At Long Last, the Deadline to File Bills in the Texas Legislature Has Passed

AUSTIN — As the sun started to set in Austin on Friday, lawmakers were still scrambling to fill bills at the Capitol, submitting last-minute legislation that would exempt breastfeeding moms from jury duty, require universities to put cats and dogs used in research up for adoption and create a system that would let Texans send a text to 9-1-1.Friday was the 60th day of the session and the last day lawmakers could file legislation. Most of the blockbuster bills of the session have been filed — bathrooms, sanctuary cities, the state's foster care system — but even more slipped into the system Friday: nearly 900.These late additions pushed up the total count of bills and resolutions in the both chambers, with more than 5,200 bills and resolutions in the House and 2,700 in the Senate. In 2015, during the last legislative session, 8,094 bills and resolutions were filed in the House and 3,262 in the Senate. On bill filing deadline in 2015, lawmakers got 928 bills into the system. It's important to note that totals for 2015 include all of the resolutions filed through the end of the 140-day session. The bill-filing deadline this year was Friday, but lawmakers can continue to file resolutions, which don't change laws and usually recognize people for their service to the state. But for all intents and purposes, Friday is the cutoff, and lawmakers posted signs on their office doors at the Capitol saying as much. One, from Rep. Mike Schofield, R-Katy, told visitors "NO MORE" and then featured photos of men named Bill, including former President Bill Clinton and Bill Nye (the science guy). Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, showed a photo of Chuck Norris with the caption, "Don't even think about bringing that bill up in here."  Continue reading...