January 27, 2015 5:31 PM

HK: Initially far from efficient, Senate committee jurisdictions clear as mud

The new battleground is apparently bill referrals

Rick Perry indictments notwithstanding, the talk in the Capitol today was mostly about the muddy lack of jurisdictional guidelines for the new standing committees consolidated by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick in the name of greater efficiency. Yet days later, there are no clear lines of authority indicating which committees have what jurisdictions.

For instance, last week, few noticed that the former Committee on Natural Resources had been expanded to include Economic Development. In this brave new world, telecom and electricity are natural resources now heading to the expanded committee instead of Business and Commerce where they once resided.

By Harvey Kronberg