We are now in Austin, the capital of Texas. The city is lush and green, with many imposing plantation style homes close to the city center. Many of the houses are constructed of native limestone, which underlies the entire area.
We toured the state capital building with a very knowledgeable guide who provided some great insights into the legislative process, Texas style. In fact, California politicians could take a few lessons from Texans on how to run a legislature. Let's start with the Senate's rules: Meet once every two years, and limit the session to 120 days! (Prevents tinkering by limiting how much they can do!!) There is no limit on how much time a senator can speak; however, there are some restrictions - 1. He or she must stand away from their desk, and not touch it in any way (prevents leaning on the desk for support) 2. Must stay on the posted topic; 3. Cannot pause any more than 2 seconds, or he/she will lose the floor; 4. No bathroom, water, or food breaks for the person speaking or those senators present in the chamber if they want to vote on the issue. The record for a senator speaking before the assembled chamber is 40 hours! Imagine!! The person speaking must have had a secret weapon - Depends? Or, maybe a bladder the size of a basketball.
The capital building is a monumental pink granite structure completed in 1889. Since that was during post-Civil War reconstruction, there was no money to do it since the state's economy was ruined. A unique solution was devised - barter the construction of the capital in exchange for thousands of acres of land. When the deal was sealed, the exchanged land became the world's largest cattle ranch.
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