We’re now into the final 24 hours of business before a midnight deadline for dealing with Senate bills. SB 362, commonly known as Voter ID, is in that mix. To avoid floor debate and vote on the bill House Democrats have been “chubbing” bills on the Local and Consent calendar, effectively grinding the House to a crawl. It’s a perfectly legal tactic but it can be countered with Republicans or Speaker Joe Straus calling the question on the bill. So far that has not happened, demonstrating a sort of cordial approach to managing the business of the House and allowing sidebar discussions to occur on Voter ID which seem to be happening. Read more…
Today and probably tomorrow the Texas House is in heated deliberations and procedural gymnastics all focused around a bill that would require a photo ID or two other forms of identification to vote, commonly known as the Voter ID bill. It has locked up business in the House with occassional spurts of activity happening throughout the Memorial Day weekend. Democrats have promised stalling tactics to prevent the bill from reaching the House floor for debate and vote before the Tuesday midnight deadline. Today Speaker Joe Straus (D-San Antonio) voiced his frustration at the situation, calling Democrats obstructionists only to be met with counter-criticism from the Democratic leadership. Read more…
It seems the Voter ID bill authored by Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) will most likely clear the Senate along party lines of 19-12. While there has been much debate about the bill and the need for it the bill will be headed to the House where the debate should be more contentious and the vote much closer. The House currently has a 76-74 split between the parties so any cross-over will be highly scrutinized by the party leadership. Within the state Texans overwhelmingly support the concept with 69% in favor of having voters present a government-issued ID (source: UT survey). The question now becomes how you pay for it. Read more…
Tomorrow it looks like the Texas Senate will take up the infamous Voter ID bill (SB 362) on the floor of the Senate in a move called Committee of the Whole Senate. This is happening after the Senate voted at the beginning of the session to bypass normal process of a 2/3 vote for passage for a simple majority. The real question on this bill centers on what problem is it really trying to solve and why is it so important that it trumps all other business of the Senate such as tuition reform and other issues facing Texans. Interested parties can sign up and provide testimony to the Senate according to process. Read more…
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