Will home equity lending go to a vote or go up in smoke again?

The rematch of Texas' home equity lending battle may be taking a much more subdued tack this year, but it's a battle nonetheless.

The straggle has become the biannual mission of the Texas banking community - to repeal Texas' 158-year-old homestead law and amend the state's constitution to allow Texans to use their homes as collateral on loans.

And by now the positions are well established. Bankers for the most part call the home equity lending ban an anachronism and say Texans should have the freedom to borrow using that equity like residents of every other state in the union. At the same time, some consumer groups and the real estate lobby claim that type of …