campus
SB 1416 by Hinojosa criminalizing the possession, etc., of a tire deflation device

House Homeland Security & Public Safety (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.026)

HB 626 by Woolley limiting the issues at an ALR hearing relating to a refusal to consent to the taking of a specimen following an arrest for certain intoxication offenses

Wednesday, March 30

Senate Transportation & Homeland Security (7:30 a.m., E1.016)

SB 9 by Williams relating to homeland security (omnibus bill)
SB 288 by Lucio relating to the feasibility of southbound checkpoints
SB 294 by Hinojosa relating to the feasibility of southbound checkpoints
SB 315 by Carona relating to information pertaining to criminal combinations/street gangs
SB 1292 by Hegar authorizing the issuance of a driver's license to a peace officer that includes an alternative to the officer's residence address
SB 1649 by Watson creating a grant program to support border prosecutions
SB 1694 by Williams authorizing roving wiretaps
SB 1695 by Williams increasing penalties for engaging in certain organized crimes
SB 1696 by Williams authorizing an automatic license plate reader pilot program
SB 1699 by Williams authorizing use of an image verification system for certain purposes
SB 1700 by Williams authorizing DL/insurance checkpoints by DPS
SB 1701 by Williams relating criminal asset forfeiture hearings and more
SB 1702 by Williams establishing a money laundering task force within the AG's office

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

HB 599 by J. Jackson restricting the release of information sealed by nondisclosure
HB 1552 by Madden relating to the monitoring of certain high-risk sex offenders
HB 2734 by Madden relating to the parole of illegal criminal aliens
HB 3385 by Madden facilitating the exchange of certain confidential juvenile information
HB 3386 by Madden relating to the supervision of certain people convicted of a criminal offense and to the organization and operation of certain correctional entities

And finally, here's a bonus quote in honor of Major League Baseball's Opening Day next Thursday ...

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."
—Rogers Hornsby, Hall of Famer