Heading into the home stretch

A key deadline passed last night at the Texas Lege; as of today, bills filed in the House which have not been scheduled for a floor vote (and do not have a Senate companion) cannot pass, barring their resurrection as amendments to other legislation. By rule, all bills originating in the House must be passed from that chamber by midnight Thursday, at which point the home stretch of the session begins in earnest.

Only 51 bills out of more than 7,000 have been finally passed and sent to the Governor. Most of these bills are dead, though with a few exceptions, for the most part that's probably a good thing.

The pace this session has been achingly slow, and last night was stalled further by a legislator's health crisis when Edmund Kuempel of Seguin was found unconscious, not breathing and with no pulse in a capitol elevator. He was revived by fellow legislator Dr. John Zerwas and is reportedly in a "stable, guarded condition" at a local hospital. (UPDATE: He is reportedly in a medically induced coma.) Kuempel is an affable, good humored fellow to whom I wish a full and speedy recovery.