Enlarge Bob Daemmrich

House Speaker Joe Straus (l), R-San Antonio, adjourns the House of Representatives sine die on June 29, 2011.

If that was a scientific experiment, we learned this: Texas lawmakers get very, very cranky when you keep them around for 170 days instead of 140, particularly when the issues in play are highly contested. Look at the list: Public school finance, teacher workplace rights, student-to-teacher ratios, sanctuary cities, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, invasive security pat-downs at airports.

The must-have issues — the school and budget stuff, and TWIA — all passed, and aides to the governor say he's got no intention of calling lawmakers back to finish the things they didn't finish.

Both chambers passed sanc cities, but not at the same time and not in the same form. That particular beast died in the Senate in the regular session and in the House in the special (a last-ditch effort failed, but was only attempted after the bill languished in the House State Affairs Committee).

The anti-groping bill died for lack of oxygen and an overdose of drama. Gov. Rick Perry added it to the agenda late. House sponsor David Simpson's reluctance to amend it frustrated House Speaker Joe Straus to a level of public consternation. (The Quote, if you somehow missed it: "The bill, without some serious revisions, appears to me to be nothing more than an ill-advised publicity stunt. It's unenforceable, ill-advised and misdirected to uniformed security personnel, not where appropriately it should be aimed, which is in Washington to the bosses of these people.") Not enough of Simpson's fellow House members showed up to give him a quorum for a vote. The House tentatively approved it on the third-to-last day. The Senate, where a filibuster had been promised, saw a last-minute bill headed its way and gaveled out, leaving the House with its own mess. And the bill died there, when Simpson got only 96 of the 120 votes he needed to pass the thing on the last day. He gave the House leadership a kick before the vote, falsely accusing them of waiting an extra day to bury him with a supermajority vote. And the whole show ended with a humdinger of a personal privilege speech from the freshman author.

Maybe it's our imagination, but everyone seemed to leave town in a hurry.

Enlarge Bob Daemmrich

Tourists enter the empty Senate chamber Wednesday morning as the Texas Senate adjourned sine die the day before, leaving the House with unfinished business on June 29, 2011.

Lawmakers have officially made their exit from the Pink Building, leaving two bills that will bring major changes to Texas school districts awaiting the governor's signature. Lawmakers, meanwhile, are wondering whether and how the two measures will play in next year's elections.

Embedded in the school finance plan that distributes the $4 billion reduction in state funding across districts is a fundamental shift in how Texas finances public education. Schools will no longer have an amount guaranteed under statute, which has been the law of the land since 1949. That means they'll be funded based on how much money lawmakers decide is available through appropriations, instead of what the law dictates is necessary to educate students. But that measure will sunset in 2015, a small victory for school districts during the special.

The second is a broad mandate relief bill that allows school districts to furlough teachers, reduces contract termination notification time and minimum salary requirements and expands the Texas Education Agency's authority to grant waivers for the 22:1 student teacher size ratio. Teachers' groups argue that the legislation will pit administrators against teachers — and that instead of allowing more teachers to keep jobs, it will make it easier to fire them.

None of measures affecting contractual obligations will take affect until next year because districts have already made their hiring decisions for the upcoming year. But expect challenges in court as schools figure out some of its more obscure provisions, like the requirement that teachers be hand-served their termination notices in certain circumstances.

Schools will also have to navigate what the funding reductions will mean for day-to-day operations. Many will attempt to raise local taxes to make up for the shortfall in state aid. A few, like Keller ISD in suburban Fort Worth, have already tried. There, after statewide attention from Empower Texans, a fiscal conservative activist group, and a disapproving letter from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a 13-cent tax hike failed overwhelmingly at the polls. Michael Quinn Sullivan, the president of Empower Texans, said his organization didn't oppose local tax increases as a policy matter — but that it took offense at what it called the "bully tactics" — spreading information about the number of teachers who would lose jobs without it — the Keller district used to campaign.

Enlarge Bob Daemmrich

Protesters with American flags line the hallway outside the Senate chamber protesting HB12 the so-called "sanctuary cities" bill on May 25, 2011.

Call it the biggest consolation prize in recent history of the state legislature. Democrats, outnumbered in both chambers, actually won the battle over immigration after losing out to the Republican supermajority on abortion and Voter ID legislation and deep cuts to public services, mainly health care and education.

In the last days, one of Gov. Rick Perry's emergency issues from the beginning of the legislative session — sanctuary cities — was in the list of dead bills. It may have been a timing issue, a victim of a stare-down between the chambers (the House and Senate both passed versions only to see them die in the opposite chambers), of 11th-hour phone calls from big money donors, or what some called unfunded mandates that were attached to the bill.

Whatever it was, the bill, which would grant law enforcement officers authority to check immigration status and enforce federal immigration laws and deny state money to law enforcement outfits that didn't follow state policy fell short, giving the minority party a reason to smile as they watched the Capitol in their rearview mirrors.

It wasn't all rosy news for those trying to block immigration bills, however. While most were watching the sanctuary cities measure, lawmakers quietly added a driver license requirement to a budget bill that means every Texan applying for a driver license will have to show proof of citizenship or legal residency. The officials giving out those licenses are allowed to ask for such papers now; they'll be required to once the new provision becomes law.

Business leaders rallied in opposition to the measure, saying it would lead to a steady decline of automobile purchases and increase the number of drivers without insurance. If the law, which would require more documented proof of someone’s legal status to obtain the IDs, takes effect, it could also affect voter turnout now that the state requires a photo ID to cast a ballot. But it's attached to a critical piece of budget legislation, and the governor's unlikely to veto it.

Enlarge Marjorie Kamys Cotera

Though university officials around the state were hoping that the special session might open the door for the issuance of bonds for campus construction projects, that opportunity never developed in a significant way.

House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, attempted to add a provision to a fiscal matters bill to allow tuition revenue bonds to be issued provided a set of very difficult criteria was met. In fact, only one project in the state would have actually met them: a new engineering education and research center at the University of Texas at Austin.

"It's hard to have a new Silicon Valley here in Austin without a first-class engineering facility at UT," Branch told the Texas Tribune at the start of the special session, referencing a stated desire of Gov. Rick Perry's to foster just such an environment in the state's capital city.

And that was it for major higher education moves in the first called session of the 82nd Legislature. But significant action may lie ahead.

During the session, in response to controversy surrounding the future of higher education systems, particularly the University of Texas System and the Texas A&M University System, legislative leaders created a Joint Oversight Committee on Higher Education Governance, Excellence, and Transparency.

Co-chairs Branch and Senate Higher Education Chairwoman Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, attempted to organize a hearing prior to the end of the regular session but did not succeed. Some members hope one can be scheduled as early as this summer.

"I’m glad to hear about the committee in the Legislature," said newly named A&M System interim chancellor Jay Kimbrough. "I look forward to working with them and talking with them. The solution here is to have these issues vetted, and everybody agrees on efficiency transparency, and accountability and enhancing as we move down the road."

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You can let your children out of the storm cellar — the Texas Legislature has gone home. Better still, our insiders don't think lawmakers will be back in session before January 2013, when the 83rd Legislature will convene. Only 21 percent of the insiders think there will be another special session before that, while 72 percent think the 82nd Legislature is done (interim studies notwithstanding).

Between the acrimonious ending of the special session and new political maps that change the territory each incumbent will defend, we asked the insiders how much turnover to expect among the 181 senators and representatives. A small group — 14 percent — say more than 30 incumbents will either quit or get beat in the next elections. Another 6 percent say fewer than ten lawmakers won't return. Most expect something in the dozens, with 37 percent saying 11 to 20 lawmakers will be replaced and another 39 percent saying it'll be 21 to 30 lawmakers.

We asked two open-ended questions this week to find out what our insiders think about which of this year's issues will help or hurt lawmakers in the 2012 elections, and what will be the biggest issue facing lawmakers in 2013 (spoiler: state finance issues, almost unanimously). The details for those are in our full listing of verbatim answers (attached), but here's a sampling:

Will lawmakers have another special session between now and January 2013?

• "Not good if you're running for president."

• "Budget problems will force another special sometime in the next biennium — education in particular won't make it under this budget."

• "Guv got everything he wanted or needed. Groping bill, regardless of merits, was just to poke at the eye of the Feds."

• "The absences by senior Rs during the last days of the special should indicate to all involved that there is no widespread appetite for nonsense issues when they're going to get their heads beaten in by suburbanites who realize the schools they moved to their suburb for just got gutted."

• "Why? Is there anything left that they failed to screw up?"

How many lawmakers won't return, either because of retirement, moving to other office, or losing the 2012 election?

• "Redistricting, what seems to be a total shift of statewide office holders and your normal "I've had enough" will make for a larger than normal freshman class in the House and Senate."

• "Redistricting will help push this number up."

• "For a good number of the House freshmen, it was fun while it lasted. Thanks for playing."

• "Bigger turnover than usual... nobody had a lot of fun this year."

• "I wish some Senators would get out of the way, so that there is some avenue for upward mobility for bright young Reps - from both parties."

What did lawmakers do in the regular or special sessions that will resonate — positively or negatively — with the voters in next year's March and November elections?

• "Let's wait and see how the public reacts to the cuts in public ed funding"

• "Balanced the budget without raising taxes, the electorate will decide individual if that is good or bad and that decision will be reflected at the polls."

• "No new taxes"

• "People are ANGRY out here because of the demise of the sanctuary and TSA bills going down."

• "Hard to predict; depends on what is happening with the economy and the presidential election."

• "Balanced the budget without a tax increase (Republican line). Cut billions from education and health care spending while leaving billions in the state's bank account (Democratic attack line)."

What's the biggest problem facing the Legislature that takes office in 2013?

• "The budget deficit - again"

• "Money."

• "Public education funding."

• "The certain budget deficit stemming from the failure to budget adequately for Medicaid. The continued structural deficit in the state's public education finance framework."

• "Structural, basic program meltdown. Many budget problems"

• "The most difficult and critical issues that will impact Texans are the decline in resources, the growing need for services and the state’s unwillingness to generate revenue to address these problems. The failure of current legislature to act in the best interest of the people of Texas will force the next legislative body in 2013 to deal with problems that were either left unaddressed or exacerbated by deep budget cuts, e.g., quality education for children in pre-k to 12th grade and for college students in financial need."

• "DEBT! Everyone will learn that HHS will eat every taxpayer alive unless we get serious about our open border policies."

• "Structural deficit"

• "Budget shortfall"

Our thanks to this week's participants: Cathie Adams, Brandon Aghamalian, Clyde Alexander, Jay Arnold, Charles Bailey, Reggie Bashur, Leland Beatty, Dave Beckwith, Luke Bellsnyder, Allen Blakemore, Tom Blanton, Chris Britton, Andy Brown, Lydia Camarillo, Snapper Carr, Rick Cofer, Lawrence Collins, John Colyandro, Hector de Leon, Tom Duffy, Jeff Eller, Alan Erwin, Ryan Erwin, Jon Fisher, Robert Floyd, Bruce Gibson, Scott Gilmore, Daniel Gonzalez, Kathy Grant, John Greytok, Jack Gullahorn, Billy Hamilton, Wayne Hamilton, Bill Hammond, Sandy Haverlah, Adam Haynes, Ken Hodges, Steve Holzheauser, Deborah Ingersoll, Carl Isett, Jason Johnson, Mark Jones, Robert Kepple, Richard Khouri, Tom Kleinworth, Pete Laney, Dick Lavine, Donald Lee, Luke Legate, Vilma Luna, Matt Mackowiak, Patricia McCandless, Scott McCown, Kurt Meacham, Lynn Moak, Bee Moorhead, Keats Norfleet, Nef Partida, Gardner Pate, Bill Pewitt, Jerry Philips, Tom Phillips, Wayne Pierce, Royce Poinsett, Kraege Polan, Jerry Polinard, Carl Richie, Mark Sanders, Jim Sartwelle, Stan Schlueter, Steve Scurlock, Bradford Shields, Todd Smith, Larry Soward, Dennis Speight, Jason Stanford, Bob Strauser, Colin Strother, Jay Thompson, Trey Trainor, Ware Wendell, Darren Whitehurst, Peck Young, Angelo Zottarelli.

Formula One racing got the permission it sought from the City of Austin and is on its way, with the help of $25 million a year in state subsidies, to a June 2012 race date. There's still a lawsuit pending on that state money, but the city's nod clears away environmental permitting concerns.

Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the texting-while-driving bill that passed in the regular session, so there won't be a state ban. But there might be a ban soon in Arlington, where the city council is talking about a prohibition on sending, reading, browsing the Internet or playing games on cell phones while driving. Under current state law, you can't use your cell phone while you're driving unless you're 18 or older.

There's a doozy of a congressional race coming up in Central Texas, where U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is moving into a Democratic district because his own turf was remapped to favor Republicans. He'll face state Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio — the twin brother of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro.

The Legislature voted to keep the details of the governor's travel costs secret for 18 months. Specifically, the state will be cloaking details of his security team's travel costs, after state police complained it would reveal operational strategies to release the information. That's currently the subject of a case pending in the Texas Supreme Court; two lower courts have said the records are public under law.

The drought in Texas is now a federal disaster area, made so by a declaration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The order made 213 of the state's counties disaster areas, and includes 41 more counties as eligible for aid because they're adjacent to the first bunch. That's all 254 counties in Texas.

Uncorked, finally — the president's appointments for federal prosecutors in Texas, which have been held up by bickering inside the state's congressional delegation. The list includes Sarah Saldaña of Dallas, who heads the U.S. Attorney's public corruption unit there; U.S. Magistrate Robert Pitman of Austin, who would be the state's first openly gay U.S. Attorney; John Malcolm Bales, who's been the acting U.S. Attorney in East Texas; and Kenneth Magidson, an assistant U.S. Attorney based in Houston.

House Speaker Joe Straus must like his current gig — he said at the end of the 170-day session-plus-special-session that he'll seek a third term as speaker in January 2013.

Jay Kimbrough, a former chief of staff to Gov. Rick Perry (and a guy who's done a number of trouble-shooting jobs for the governor over the years), will be the interim chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. He replaces Dr. Mike McKinney, a former legislator who also did time as Perry's chief of staff. Kimbrough will hold down the fort while the system's regents look for a permanent chief executive and said he won't be a candidate for the permanent job. McKinney, a former state representative and head of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, announced his departure in May. A&M, like the University of Texas, is caught up in a public debate over how much time the professors at the state schools should spend teaching and how much time should go to research and other tasks.

Roger Williams is out of the U.S. Senate race and in the race for a new congressional seat — CD-33 — that takes in Arlington, part of Fort Worth, all of Parker County and part of Wise County. U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, announced that he will stay in CD-6, where he now lives, even though Arlington is in his current district. Williams will face at least one familiar face: former Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams earlier left the Senate race for that same congressional seat. The first round: Michael took a shot at Roger for blasting the federal government's financial mess after lobbying for federal bailouts for automobile manufacturers. Roger got after Michael for claiming a home in Arlington when he's been working in Austin for the last 13 years.

Houston lawyer Roland Sledge announced he'll run for the Texas Railroad Commission next year, saying he'd welcome a nomination to that post and promising that he won't use the job as a stepping stone to another post. Sledge, an executive with VAALCO Energy, is a Republican and has been in the industry he wants to regulate for 35 years. There's an open spot at the commission now — Michael Williams' spot — and will be another on the ballot next year; Elizabeth Ames Jones is giving up her reelection bid to run for the U.S. Senate.

State Rep. Fred Brown announced on the last day of the special session that he would resign early. The College Station Republican is moving to Salado and will run a car dealership in Temple. There will be a special election to fill out the remainder of his term, and there are already two candidates. Seth McKinney will run in that GOP primary. He played football at Texas A&M and then in the pros and is the son of former A&M Chancellor Mike McKinney. It's his first run for office. And Rebecca Boenigk (it's pronounced BAY-nick), also a Republican, is announcing her candidacy before the holiday. She's the CEO and Chairman of Bryan-based Neutral Posture, which makes ergonomic office chairs.

Sarah Whitley, chief of staff to for the comptroller's office, is leaving after working for Susan Combs for a decade. Combs hired David White to replace her, with the title of senior policy advisor. He worked as a consultant during the session and before that, was political director for Gov. Rick Perry's reelection campaign. He was previously chief of staff to state Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center.

Press corps moves: Bob Moser, editor of the Texas Observer for almost three years, is leaving to become executive editor of The American Prospect.

Deaths: Randall Dale Adams, who spent more than a decade in jail for a police killing that he didn't commit. His case became a cause after it was featured in a documentary, "The Thin Blue Line." He died last October, but his passing wasn't reported until this month. He was 61.