When the Texas Legislature met in 1971, only two senators and 10 representatives were Republicans. Now it's 20-11 in the Senate and (after the elections are settled, with our assumption about party shifts) 98-52 in the House. Here's how it looked in between the 62nd and 84th regular sessions.

Enlarge 

.

Enlarge 

.

Enlarge Marjorie Kamys Cotera

Joe Straus sworn-in as Texas Speaker of the House on January 13th, 2015

Along with the beginning of a new legislative session, one of the big takeaways of the week was Rick Perry and David Dewhurst taking the opportunity to formally say goodbye before leaving the stage.

Their departure leaves Joe Straus suddenly as the experienced guy among the Big Three.

That’s not to say that the new members of the Big Three — Gov.-elect Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Patrick — are newbies. Abbott, after all, has been a statewide elected official for almost 20 consecutive years, first as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court and then as attorney general.

Straus, meanwhile, has been a legislator for almost one full term longer than Patrick.

But Straus on Tuesday was feeling confident enough after winning a fourth term in the speaker’s chair to make a joke to his newly elected colleagues about them sorting who would be buying breakfast for their traditional Wednesday breakfasts.

It’s hard to say, though, how this change in leadership impacts the power dynamic among the two chambers and the governor’s office.

To say that conservatives in the Senate feel empowered by the recent turnover in that chamber risks understatement.

Witness, for instance, this statement made by freshman state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, at a Monday rally for speaker challenger Scott Turner, as reported by the Houston Chronicle’s Patrick Svitek.

“We are on the road to be throwing conservative legislation over the transom to the House to the point they can’t kill (every bill).”

What is evidenced here is a mindset that the House remains an obstacle to a conservative agenda. And that problem could be resolved by swamping the chamber with legislation until it stands aside.

Hall was joined by a pair of freshman senators — Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, and Don Huffines, R-Dallas — at the rally for Turner. Their presence was enough to raise eyebrows since senators usually try to avoid being seen as meddling in the business of the other chamber.

In the end, though, the bigger determiner of the relationship between the two chambers over the course of a session is the relationship between the chamber’s leaders. On that score, it’s still wait-and-see.

For the new guys, maybe it’s a good time to splurge on some really good breakfast tacos.

Enlarge Marjorie Kamys Cotera

Electronic voting board in House lights up with red votes for Joe Straus for Speaker of the House.

The Legislature has just begun, but the work of picking votes to highlight on a scorecard is in full swing.

On the heels of both the Senate and House voting to increase office budgets for expenses like staff salaries, office supplies and travel, Empower Texans’ Michael Quinn Sullivan announced that members who voted for an increase would be scored negatively on his group’s Fiscal Responsibility Index.

If so, most members are starting off the session with a demerit or two. Twenty-eight senators voted for the increase in their office budgets. Seventy-three House members voted for the increase.

As a quick aside, 77 House members initially voted yes. Four freshman Republicans — DeWayne Burns, Brooks Landgraf, Morgan Meyer and Matt Rinaldi — had reflected in the House journal that they intended to vote no.

And, of course, 128 House members voted to re-elect Speaker Joe Straus, a vote that Empower Texans warned ahead of time would be reflected on the scorecard.

*****

Alongside the announcement that the House was releasing its base budget on Thursday came word that lawmakers won’t have as big of an unpaid bill on Medicaid in the current budget.

Early in every session, lawmakers discuss what kind of supplemental budget they hope to pass. Some have been guessing the figure this time around would be around $1 billion, most of that related to shore up Medicaid.

But House officials with knowledge of budget issues said late Thursday that Medicaid costs are coming in at around $178 million, far less than many had expected. Factor in some other, smaller budget requests and the supplemental may not top $400 million.

This news is surely good news for the House leadership. Over the summer, estimates on the supplemental were high enough to spur some speculation that members might have to break the spending cap.

It would appear, based on these latest figures, that will not come to pass.

*****

Gov. Rick Perry’s records will go to the Texas State Archives, it was announced this week.

That’s a lot of documents. Perry is the longest-serving governor in Texas history, taking office on Dec. 21, 2000, and leaving Tuesday. Slated for transfer, according to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, are Perry’s legal, legislative, budget and scheduling records.

The records include “more than six terabytes of audio and video recordings and digital images documenting special events, observations, and public appearances.”

In addition, the state archives commission noted that it is embarking on a project to digitize Perry’s records, which consist of more than 7 million pages. Digitization of those records, which would take up to eight terabytes, would be take into 2016 to complete.

For some perspective on that, one website notes that a terabyte would hold 1,000 copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

"We are delighted to receive these materials into the state archives," TSLAC Director and Librarian Mark Smith said. "The records of Gov. Perry's historic tenure represent a rich body of resources for researchers as well as the general public."

Enlarge

The race for speaker started off the week and also our questions to insiders in government and politics, and there is good news for incumbent Joe Straus in the responses: 76 percent of the insiders think the challenge from Rep. Scott Turner, R-Frisco, actually strengthened Straus. Turner lost that vote, 128-19, and Straus has a fourth term in the bag.

Senate committees are expected to be named at the end of next week, but we asked the insiders how fast or slow the House will be. Most don’t expect to hear about House committee memberships until the first week of February, with the rest split on earlier and later dates. Total them up, however, and 75 percent expect committees to be named sometime next month.

Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Patrick said during his campaign that he would have fewer Democrats chairing committees than his predecessor, and said he might have none at all in those positions. Two in five insiders think two Democrats will win chairmanships, and 23 percent think it will be three. But 13 percent expect to see no Democrats in those spots, and 20 percent said only one will get through the gate.

We also asked the insiders to predict the surprises of the coming session, and those are included in the full comments, which are attached. Here’s a sampling:

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

Will Scott Turner’s bid for speaker weaken or strengthen Speaker Joe Straus for this legislative session?

• "Glenn Beck robo calls statewide for Scott Turner were of little help and there seems to be a rising awareness that Straus maybe the only non patient in this asylum."

• "Every legislator voting for Straus must now convince his constituents that he can accomplish the conservative agenda that he campaigned on. That will be a TOUGH road because Straus will fight him every step of the way. One lieutenant complained to me last week that he couldn't pass a bill because another lieutenant talked against it on the floor. The majority of legislators then bowed to Straus to kill the bill."

• "If you try to kill the king, you'd better succeed."

• "Many members who were concerned about how much influence Empower Texans has, now know it's very little."

• "19 votes out of 150 - REALLY???? Those people need to take a basic math class if they are calling that a 'mandate' on how the House conducts business. "

• "With whom? House members? Strengthen. Tim Dunn et al.? Who cares? "

• "The Turner 'challenge' had about as much impact on Speaker Straus as that bug that hit his car windshield during his drive into Austin from San Antonio. "

• "This demonstrates with clarity and certainty the limitations of Michael Quinn Sullivan's reach. Yes, he has grass roots, a database built through numerous campaign organizations, but if Scott Turner's the best he can muster at the Capitol, he doesn't have much to fall back on."

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

When will House Speaker Joe Straus appoint committees?

• "He's got to weigh all those IOUs and that takes a bit of time. He will penalize those who voted for him reluctantly and the 19 who voted against him. Sore winner!"

• "St. Patty's Day would be preferable, but that just ain't gonna happen."

• "What's the hurry?"

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

If the Senate has a dozen committees this session, how many Democratic chairmen will Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appoint?

• "He must fulfill his campaign promise."

• "More than 0, but not by much."

• "You can have them pissing in or out the tent. Patrick's call!"

• "He better not cut out the Democrats for as Bob Bullock discovered when he axed the Republican chairs, idle hands are the devil's workshop."

• "He doesn't want to give the wily Dems (I hear you laughing) too much time to get mischievous."

• "Two of twelve. And they will be crappy committees at that."

Play pundit: What will be the biggest surprise when committee appointments are announced?

• "The Senate will have a special committee on education apart from its standing committee. The special committee will be created to allow the standing committee to handle its normal workload while the special committee looks at 'reform' issues and 'savings.' All this is to say school vouchers will be the number one education priority for Patrick."

• "Sen. Bettencourt named freshman chairman"

• "Repub primary voters will be SHOCKED that Dan Patrick actually will appoint 2 Democratic chairs after he PROMISED them than NO Democrats would receive Chairmanships!"

• "Senate freshmen as chairs. "

• "Patrick will replace Nelson on Finance."

• "Straus doesn't send the 19 to Siberia like past Speakers would have done."

• "Hunter won't be at Calendars"

• "Whitmire will not chair anything"

• "Paul Bettencourt will chair and serve as poster child for the Tough Nut Committee."

• "The number of Sophomore House members that are Committee Chairs."

• "The biggest surprise will be that there are no big surprises. Standard chairmen. They’ll move around a little, but same people. Same leadership. Boring will be the surprise"

• "In the Senate, no D's as committee chairs or vice chairs. "

Our thanks to this week’s participants: Gene Acuna, Cathie Adams, Brandon Aghamalian, Victor Alcorta, Brandon Alderete, Clyde Alexander, George Allen, Jay Arnold, Charles Bailey, Tom Banning, Walt Baum, Amy Beneski, Andrew Biar, Allen Blakemore, Tom Blanton, Chris Britton, David Cabrales, Elna Christopher, Harold Cook, Kevin Cooper, Randy Cubriel, Curtis Culwell, Denise Davis, June Deadrick, Nora Del Bosque, Glenn Deshields, Holly DeShields, Tom Duffy, David Dunn, Richard Dyer, Craig Enoch, Jack Erskine, John Esparza, Jon Fisher, Tom Forbes, Neftali Garcia, Dominic Giarratani, Bruce Gibson, Stephanie Gibson, Scott Gilmore, Eric Glenn, Kinnan Golemon, Daniel Gonzalez, Jim Grace, Thomas Graham, John Greytok, Clint Hackney, Bill Hammond, Susan Hays, John Heasley, Ken Hodges, Steve Holzheauser, Laura Huffman, Jason Johnson, Mark Jones, Russ Keane, Robert Kepple, Richard Khouri, Tom Kleinworth, Sandy Kress, Dale Laine, Nick Lampson, Pete Laney, James LeBas, Luke Legate, Leslie Lemon, Ruben Longoria, Matt Mackowiak, Jason McElvaney, Mike McKinney, Steve Minick, Bee Moorhead, Keir Murray, Nelson Nease, Keats Norfleet, Pat Nugent, Sylvia Nugent, Todd Olsen, Gardner Pate, Robert Peeler, Jerry Philips, Tom Phillips, Wayne Pierce, Allen Place, Gary Polland, Jay Pritchard, Jay Propes, Ted Melina Raab, Karen Reagan, Tim Reeves, Patrick Reinhart, David Reynolds, Carl Richie, Jeff Rotkoff, Tyler Ruud, Jason Sabo, Andy Sansom, Jim Sartwelle, Barbara Schlief, Stan Schlueter, Bruce Scott, Robert Scott, Ben Sebree, Christopher Shields, Nancy Sims, Ed Small, Martha Smiley, Mark Smith, Larry Soward, Leonard Spearman, Dennis Speight, Jason Stanford, Bill Stevens, Bob Strauser, Colin Strother, Sherry Sylvester, Sara Tays, Jay Thompson, Gerard Torres, Trey Trainor, Corbin Van Arsdale, Ware Wendell, Ken Whalen, David White, Darren Whitehurst, Alex Winslow, Angelo Zottarelli.

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

Monday, Jan. 19

• Observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Tuesday, Jan. 20

• 2015 Inauguration Oath of Office Ceremony; 1100 Congress Ave., South Steps, Austin (11 a.m.-12 p.m.)
• 2015 Inaugural parade; Congress Ave., Austin (2-4 p.m.)

The 84th Legislature started Tuesday with Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, easily winning re-election to a fourth term. A challenger from the conservative wing of the GOP, Scott Turner, made news by pushing for a record vote for speaker, the first time that's happened in 40 years. The final tally was 128-19 in favor of Straus.

Amid growing furor over a Medicaid fraud detection contract awarded under problematic circumstances, a state senator, Houston Democrat John Whitmire, asked via letter for Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek to resign. Gov.-elect Greg Abbott, meanwhile, returned a $10,000 contribution from the CEO of 21CT, the company that had been awarded the contract.

The House on Thursday released a $202.4 billion base budget for the upcoming two-year budget cycle. It would raise spending by 0.4 percent and leave $13 billion unspent. The base budget is a starting point for negotiations.

A Brownsville federal judge heard arguments Thursday on a request to halt a White House immigration policy that could affect hundreds of thousands of Texans living in the country illegally.

Newly installed Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller declared amnesty for parents to bring cupcakes and other baked goods to their children's schools. That prompted a rebuke from former Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs, who said an exemption for bringing sweet treats to birthday parties at school has existed for 10 years.

Greg Neeley of Longview has been appointed by Gov. Rick Perry as justice of the 12th Court of Appeals for a term to expire at the 2016 general election.

Jeannie Ash has hired on as assistant district director for state Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton. She will be based in the Greenville district office. She previously served as district director for state Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, for nine years.

Royce Poinsett has hired on with the government affairs practice group of Gardere Wynne Sewell. He comes to the firm from Baker Botts LLP. He also counts previous stints as an adviser to Perry and House Speaker Tom Craddick.

Marcus Deitz has been hired by McGuireWoods as a partner in Houston. Most recently, he was a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, where he focused on public finance transactions.

Eddie Aldrete of IBC Bank and Louis Malfaro of the Texas AFT have been selected to serve as officers for the National Immigration Forum. Aldrete will serve as vice chairman, and Malfaro will serve as secretary. Both have been on the forum board since 2013.

Deaths: Linda Bridges, 65, who was president of the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, a position she had served in since 2005.

Disclosure: IBC Bank is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. Texas AFT was a corporate sponsor in 2011-13 of The Texas Tribune. Eddie Aldrete was a donor in 2009-11 and 2013 to The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.