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RogueUSMC wrote:My daughter is using my Hazelwood Act benefits for nursing school. For folks that don't know (especially if you are a veteran who enlisted in Texas) the Hazelwood act kicks in after GI Bill benefits are no longer available. The state of Texas doesn't pay for the school...the school doesn't get compensates for tuition. But the school is REQUIRED to take Hazelwood Act covered students tuition free. This is part of the deal when they accept state funding. They can't turn Hazelwood students away.

Attach campus carry to this and they have to allow it just like they have to take Hazelwood students...ooooor they can turn down the state funding.

fickman wrote:

suthdj wrote:

Truth is that many/most members don't want some of these bills to pass - for a wide variety of reasons.

Truth is how would we know as the bills never make it to the floor.

That definintely piqued my interest. I felt it's more of an in person conversation the next time I get a chance to bend his ear a little.

I have seen legislators throughout my life that - when they don't get bills passed - trumpet the ones they introduced. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if a lot of bills are submitted to committee to pad the stats and the authors never intended to do any work to move them along.

I'm taking his word for it.

If you look at the whole landscape, Abbott and the new leaders have been so vocal, it'll be easy for them to put Strauss in the hot seat if he's seen as subverting their agenda. They have the visibility and pull to undermine him in his own district and support an opponent who could win. He can easily be made into the scapegoat by people he can't control.

The only problem with this scenario I've imagined is that once again - it leaves us waiting for the next session to finally get our favorite legislation passed. It seems like we're always waiting for "the next session".

anygunanywhere wrote:Why all the negative waves, Moriarty?

paxton25 wrote:

RoyGBiv wrote:

paxton25 wrote:And what did I do that deserved this kind of out of left field response from you? What the heck does Kroger and Starbucks have to do with what I posted? The factual information is I haven't seen any of the respected lobbyists post in this thread, I think that is deliberate, good choice or bad choice it is deliberate IMO. I also haven't seen anything publicly addressing the speaker issue in Texas. If you have a public quote or email or literature that has let me know. What assertions are you specifically referring to? That I wished those with the influence and lobbying skills would use their influence and power to be more assertive on getting good bills passed? Which part of that do you find so offensive that you felt you needed to go on a tirade against me?

Here's reality.....

Legislators talk..... They get together in their caucuses and they feel each other out, they share their thoughts, they share the opinions they're hearing from their constituents, they share what they hear from other overlapping caucuses. And they develop an opinion as to whether Straus can be beat. Sometimes the momentum crystallizes out of a candidate declaring his/her entry into the race. Sometimes the momentum builds as legislators waning confidence in the current Speaker becomes apparent. Nobody wants to jump on a ship that's sailing in the wrong direction. It hurts their constituents to do so. So, this game gets played out behind the scenes.

The best thing you can do is encourage your local legislators to press for change in House leadership. Then it's up to them to play the inside baseball. The more they hear from their constituents on this issue, the more likely they will be to press for change. Have you called your State House Rep and spoken with him/her about this issue? What did they tell you?

I have no idea what Charles is doing, if anything, on this issue. But I'm 1,000% confident he, and the other folks advocating on 2A inside the Statehouse, are doing all they can to move 2A bills forward, as far and fully as possible. Just because they're not here telling us all about it doesn't mean nothing is happening (sorry for the double-negative).

It's entirely possible that Straus has the Speaker position locked up and he's the guy we have to work with again this session. If that's the case, we need to find the most mutually constructive way to work with him. That's just the facts.

Hopefully this all makes sense. Sure, it's incredibly unsatisfying to have to sit back and wait when what you really want to do is participate and advocate. Talking about the inside baseball here would be self-destructive. Hopefully you can see that a bit more clearly now. Don't let your impatience burn bridges, in the legislature or with other citizens.

I appreciate your response, and just so you know, I am not a novice to Texas politics, I am very aware of what "reality" is. I know that Straus will be speaker again, no doubt at all, but I also know that the best way to get a politician to go on record or do what we want is when he feels vulnerable. Right now Straus is probably feeling a bit vulnerable. If we put enough pressure on him it at least makes him easier to deal with when he schedules floor votes on our agenda items. Heck who knows, he may even feel so much pressure now that he makes a public statement that if he is reelected he would make open carry legislation a priority. Sure, that's swinging for the fences but there's nothing to loose.

paxton25 wrote:And what did I do that deserved this kind of out of left field response from you? What the heck does Kroger and Starbucks have to do with what I posted? The factual information is I haven't seen any of the respected lobbyists post in this thread, I think that is deliberate, good choice or bad choice it is deliberate IMO. I also haven't seen anything publicly addressing the speaker issue in Texas. If you have a public quote or email or literature that has let me know. What assertions are you specifically referring to? That I wished those with the influence and lobbying skills would use their influence and power to be more assertive on getting good bills passed? Which part of that do you find so offensive that you felt you needed to go on a tirade against me?

JaredW wrote:Should we begin contacting our state legislators and letting them know we do NOT want Joe Straus as the Speaker?

Jumping Frog wrote:

booze97 wrote:Hopefully after this, folks will be awakened to just how much we need HB3218.

HB3218 did not fix the 51% problem. It didn't touch bars with a ten foot pole.

Bladed wrote:If you're looking for a petition to sign or a fund to donate to, you're not going to find it. Because of the way the Speaker is elected, this is largely an internal issue over which the public can have little influence.

Bladed wrote:The problem is that, as long as the Democrats vote in unison, it takes very few Republican votes to elect the Speaker. Basically, an alternative candidate would need to have near-unanimous support among Republicans. Because only a few Republicans voting for Straus will be enough to get him reelected, and because voting against the Speaker is a surefire way for a Representative to get lousy committee assignments and be unable to get anything but local and consent bills out of committee, Republicans are understandably hesitant to vote for anyone else.