Is the Legislature Moving Too Slow or is it Status Quo?

For two months now political commentators have noted how slowly legislation is moving in the Texas House. The election of a new Speaker of the House and the arrival of stimulus funds from Washington are among the list of explanations.

But according to well-respected Capitol news service Quorum Report, things are going pretty much as usual--when compared with the amount of legislation reaching the House Calendars Committee this same time last session progress is only 5 percent slower. 107 days into last session 648 items had reached the House Calendar, compared to 612 this session.

According to QR, the major difference between this session and last is the number of General Calendar Bills vs. the number of Local and Consent Bills. Where as last session there were twice as many General Calendar Bills as Local and Consent Bills, this session the ratio is 50/50. Local and Consent Bills are those that are specific to local districts as defined by the house rules and bills and resolutions to which no opposition is anticipated. Looking at bill progression comparisons for the first 105 days of the past 4 sessions, it appears that this increase in bills on the Local and Consent Calendar is akin to 2003 under newly elected speaker Tom Craddick.

While the House did get off to a slow start due to a last minute change in leadership, the analysis suggests that bills are moving through the process expeditiously and in roughly the same proportion as previous years.

Click Here to see the analysis