After a year and a half break, the Texas Legislature returned to session. Here are five things of note that happened on the first day, and one thing to look forward to tomorrow.

1. The House and Senate gaveled into session at noon today.
Lines for the House and Senate galleries winded around the third floor and down the staircase. Few protesters seen anywhere except a Black Lives Matter march to the Capitol.

2. Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, was re-elected as Speaker of the House for the fifth time.
This unanimous approval was the first of Straus' statehouse elections that did not involve an opponent. Straus is now in a tie as the longest serving Speaker of the House. The initial nominating speech came from Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, and was followed by Rep. Mark Keough, R-The Woodlands, Rep. Poncho Nevarez, D-Eagle Pass, and Rep. Linda Koop, R-Dallas. Koop commended Straus on calling on the House to take up the issue of school finance without a court order.

3. Straus identified his priorities within his acceptance speech.
He directed fellow legislators to focus on mental health, school finance, public education and child protective services. Specifically, he recommended school finance as another hot-button issue the legislature should address--regardless of a court requirement.

He also made a slight jab at Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill, saying that it is the legislature’s job to keep business coming to Texas, not expel it from the state. Senate Bill 6, heavily influenced by Patrick, has been criticized as having large potential to drive business from Texas.

4. Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, was present, but only after the House’s prayer and pledges of allegiance.
She entered, took her oath of office and then left briefly afterwards, returning eventually for the Speaker of the House vote. Afterwards, she held a brief press conference in which she said she was the most experienced member for her job in her district and was called on by fellow colleagues and her constituents to continue her job.

5. Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, was elected president pro tem unanimously in the Senate.
This role puts him third in line for the office of the governor but only goes into effect when both the governor and lieutenant governor are out of the state.

6. The House and Senate are both adjourned until tomorrow, when they will each take up a debate on rules for the 85th Legislature.
Last session became famous for a rules debate when Patrick led the Senate in a vote to abolish the two-thirds rule. The rule required two-thirds of senators, 21 of the total 31 senators, to vote to bring a bill to the floor. Patrick and other Republican senators were the force behind a vote to replace this rule with a new three-fifths rule that only requires 19 of the 31 senators to vote to bring a bill to the floor.

At this time, 20 of the senators are Republican, and 11 are Democrats.

Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, called for a House fight over rules on Twitter.

"Now the war begins," he tweeted. "Bring on the rules debate."

Follow along live with the rest of our legislative coverage here and on Twitter with the hashtag #CITxLege.