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I feel like I’m graduating.
I mean, you can only have Fresh Eyes for one legislative session, can’t you? Before you come back as “Ripe Eyes,” or “Aged Eyes” or “I’ve Been Covering The Legislature Since Before You Were Born And It Shows Eyes?”
To prove I’m worthy of this honor, I’m standing by my word, and gracing this blog with a carefully compiled list of key lessons for the next Fresh Eyes (God bless you, whoever you are).
The list begins, after the jump:
And we're out.
Can't believe we made it, can you?
By 11:45 the chamber had mostly cleared out, as lawmakers finishined off last-minute resolutions. I wouldn't say I saw a lot of teary eyes either -- folks seemed exhausted, giddy and ready.
I know I am.
Expect the mother of all fresh eyes posts tomorrow, as I condense everything I've learned into one blog entry.
I'll admit I feel a creeping sense of nostalgia -- or maybe even homesickness. What the heck are we going to do without these people for the next year and a half?
Something sneaky happened in the Senate yesterday.
It was supposed to be a routine amendment to a Texas Animal Health Commission bill – to test animals for diseases and help authorities catch animal thieves. But a closer reading indicates Sen. Hegar’s bill actually opens the door for the sale of horse meat for human consumption if the animals are first tested by the commission.
It’s unclear whether no one understood or no one cared – but the bill passed unanimously. Only Sens. Van de Putte and Watson voted against the amendment. Animal advocates in the House say there's no way they'll vote for the bill without stripping that provision.
What's amazing is how one little line can change an entire bill:
"(d) Chapter 149 does not apply to animals tested by the commission under this section."
I'm going to take this opportunity -- an eerily quiet day in the House -- to write about one of the strangest quirks about this chamber: the noise.
It goes well beyond the random, unpredictable shouts of "VOTE, VOTE," or "WORK, WORK." Those two are addictive: When I feel my blood pressure rise because debate on a bill is taking an ungodly amount of time, it's almost all I can do not to join in the chorus. (Sometimes I do anyway.)
The other sound effects include:
1) The dog. Barking. And howling. Almost every time there's any dog-related bill on the calendar. It was funny the first time. Someone ought to put that pooch out of its misery.
2) The dive-bomber. My personal fave. It's that high-pitched whistle that sounds like a missile whizzing through the air, or one of those squealing firecrackers right before it explodes. Personal disclosure: This is the sound my dad used to make from across the house when he could hear my mother chewing me out. It meant: "You're toast."
3) The "Come on ride the train -- it's a choo-choo -- ride it!" Every time there's a railroad related bill, there's this nice chorus of "chugga chugga choo choo!"
4) The Snake Pit. Rep. Hilderbran's exotic snakes bill yesterday prompted loud rounds of "SSSSSssssss"es.
But what's most mysterious is this: no matter how loud the sound effect, I can never seem to poinpoint who's making it.
I guess it's one of those great mysteries of the House.
The Senate was taking a little break (and I ultimately never did make it back), so I thought I’d share some observations on the House instead.
1) Is anyone paying any attention? Seems like every member I see is focused on their computer, their Blackberry, or their conversations. There’s constant movement. And yet, when the bell rings, the votes pop up. I suppose you don’t get to this level without a serious ability to multitask.
A colleague tells me that a few people pay attention, and the rest follow them at key moments. That makes a lot of sense.
I’ve been the Austin editor for two and a half years and have never watched the Lege live and in person. So with apologies to Emily Ramshaw, who has perfected the Fresh Eyes treatment, here are my own initial observations on the Texas Senate.
Oh, and because he has to come back here, let me apply an initial disclaimer: These are my views, not Terry Stutz’s. He just had to escort me. Here we go:
It was manageable back in, oh, say, February, when all I had to do to track a bill I was following was simply check a calendar. "Oh look, it's one of 5 items on the agenda in Committee X," or "It's right there in black and white on Tuesday's Daily House Calendar! How very predictable!"
Not so by April. This month, I'm spending every waking moment of my life just trying to figure out when bills will be laid out, left pending, voted out, sent to conference, amended, tabled, passed... and it's making me insane. My biggest complaints, after the jump:
Continue reading "Fresh Eyes on How The Heck Does Anyone Understand A Calendar Around Here??" »
Sorry this is a little belated, but I couldn't let the opportunity to post on the Governor's first bill signing pass me by.
The Castle (a.k.a. shoot everyone you want) bill seemed the perfect start for Mr. Perry -- who's been accused of being a little TOO moderate this session (can you say HPV vaccine?). Lest no one forget that he IS the governor of Texas. And we love our guns.
When I first walked in, there were 7 (count 'em, 7) pens on the guv's desk. All were laid out at perfect diagonal angles, spaced about 2.6 inches apart. But someone must've realized there weren't 7 co-sponsors there for the signing. As if by magic, those 7 pens turned into 5 -- still perfectly diagonal, still perfectly spaced. If anyone knows who this geometric wizard is, let me know. I'd like them to organize my closet.
Please excuse my absence -- I've been in over my head covering the abuse scandal at the TYC, which doesn't necessarily make for light-hearted blog posts. But the story has given me the opportunity to spend a little more time in the Senate and inside a state agency than I have thus-far. And as expected, I've got some thoughts:
The House is slated to pass an incredibly pressing, incredibly serious resolution on Thursday: designating "the cowboy boot as the official State Boot of Texas."
A couple of thoughts here:
1) As if this is necessary!! There's nothing more Texan than cowboy boots. With all the resolutions on the book about state trees and state birds and -- upcoming -- state ties, this one isn't there already?
2) If they're going to pass the resolution, why don't they make the cowboy boot the "official state SHOE of Texas??" I mean, what other kinds of boots are in the running? Duck boots? Ski boots? Knee-high boots? Boots made for walking? I can't even think of a close second.
3) I wonder if this is the first time the movie Top Gun has been referenced in a House resolution. Check it out.
OK, OK -- I stand corrected on the whole Jessica's Law being a shoo-in thing. I've got Fresh Eyes, remember?
That said, here are my observations on my first full day in the House, amendments, points of order, inquiries and all:
After Monday's heated testimony on the HPV vaccine hubbub, you'd think (at least I thought) Wednesday's meeting of the House Public Health Committee would've been similarly raucous. Lawmakers shaking fists, shouting angrily, even hanging from the rafters. Instead, the 6-3 vote on Rep. Dennis Bonnen's bill to supersede Gov. Perry's HPV mandate for 6th grade girls was like a blip on the radar. If you blinked, you would've missed it.
And then there was AP Reporter Liz Austin Peterson's exclusive story about Gov. Rick Perry's chief of staff meeting with aides about the HPV vaccine the same day Merck, its manufacturer, contributed to their boss' campaign. Sent the guv's office on the defensive -- after the jump:
For some reason, I was under the distinct impression that, once the session started, it would be all lawmakers, all the time. But what did this morning have in store? Celebrities. Local and national. A-List and D-List. Not just the stunning specimen Vince Young, footballer extraordinaire wearing a gorgeous three piece suit and towering over Speaker Craddick, who couldn't wait to hand over the gavel. But MONTEL Williams -- king of daytime TV and on-screen hair-pulling -- addressing the chamber on his nationwide tour on the uninsured. (Also showing this week: "Moms On The Edge" and "Exposed! America's Dirty Secrets.") This is about as good as it gets.
Greetings from the underbelly of the Capitol, where we're waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for the much-advertised public hearing on HPV. Babies are crying. The media's getting antsy. And rumors of a meeting that could run into the wee hours of the morning have everyone on edge.
We'll keep you posted -- as soon as the House adjourns and we can start this durn thing.
Two stories I wrote this week -- one on a possible state cover charge at strip clubs, the other (coming Sunday) on HPV and abstinence education -- thrust me into some sexually-charged debates, and reminded me just how awkward it can be to talk about sex at the Lege.
Words I never wanted to say to Sen. Jane Nelson: "genital" and "warts."
Between the new Cowboys coach and the news of Anna Nicole Smith's unexpected passing, you're unlikely to get much out of us today. Luckily I went to a couple of committee meetings and press conferences before the A.N.S. news reached me and I had to stop everything to start reading celebrity blogs.
Continue reading "Fresh Eyes on Anna Nicole Smith (sort of)" »
Keep in mind that my post on Gov. Perry's State Of The State will be tempered by the fact that I was actually working, for a change -- instead of checking out shoes, wardrobes, tans, etc. etc. But yes, dear readers, I've got some thoughts anyway. You can find them after the jump.
My former City Hall colleague Dave Levinthal and I went on a safari of sorts last night.
The exotic locale? The breathtaking 20th floor condo of State Rep. Tony Goolsby (R-Dallas), in Austin's Westgate Tower, which, with its endless supply of taxidermied zoo animals and meat-on-a-stick appetizers, was an herbivore's nightmare. (Mr. Goolsby kept with the theme, wearing an elephant and palm tree-printed tie).
The prey? A crowd of small-talking lawmakers, city council members, lobbyists and Dallas-area movers and shakers, who gave wide, welcoming smiles of recognition -- until they realized we were with the media, and not the children of someone important (Sorry, Dad).
Here's how we fared:
We had lunch with the Lt. Gov. today. And when I say we, I mean myself, the News' illustrious Terry Stutz and the rest of the Capitol Press Corps, including several bouncy blond reporters ogling Mr. Dewhurst. And his tan. (And just for the record, there's no way he's that tan naturally. Have you all forgotten that we just emerged from an arctic ice age here in Austin, Texas?). A few thoughts on the luncheon, and Mr. Dewhurst's ex-wife, after the jump:
Let me start this post -- a recap of yesterday's inauguration -- with some snotty East Coast sarcasm about the "arctic blast" (30 degrees?) and "icy mix" (can you say 'cold rain') and "dangerous conditions" (some slush on some bridges) paralyzing this city. But if you're going to complain about the weather and STILL come to inauguration, a word of advice: Leave the high heels at home.
I tried to listen to Gov. Rick Perry today during the DMN's group meeting with him. I swear I did. But there were all these distractions. Like the incredibly comfortable, incredibly professional chair I got to sit in. And the governor's darling pet, who just wouldn't stop making eye contact with me. I think he wanted a treat.
This is my inaugural "Fresh Eyes" post -- a look at the weirdness that is the Texas Legislature through the eyes of an eager, slightly embarrassed young state house reporter who has been on the ground in Austin for a whopping four weeks. (Sounds like an editor's great plan to humiliate a new staffer, doesn't it?!)
So imagine me, chagrined and red-faced, as I give you my free association from yesterday's speaker's vote -- which happened to coincide with my first ever day in the Capitol:
