Texas Watchdog, just like other online news outlets, is eligible for a media pass to report from the House floor, a spokeswoman for the House speaker said Tuesday.

"There are numerous reporters who are credentialed who are Internet employees," said Angela Hale, spokeswoman for House Speaker Joe Straus. Hale said the question of whether an outlet is online or a more traditional medium like television or newspapers "is just not even a real issue."

Hale said that had Texas Watchdog contacted her directly during the legislature's recent special session, she would have given Texas Watchdog a media pass.

Texas Watchdog was poking around the Capitol during the special session and was interested in shooting video from the House floor. We asked the nearest House staffer -- nearest the door to the House floor -- where we would get credentials to do so and were directed to the House Business Office. There, we were told by Steve Adrian, who runs the office, that we could not be credentialed because our publication is online-only.

We also sought comment from the House speaker's office. We popped in that same day and described our situation to an aide there, who asked us to e-mail him a request for an interview. We did, but Hale said she did not receive the request from the aide, who was just on hand for the special session.

Makes you glad the legislature only gets together every other year, doesn't it?