Austin is seeing a legislative fight this session that not only involves both chambers but also both sides of the aisle.

Both chambers convened at noon Saturday for a second overtime round ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott. The first 30-day stretch ended in an impasse after House Democrats left the state to block a controversial GOP elections bill.

The lower chamber, led by House Speaker Dade Phelan, is trying to start off on a new foot with a controversial election bill that blew up during the regular session.

We asked our readers for their questions about the special legislative session that starts Thursday in Texas. These are the answers.

After killing Republicans' priority voting bill during the regular legislative session, Democratic lawmakers are mulling how to try to stop it in the special session that starts July 8.

At ERCOT’s behest, the Public Utility Commission of Texas allowed energy prices to hit the cap of $9,000 per megawatt-hour during the storm. Ogelman testified that during the storm, energy prices were fluctuating based on supply scarcity. He said as more power units went down and demand grew, prices went up. As ERCOT called for millions of people to lose power, prices dropped since it appeared demand and supply were evening out. Potomac strongly suggests ERCOT retroactively amend energy prices to bring the bills down.

During the 2021 legislative session, The Texas Tribune is streaming the Texas House and Senate chambers, which you can watch here. Lawmakers will be discussing everything from the state budget and health care to education policy and the impact of the coronavirus. The session runs from Jan. 12 to May 31. [ Read more ]