Everything old is new again: ABC13 historic footage of Texas Legislature

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The more things change, the more they stay the same. That saying seems to apply to the Texas Legislature in film footage ABC13 recently recovered from the station's archives that reveals many of the concerns facing Texans in the 1960s remain today.

The film is black and white and six decades old. But to watch it and listen is almost like holding up a mirror to our political climate today. State Senator Chet Brooks spoke to KTRK in the final days of the 60th legislative session in 1967 and talked about the power struggle between Democrats and Republicans.

"But the remarkable thing is," the former State Senator told ABC13 in May 1967, "now that the sorry legislation that the public does not want, maybe some special interest or selfish interest group wants, is now being killed by a coalition of moderates and liberals. Whereas in the old days, of course, all progressive legislation was just arbitrarily killed by the old guard or the old ultraconservative faction that completely dominated the Senate."

Among the top issues that year were water infrastructure and water quality. It was no different in 2025 during the 89th legislative session when lawmakers created a dedicated fund promising $20 billion towards water.

In 1967, pay raises for teachers were on the agenda, same as it was in 2025. Then, 77 education-related bills became law. In 2025, 100 passed, including 1 billion dollars in funding for education savings accounts.

"I think that there's no doubt about what we've done for education," Brooks said in the 1967 interview. "Although we didn't get exactly all we wanted, we didn't get nearly all we wanted for the public school teachers, we did get a pretty decent salary raise for them."

Politics, it seemed then, were as much about personality as they are now, a concern, or perhaps admonition, from then State Senator Barbara Jordan, who would later become the first Black member of Congress from Texas.

"If I could make any kind of overview of the 60th session," Jordan said in an interview with former ABC13 reporter Garvin Berry, "I would say that I wish we had public officials who could divorce personality from the best public interest, and if that could ever be achieved, I feel that the legislature would absolutely be a responsive body as far as the people are concerned."

Also in 2025, you may recall redistricting was a top issue that forced multiple special sessions. It was on the agenda in 1967 as well, given that the Supreme Court struck down Texas's voting maps as unconstitutional.

In 2025, there were 575 bills filed related to election law and voter registration. It was also an issue in 1967, when a bill sought to make annual voter registration mandatory in Texas. It failed.

"Well, my work against the proposed voter registration bill, which resulted in that bill being killed, is perhaps to me, the most significant achievement of my tenure here," said Jordan at the time. "I considered the bill very restrictive. I did not feel Democrats could afford the luxury of a restrictive voter registration bill in 1968, and this was one of the reasons why I opposed it. I feel very pleased that that measure is dead for the 60th session."

And another historic parallel between then and now. House Speaker Ben Barnes wrote of the session's accomplishments and his fear over federal interference in state matters.

"In recent years," he wrote, "there has been a good deal of talk about how state governments are failing to meet their responsibilities and how the federal government is assuming by default more and more powers which rightfully belong to the states. I do not deny that there has been a strong trend in that direction."

There is also this common thread between 1967 and today, as described by Barbara Jordan.

"I think the 60th legislature can be proud of a record of the significant achievement," Jordan said, "but its pride is shadowed and overshadowed by the fact that there were many things that were left undone."