Talking About a REDvolution

  By Danielle Allen, Senior Vice President, Austin

The 2010 elections have come and gone, and for some, there is “election fatigue”—political exhaustion from the onslaught of the negative campaign ads, barrage of snarky interviews and clutter of candidate-promoting yard signs.

For others, there is intense fascination about what’s to come in the approaching 82nd Texas legislature, convening on January 12, 2011. A sea of red on Election Day resulting in the election of 99 Republicans in the House—an historic Republican majority in—has left many to wonder what the 140 days of session is likely to hold. The Texas Senate, for its part, maintains a Republican majority just two seats shy of securing a 2/3 majority required by law.

At the height of the intrigue is the election of the Speaker of the House. Whether current Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, will emerge victorious against conservatives Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, and Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, remains to be seen, but not without a wounding battle for the majority party. Meanwhile the Texas Senate will debate whether to overthrow its 2/3 majority rule to ensure easier passage of majority-sponsored bills.

While the politics of these issues will certainly impact the policy outcomes, two things are irrefutable: the state will take up redistricting and the budget, according to Jason Embry, the Capitol Bureau Chief of the Austin American Statesman, who dropped by our offices today to provide a legislative update. With a projected $20-$25 billion shortfall, education and health and human services most certainly have targets on their backs, and the conservative wave leaves few options besides a blood bath of budget cuts for both.

With these contentious issues at hand, many are asking whether there is room for anything else – and yet, on the opening day of legislative filings, the first pieces of legislation filed were a mixed bag of unrelated issues addressing immigration, voter ID, food safety, and oil and gas regulations, among many others. In the opening days, over 300 pieces of legislation have been filed, and if the 2009 Legislature is any indication, there could be more than 7,000 bills proposed by the time it’s all said and done.

Last session, we worked with LIVESTRONG to advocate for legislation to make Texas a smoke-free state and with the Texas Carbon Capture and Storage Association to keep the regulation of this emerging technology within the jurisdiction of the Texas Railroad Commision. This session is going to be vastly different, but one thing’s for sure: organizations with a stake in the outcome of legislation will have to be creative in getting their message across and demonstrating statewide support for their issue. Session is only 60 days away and there will be just over four months to make an impact. Otherwise, there won’t be another opportunity until 2013.