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New Texas Legislative Session Starts Tuesday


At noon Tuesday, the gavel drops to open the 83rd Texas Legislative Session.

They'll be tackling many hot button issues – and one of those is guns, specifically, concealed carry laws.

One bill would cut the concealed handgun class requirement from 10 hours down to just four hours. Another bill would allow you to renew your concealed handgun license online.

As for the other issues this session, everyone we talked with mentioned the "big three."

"I think the big issues are going to be water, transportation and education and how we fund our water plan so we can be sure and have a good successful economy for the state of Texas," says State Representative Jason Isaac (R-District 45).

Some key dates on the 83rd legislative session calendar:

• Feb. 11 is the first day committees can meet to consider non-emergency bills.
• March 8 is the last day bills can be introduced
• Session ends May 27
• June 16 is when Governor Rick Perry will sign bills into law

On average, almost 7,000 bills are filed per session, but only 20 percent of those make it to the governor's desk.