Comal County Commissioner Gregory Parker is considering a run for the Texas Railroad Commission, and also submitted his name for consideration as Gov. Rick Perry decides who to appoint to an open seat on the three-member board.

Lawmakers were hoping to get out of Austin with their business done, without the prospect of a special session this summer.

Fat chance.

When Texas lawmakers said they wanted to run government like a business, they left out the part about using Enron and Countrywide as their models.

The Texas Senate approved a $3.97 billion draw on the state's Rainy Day Fund to cover a deficit of the same size in the current budget, but not before turning back efforts to add on a larger amount to help balance the 2012-13 budget.

Travis County would get two new out-of-town senators, and Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, would be squeezed into a district designed for a Republican, in political maps proposed by Senate Redistricting Chairman Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo.

It's May of an odd-numbered year, so we asked the insiders whether the big stuff will get finished during regulation time or whether there will be special sessions this summer, and about what issues won't get resolved.

Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden tried, and failed, to get 20 state senators to vote with him on a proposed state budget Tuesday. Today, he's going to see if he can find 15.

Sen. Steve Ogden is still looking for 20 fellow senators willing to start the debate on the 2012-2013 state budget.

State senators unveiled a list of almost $5 billion in cash-flow tricks, property sales, and fees that could be used to ease cuts in the state budget, but it's not enough to completely close the gap between what they have available and what they hope to spend.