Gov. Bush's promotion of property tax relief has so dominated the session's time and energies that many other worthwhile bills didn't stand a chance of even being heard. Yet versions passed by the House and Senate differ as widely from each other as both do from Bush's original proposal. Bush, who has kept a hands-off policy regarding legislative debate, may have to step in to close the gap. Without genuine property tax reform, this session will be deemed a failure. Welfare The Clinton administration's long delay in rejecting Texas' proposal to permit the privatization of welfare eligibility determination has kept the Legislature from completing a comprehensive state plan to institute massive welfare reform.
Many loose ends remain.
So far, however, Texans have yet to see a long-range water conservation plan emerge. Judicial selection Preliminary House approval has been given to a bill that would separate appeals court contests from partisan primaries, letting candidates for those top judicial positions run without political labels in a November election. That's a great improvement over the current method that forces judges to campaign like party politicians, and it deserves final passage in both chambers. Home equity loans With the House and Senate each having approved some form of home equity lending, this looks like the year Texans will finally catch up with everyone else in the country and be able to use the investment in their homes to obtain loans if they so choose. The better House bill is less restrictive than the Senate's.