It's the Legislative Session's Final Quarter, and Team Straus Has the Ball

AUSTIN - Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s visage loomed ominously from the February cover of Texas Monthly magazine, and the story inside declared him “the most influential person in Texas politics.” He was riding high, moving fast and pushing his multitudinous legislative priorities through the Senate chamber.Two short months later, the center of power in the Texas Capitol has shifted. It’s Rep. Joe Straus, the typically taciturn speaker of the Texas House, who’s calling the shots in an atypically outspoken way that says, ‘I’ve had it up to here.’“You’ve seen a more outspoken Speaker than we’ve seen in previous sessions,” Republican consultant Ted Delisi said. “He hasn’t been shy about weighing in.”Patrick and Straus, both Republicans, came into the legislative session with vastly different priorities. Patrick, fresh off rallying the far right for President Donald Trump, was focused on red-meat social conservative issues: keeping transgender people out of bathrooms, bringing vouchers for private education to Texas, punishing cities and counties that provide safe haven to unauthorized immigrants.  Continue reading...