As The Lege Makes Your Stomach Turn

Another long episode comes to an end today and there are a couple of things to which I was giving my attention.

• The Budget – The House and Senate came to an agreement. Some of the K-12 money cut a couple of years ago was replaced. We’re not sure what Rick Perry will do since he wants $2 Billion in cuts and the Lege could only come up with $700 million or so. Perry and other right wingers don’t want to cut into the Rainy Day Fund, which is estimated to arrive at $11 billion in a couple of years if it isn’t used. But when it comes to K-12 and higher education, it seems to be pouring! Let’s hope it gets signed.
• Campus-Carry – I have all sorts of friends and colleagues in the higher education sector and all seem to be against allowing CHL holders to carry on college campuses. One would figure that if those who provide the services and teach the courses are against it, then the Lege would leave well enough alone. It almost got to that point, so, the Lege came up with an alternative–bring your guns, keep them in the trunk of your car. Houston’s Senator John Whitmire gave out a pretty stern warning that if the alternative wasn’t passed, the chances were pretty good that Perry would bring it back up in the Special Session and that the result would be bad. One thing is for sure; according to the comments, the gun nuts don’t want to keep their guns in the trunk. But this isn’t the freakin’ wild west, no matter how much these people want to pretend it is.
• Special Session – Even the Chron is telling us that it’s imminent, and it will be for redistricting.

Democrats said Republicans are worried about how the courts have interpreted the 2011 maps so far and efforts to make temporary maps permanent reflect those fears.

“Everything we’re seeing now is the product of the legal strategy of the attorney general,” said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a San Antonio Democrat who is the chairman of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, one of a number of minority groups that sued the state. “Now that it’s not going to his satisfaction you don’t just get a do over in the Legislature because you don’t like the pace this case is playing out in the court.”

More on the Lege later. These few things caught my eye as I enjoyed a Memorial Day cafecito. Enjoy your holiday, but always remember those who fought for our rights.

Kuff adds a funny take to Sine Die.