The 88th Texas legislative session has begun. Here’s what to know.

Why does the Texas Legislature meet for just 140 days? Texas operates under a state Constitution ratified in 1876 as Reconstruction was coming to an end and written by men — yes, just men — who pretty much preferred as small a government as possible. So not only is a legislative session limited to just 20 weeks, it’s 20 weeks every other year. The framers did al...