The Big Conversation

The 2013 legislative session may have just begun, but for half of the state Senate, the 2014 election season started Wednesday.

Texas' 31 state senators drew lots yesterday to determine who would serve two-year terms and who would serve full four-year terms. The peculiar practice, as the Tribune's Aman Batheja writes, takes place the first session after the Legislature's decennial redistricting process to ensure that the Senate's terms remain staggered. Last year, all 31 Senate districts were on the ballot.

In the chamber, each senator drew an envelope containing a piece of paper with ...

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