‘The Kumbaya is over’ in the Texas Legislature

Rep. Jonathan Stickland is watching the calendar.

The 84th legislative session is half over, and just 10 weeks remain to consider more than 8,000 bills addressing issues ranging from gun rights to the state budget.

It’s a time when some lawmakers preach the need to work together.

But now, Stickland said, is the time for the gloves to come off and for lawmakers to get down to business.

“The Kumbaya is over,” said Stickland, R-Bedford, who recently made headlines over a fight with House leadership over posting a sign on his Capitol office door. “We’ve been down here passing resolutions and telling each other how great we are and how great everyone else is. Now we have to start dealing with legislation.

“We are about to disagree a lot and fight it out publicly,” he said. “Things are getting testy, and they are going to get testier.”

Lawmakers have 140 days in the regular session to complete the state’s business. The only bill that must be passed before June 1 is the state’s two-year budget.

Legislative rules prevent nonemergency bills from being considered until after March 13, giving lawmakers less time to review proposals in the last half of the session.

“Spring break is over and the long hours begin,” said Bill Miller, an Austin-based political consultant. “I imagine the mood will tighten and people will be more stressed.

“There’s animosity in every session,” he said. “People are stressed when their bills aren’t passing.”

But some local lawmakers say they believe the Legislature can do its work in a nonconfrontational environment.

“The mood is really good,” said Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., D-Fort Worth, who is in his first session. “Those of us who want to make life better for the majority of Texans are getting the work done.

“I know time is limited,” he said. “But we are solving problems.”

Local spat

Stickland, a 31-year-old outspoken Tea Party conservative described by some as a political “bomb-thrower,” has drawn attention since the first day of the session.

He was one of 19 House members who supported Rep. Scott Turner, R-Rockwall, for House speaker rather than incumbent Joe Straus, R-San Antonio.

“His job is to be an agitator,” said Harvey Kronberg, editor and publisher of the Quorum Report, an Austin-based political newsletter. “And he does it well.”

Stickland has several high-profile bills that have yet to gain much traction: legalizing constitutional carry, the unlicensed open carrying of handguns; ending the use of red-light cameras; and repealing a law that lets illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition rates at public universities.

He is concerned about the lack of movement on some of his bills, he said, and will become more concerned if nothing has changed in a few weeks.

“There are folks down here who have an ax to grind against conservatives,” he said. “Our legislation is dying. Every day that passes makes it harder and harder. We are going to tell folks back home who killed bills and who was hiding members from taking tough votes.”

This month, Stickland placed a sign on his office door identifying him as a “former fetus” on the same day Planned Parenthood planned to lobby at the Capitol. He said he wanted to make sure that “organizations that murder children” know they aren’t welcome in his office.

He took to social media to express outrage when Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, removed the sign. Stickland said the sign was ripped down and thrown in his staffer’s face.

Geren heads the House Administration Committee, which is responsible for making sure all Capitol rules are followed. He said he removed the sign and others because they violate State Preservation Board rules. He took to the House floor to make sure members knew they are not allowed to post signs in the Capitol.

“This is a very precious building,” Geren told House members. “It’s not a college dormitory bulletin board, and so we do not allow signage of any type to be placed in the halls or in any of the common areas.

“Do what you want in your office,” he said. “The halls of this building are sacred to all of us, and we should treat them that way.”

Geren said that he believes the situation with Stickland has calmed down and that he doesn’t feel “any unusual tension.”

When asked about Stickland’s concerns that discord lies ahead this session, Geren said: “Stickland tries to get into the newspaper and TV every day. I find you can get more done if you don’t do that.

“I don’t feel any anger,” Geren said. “There are different people, different personalities here. I’m not feeling any stress here at this point.”

Tarrant County attention

Stickland isn’t the only Tarrant County lawmaker making news this session: Sen. Konni Burton and Rep. Tony Tinderholt have each drawn media attention.

Burton’s choice of footwear — black cowboy boots emblazoned with “Stand for Life” — catapulted her into the headlines on the first day of the session, particularly because her Democratic predecessor, Wendy Davis, was known for wearing pink Mizuno running shoes during a 2013 filibuster against abortion restrictions.

“No more pink shoe drama for SD 10!” the Colleyville Republican posted on Facebook before she was sworn in.

Another round of attention came last month when she announced that she won’t talk to taxpayer-funded lobbyists during the session.

Meanwhile, Tinderholt, R-Arlington, made national news after filing a complaint against the Austin judge who issued the license that allowed the first same-sex marriage in Texas to take place.

Tinderholt said he is focused on the job at hand.

“We are all working hard to legislate on behalf of the people,” he said. “Relationship-building will always continue but not at the cost of continued, principled conservative Republican values and priorities. I will continue [to] legislate as promised during the election cycle.”

Different perspectives

Some local lawmakers say they don’t see the testiness that Stickland and others see.

“The mood here is one of high energy and optimism — everyone is focused on doing the right thing for the Texans that they represent,” said Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake.

Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, said he’s pleased with the Senate’s pace.

“The Senate is doing some really good work so far,” he said. “We have addressed franchise tax reductions, tax relief, are in the process of addressing property tax relief, and we passed open carry. … We are focused on the work we were elected to do.”

Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, said he believes the House is poised to “pass good conservative legislation.”

But Rep. Matt Krause notes that the session is starting to shift.

“The pace of the session is heating up and with that comes the pressure and realization that the time to move good legislation is getting shorter,” the Fort Worth Republican said. “This increased pressure will inevitably lead to rising tensions among members.”

Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, says the mood of the House is getting “a little tense.”

“It is evident that there are some people who are trying to tread lightly on hotly contested issues like border control/security and open carry, but it is proving to be difficult to hold back their emotions, which can frustrate negotiations,” she said. “All the while, we are still trying to work our bills. But I can see some legislators’ bills getting stonewalled in the process.”

Stickland said it will only get worse.

“We still have not figured out what we will do on taxing or spending,” he said. “We haven’t dealt with pro-life issues. The House hasn’t dealt with gun issues. We still have to turn off magnets [that may draw illegal immigrants to Texas].

“We are about to know where everybody stands.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2015 at 3:16 PM with the headline "‘The Kumbaya is over’ in the Texas Legislature."