And its off to the races! The state legislative session has officially begun. House representatives and state senators were officially sworn into office in formal ceremonies Tuesday. The biggest news, of course, was the unanimous election of Joe Straus as Speaker of the House.
Highlights from the House ceremonies:
- Hope Andrade, Secretary of State, got choked up as she announced and congratulated Straus’s election. I actually saw her wipe away a tear. I like a little emotion from my politicians, and this just shows how high hopes run at the dome for a bipartisan, productive session.
- Environmental folks got a hat tip from Speaker Straus during remarks. As he listed the work to be done and Texas’ greatest challenges this session, Straus mentioned that “We must be better stewards of our natural resources and protect our environment.” Not too shabby, we’ll certainly take what we can get.
To read more exhaustive, who-said-what-congratulatory-comment type reporting on the Speaker’s election, check out Capitol Annex – Vince Leibowitz did an excellent job of covering the event, and even “live-Twittered” the whole thing. Check it out.
Also, try Greg Harmon’s post to the SA Current blog on how Energy efficiency could get greased with Speaker Straus.
