AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The role of Texas House speaker isn’t defined by the state Constitution — but rather by the individual holding the office.
Republican Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio is three months into his first term leading the 150-member chamber.
The Associated Press reports Straus is emerging as a bipartisan compromise-seeker — rejecting much of the power that his predecessor, Tom Craddick, so coveted.
Straus still faces some tough tests.
But just four years after Craddick was anointed as the most powerful Texan by Texas Monthly magazine, observers say the young GOP leader has shifted power back to the House.
The first big victory for Straus came last week when the House unanimously approved the $178 billion state budget. It was the first time in a decade that the usually thorny state budget came out with 149-0 approval.
In a rare sit-down, on-the-record interview with The Associated Press, Straus said the unanimous vote was the result of weeks of negotiations and compromise.
Straus spoke on a wide number of subjects during a recent AP interview.
— He said he could see both sides of the argument over whether the state should oppose Gov. Rick Perry to accept federal unemployment money.
— Straus says Perry has gotten a little overly enthusiastic in suggesting Texans might at some point want to secede.