Something Cool That May Interest Only Me

Perhaps this is indicative of what a geek I am or perhaps it proves how easily I'm amused, but I think that the Texas Legislature's web site is extremely cool. Not because of design, but because of the information one can find there. Say that you see a news story about SB 1229 and want to know what it's about without the journalistic gloss. Simply type in the bill's number, and you can find out just about anything you want to know about it, including its legislative history, its text (both as introduced and as passed, if it was passed), House and Senate committee reports, fiscal analyses, records of votes, and much more. Too often, what one reads about pending or passed legislation has so much interpretation and simplification imposed on it when it's mentioned in the newspapers or on television that it's difficult to tell exactly what its provisions are. Well, go to the Lege's website, and you don't have to rely on inadequate news reports any more.