Workers outside the state capital in Austin continue to renovate and restore the historic building. The state government inside is also a work in progress. Statewide forces will collide in Austin this week when the legislative session begins. Tuesday, lawmakers get sworn in and begin their work. Governor Greg Abbott went on a campaign rampage last year, defeating roughly a dozen members of his own party who stopped his efforts at education reform. The fallout from that is still playing out. “Look, I think the struggle between the governor and the legislature over his school voucher proposal is one of the big storylines that we’re going to be watching, of course,” said Scott Braddock, editor of the capitol newsletter, the Quorum Report. Other issues rising to the top for state lawmakers this year are emerging technologies, water infrastructure, and property tax reform. But first, the Texas House must choose a leader. That struggle is turning into a brawl between a bipartisan coalition led by Lubbock Republican Dustin Burrows and the Republican caucuses former Mansfield Mayor David Cook. Over the past year, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton have put their muscle behind Cook in the feud. “As far as my experience, it is worse than it’s ever been. And I’ve been talking to veterans of the legislative process going back to the 70s and the 60s before that. And none of them have ever seen anything like this where we’re this close to the legislative session, the race for speaker isn’t settled up,” said Braddock. The Texas Constitution decentralizes power throughout state government, creating a lot of fiefdoms. If you have big personalities in those fiefdoms, it’s common for them to clash. “It’s set up that way on purpose. You know, this building, the Texas Capitol is a legislation killing building,” said Braddock, “It’s a killing field for legislation on purpose. The idea being that not all ideas are good ideas. In fact, most ideas are bad ideas and that only the best ideas should make it through this rigorous process.” In press conferences around the state, Texas Democrats say their priority is defense – to stop changes to laws supporting public schools and diversify efforts. “We do need your voices. We cannot do this without you,” said Rep. Rhetta Bowers, D- Rowlett, told a group of supporters Sunday night. “We have to make sure that we kill bad bills.” Monday afternoon, the state comptroller announced lawmakers will have nearly $24 billion in a budget surplus. Having money won’t be a problem; deciding how to spend it will.