Ask a freshman legislator in the Texas Capitol how the first several weeks of the session are going, and the answer is usually a variation of this:

"I just feel like I'm drinking from a fire hydrant," said newly elected Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, whose district includes parts of southern Travis County. "I've got my work cut out for me."

By that, she said she means learning the issues, navigating the marble halls of the "Pink Dome," meeting hundreds of new people every day and doing it all under the watchful eye of the media in a frenetic 140-day legislative session.

These are the trials of the newly elected, and they are not lost on this unusually large crop of new state legislators. Voters replaced more incumbents with fresh blood during the past election cycle in Texas than at any other time in memory.

"If there was a mandate from the voters, it is that the status quo is no longer acceptable," said Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake.

New faces

There are 40 freshmen in the 150-member House, and one in the Senate, not including a few House members who won Senate seats last year for the first time.

Together, they are a diverse bunch —urban minority Democrats, rural moderates, suburban conservative Republicans — whose first round of legislation reflects not only local priorities, but also a willingness to weigh in on more controversial or complex issues that affect the entire state.

Expected to listen, learn and not file more than about a dozen bills during their first session, freshman lawmakers tend to have a legislative agenda that reflects their campaign priorities and goes for big projects — but rarely will they pass any major legislation their first time out.

Instead, constituents can expect them to be able to pass some local bills that are uncontested and that affect only their districts.

Filed bills

In North Texas, Capriglione said he is prepared to take on immigrant-rights advocates who could object to a bill he has filed proposing a voluntary Made in Texas certification for businesses that use the E-Verify system to ensure their workers are in the U.S. legally.

Meanwhile, neighboring Rep. Bennett Ratliff, R-Coppell, has filed a bill giving counties and cities more power in regulating the signage for sexually oriented businesses, as well as legislation requiring state contractors to use E-Verify.

Gun rights focus

Much of the freshman delegation campaigned during a season in which gun rights were a big part of the debate. The rhetoric has continued since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.

Several legislators have filed legislation that seeks to protect or expand residents' rights to carry firearms.

Many are involved in bills or constitutional amendments that offer a preemptive strike against any plans the White House might have to limit access to guns.

"I believe this [presidential] administration has now realized they have woken up a giant," said Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, who filed the Firearm Protection Act that would, among other things, withhold funding from local governments in Texas if they enforce any federal gun bans.