Day 2: Sunset and Rules

Sen. Leticia Van De Putte

Today is the 2nd day of the 83rd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The House convenes at 10:00 am, the Senate at 11:00 am.

Yesterday's opening ceremonies largely went off without a hitch. On the Senate side Sen. Leticia Van De Putte (D - San Antonio) was elected the senate president pro tempore, a largely ceremonial position (although it means that if both the Governor and Lt. Governor are out of state she can act as governor). Last session Sen. Van De Putte co-authored a comprehensive anti-bullying bill with Sen. Wendy Davis (D - Fort Worth) that included non-discrimination protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (which unfortunately did not pass). She also co-sponsored HB 1942, the anti-bullying bill that went into effect last year, but which did not include non-discrimination protections.

If you were watching the Senate's swearing-in yesterday morning and felt a chill go up your spine it's likely because you caught a sight of failed presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator Rick Sanatorium (he of the infamous same-sex relationships = "man on dog" sex quote). Sen. Santorium was in attendance as the guest of freshmen Sen. Ken Paxton (R - McKinney).

This morning the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission meets in public hearing. Most state agencies in Texas are subject to "sunset review" on a regular schedule. The review is required in order for the agency to continue its operations and is an opportunity for public input on the agency. The Advisory Commission consists of twelve members of the Legislature who then make recommendations to the whole body about needed changes. A list of the agencies under review this cycle is available here.

Meanwhile we're waiting for both the House and Senate to adopt rules. The Texas Constitution allows the bodies of the legislature to figure out for themselves how to go about their business. For the most part both the House and Senate start with last year's rules and make a few adjustments based on issues that have arisen. There has been some debate about whether to keep the "two thirds rule" in the Senate, which requires most legislation to receive 2/3 support before passing (normally this means 21 of the 31 senators, because of the recent death of Sen. Gallegos (D - Houston) and the current vacancy of his seat only 20 senators are required for the time being). Senate leadership has indicated that the two thirds rule is likely to remain intact for the time being.

On the House side yesterday Rep. David Simpson (R - Lubbock) withdrew his nomination for Speaker of the House (the Speaker is the leader of the House, elected by the entire body from among their own membership), clearing the way for Speaker Joe Strauss (R - San Antonio) to be re-elected to a third term by acclimation.

In his concession speech Simpson quoted President Thomas Jefferson's first inagural address:

"All...will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions."

There is a particularly appropriate irony to Simpson quoting Jefferson. Our nation's third president was a brilliant man: the architect of the Declaration of Independence, one of the progenitors of the American belief in government only by the consent of the governed, a dedicated and talented statesman who piloted our nation through some of its earliest trials.

He was also a profoundly racist and sexist person.

Jefferson was a product of his time, perhaps, but it can not be argued that a belief that the rights of individuals should be restricted based solely on the color of their skin or their sex is anything other than the definition of racism and sexism.

Likewise when Rep. Simpson speaks of the rights of the minority his concept of the minority is limited, perhaps as much as Jefferson's. Simpson is not speaking of communities that are denied a voice at the table of power because of the circumstances of birth. His concept of "minority" is restricted to people who lounge at the tables of power, gorged on the buffet it offers, but whose extreme views and arrogance make it impossible for them to win the hearts of their fellow power brokers.

This inability to understand the difference between not having power and having power, but being too inept to wield it, undoubtedly explains why, during the last legislative session, Simpson supported removing LGBT student resource centers from college campuses. It explains why Simpson voted against requiring schools to report instances of bullying based on anti-LGBT bias, and why he believes that insurance companies should be allowed to continue discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, even when that discrimination is not based on actuarially sound principles.

Like Jefferson, Simpson is a product of the time and place he lives, and like Jefferson that doesn't make him stupid, or evil... it makes him unaware of the consequences of his actions. It's too late to educated our nation's third president -it's not too late to educate Rep. Simpson.

If you live in the Lubbock area, please give the representative a call. Help him to understand that his voice at the table can be a powerful tool for insuring that the the rights of the minority are not trampled by the majority. Ask him to support efforts to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans.

Rep. Simpson is currently in his Austin office. He can be reached at (512) 463-0750) 

Day 1: The 83rd Texas Legislature Gets Underway

Texas Capitol at dawn

Today is the first day of the 83rd Regular Texas Legislative Session. The legislature meets every other year for 140 days. In that time they must handle all of the business of the State for the next two years.

Most of today's activities are ceremonial or procedural. Both the House and Senate will convene at noon. You can watch the proceedings live on-line HERE (House) and HERE (Senate).

The on-screen action today will be minimal. Members of both houses will be sworn in and the House will likely elect its speaker (which may involve some fireworks as Rep. David Simpson challenges current Speaker Joe Strauss (more info HERE)).

Mostly today is a party. Lobbyist will be dropping off gifts at the official's offices (none worth more than $75), staffers will be getting to know each other and lawmakers will start, in earnest, conversations about their legislative priorities. There are a number of parties thrown by lobbying and interest groups around Austin tonight to celebrate the beginning of session.

But don't be fooled. The deadly seriousness of the tasks before them are not lost on the officials or their staffers. Today is a day to eat, drink and be merry, because for the next 139 days they will get little sleep or peace as they go about the business of the people of Texas.

Today is also a prime opportunity to let your state representative and senator know that you want them to support efforts to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans. Please call both offices today. If you don't know who represents you go HERE to find out.

Homophobia At Play in Speaker's Race

Speaker Joe Strauss

In four days the 84th Texas Legislature will convene in Austin. The first order of business is for all members to be sworn into office in a lovely ceremony with proud parents and spouses, everyone in their Sunday best, cake and punch to follow.

The second order of business will be the selection of the Speaker of the House and an increasingly nasty and impotent attempt by Rep. David Simpson (R - Longview) to unseat current Speaker Joe Straus (R - San Antonio).

Political Commentators expect Straus to easily retain the Speakership, but Tea-Party-associated groups supporting Simpson maintain the race is still winnable. Recently one Burleson group has charged Straus of pushing a "pro-gay" agenda in an attempt to rouse conservative lawmakers to oppose him.

Day 3: HB 1 Was SB 1811, No You Can't Go Back to SB 1811

Today is the 3rd day of the first called session of the 82nd Texas Legislature. The House returns from recess at 10 am, the Senate reconvenes at 1 pm.

A note on bill numbers during special session: Bills filed in the Texas Legislature are assigned designations based on the chamber in which they were introduced (HB=House Bill, SB=Senate Bill) and the order they were filed. At the conclusion of the 82nd regular session last Monday the bill designation sequence reset, so HB 1 from the 82nd Legislature's regular session is different than HB 1 from the 82nd first special session. From here on out LQ will be referring to bills from the first special session by their bill number and bills from the 82nd regular sessions as "82(R) [bill number]." Many, if not most, of the bills filed during the special session will be identical or substantially similar to bills from the regular session, when that is the case we will endeavor to provide both bill numbers for reference

The House Appropriations Committee meets this morning at 9:00 am to receive public testimony on HB 1 [82(R) SB 1811]. The "fiscal matters" bill contains provisions that accompany the state budget adopted during the regular session, clarifying how funds are to be distributed and adjusting fees levied on certain kinds of transactions and payment schedules for those fees. It's a fascinating read. Among other things the bill would reduce the amount of time consumers can collect remaining funds on expired gift cards (did you know money left on expired gift cards gets turned over the state after five years, now it will be three) and creates a $50 fee if you sell your used car yourself and don't file the proper paperwork to inform the state of the sale. It's a very long document that covers a lot of ground, but it's well worth the read.

Why is a blog that covers queer issues talking about a fiscal matters bill? Because back when HB 1 was 82(R) SB 1811, Wayne Christian (R-Center) prefiled two amendments that would have defunded and banned LGBT resource centers from Texas universities. He can do that because the bill governs the way that some funds are distributed to universities, since the bill is already talking about how universities spend money the issue of spending any of that money, even indirectly, on LGBT resource centers could be germane. Christian eventually withdrew his amendments (More HERE). The risk of Christian attempting to add his amendments to HB 1 remains.

During a regular session there are rules in place that slow down the process so that the public has time to review what's going on and tell their lawmakers what they think (for instance committees must give five days notice before hearings, and the House and Senate have to wait 24 hours before approving each others amendments). During a special session those rules get thrown out the window. This means the process can go more quickly, but it also makes it harder for the public to respond to things like bad amendments. We'll have to pay careful attention to be certain that Christian's amendments aren't stuck in during the special session.

Day 114: The House

Today is the 114th day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The House reconvenes at 10 am, the Senate at 11 am. Here's what's going on in the House:

The House rules require that committees give five days notice before holding a public hearing to consider a bill. However, just like the in Senate, the House can vote to suspend those rules with a 2/3 majority. The five day posting rule was suspended last night for HB 415. The bill, by Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas), would allow the Bureau of Vital Statistics to issue revised birth certificates for children adopted by same-sex parents that include both parents names (read LQ's analysis of the bill). With the posting rules suspended HB 415 will likely be heard today in the House Public Health Committee.

The committee has until midnight this Monday, May 19th, to vote on HB 415. Even if the bill passes out of committee it is unlikely that, this late in the session, it has time to pass. The deadline for bills of this nature to pass their first vote in the House is midnight on May 22nd. There are hundreds of bills that have already passed out of committee waiting to make it to the House floor, HB 415 may simply be too far back in line to pass this late in the game.

HB 1942, the "super" anti-bullying bill crafted by the House Public Education bill and carried by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington) passed on second reading with over whelming bipartisan support last night (read LQ's analysis of the bill). The state constitution requires bills to be "read" on three different days in both the House and Senate (they don't read the entire bill, just the bill number and short description called the "caption"). A vote is taken after the second and third readings. House Bills must pass both votes before being sent to the Senate for consideration. HB 1942 is on the list of bills to be considered on third reading today and will be one of the first orders of business when the House reconvenes.

Three amendments were added to the bill during the debate last night. The first, by Patrick, was to clarify that the bill applied to activities that take place "in" a vehicle operated by the school district not "on" a vehicle as the bill originally stated. The other two were offered by David Simpson (R-Longview) and dealt with victims of bullying responding by physically confronting their tormenters.

Simpson's first amendment prevents school districts from beginning disciplinary procedures against a student who uses "reasonable self defense" in response to bullying. Several House members pointed out that there were already provisions in the education code permitting self defense but Simpson argued that those protections were only allowed once disciplinary proceedings started and his amendment would prevent schools from beginning the proceedings in the first place. A motion was made to table the amendment which failed, 43 yeas to 86 nays. Simpson and Patrick then briefly spoke away from the microphones, when they returned Patrick said she was agreeable to the amendment and it was added with no further debate.

Simpson's second amendment required school districts, as part of the bill's anti-bullying education requirement, to instruct students in "self-defense in response to [bullying]." The amendment does not specify if this education requirement would be in the form of formal self-defense training, or just a general instruction to punch the other guy in the nose (Simpson was very consistent in in talking about his amendments that the students he had in mind were male, although the text of the amendments themselves are not gender specific). Patrick said she agreed with the amendment and it was added with no debate.

After brief statements by other lawmakers (that really had nothing to do with this bill), a vote was taken and the bill passed, 102 "yeas" to 34 "nays". The record vote is not yet available on the Texas Legislature Online, but Equality Texas Reports via facebook that the no votes were:

Berman(R); Cain(R); Chisum(R); Christian(R); Creighton(R); Crownover(R); Fletcher(R); Flynn(R); Garza(R); Geren(R); Hancock(R); Howard, Charlie(R); Hughes(R); King, Phil(R); Kolkhorst(R); Laubenberg(R); Legler(R); Lyne(R); Miller, Doug(R); Miller, Sid(R); Morrison(R); Paxton(R); Phillips(R); Price(R); Riddle(R); Schwertner(R); Smith, Wayne(R); Solomons(R); Taylor, Larry(R); Taylor, Van(R); Thompson(D); White(R); Workman(R) and Zedler(R)

Anti-Bullying "Super" Bill HB 1942 Gets Tentative Approval in the House

HB 1942, the anti-bullying "super" bill crafted by the House Public Education Committee, passed on a 102 to 34 vote in the Texas House tonight. The bill, by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington), is made up of elements from a number of different anti-bullying bills that were referred to the committee. The record vote is not yet available on the Texas Legislature Online, but Equality Texas Reports via facebook that the no votes were:

Berman(R); Cain(R); Chisum(R); Christian(R); Creighton(R); Crownover(R); Fletcher(R); Flynn(R); Garza(R); Geren(R); Hancock(R); Howard, Charlie(R); Hughes(R); King, Phil(R); Kolkhorst(R); Laubenberg(R); Legler(R); Lyne(R); Miller, Doug(R); Miller, Sid(R); Morrison(R); Paxton(R); Phillips(R); Price(R); Riddle(R); Schwertner(R); Smith, Wayne(R); Solomons(R); Taylor, Larry(R); Taylor, Van(R); Thompson(D); White(R); Workman(R) and Zedler(R)

I'm frankly shocked to see Senfronia Thompson on this list as she is normally a strong ally of the queer community. I hope this is an error or that, at the very least, she has a reasonable explanation for her vote.

One explanation might be an amendment tacked on by Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) that requires schools, in teaching methods for identifying and preventing bullying, to teach students that physical altercations are a good way to respond to bullying.

More on HB 1942 tomorrow, when the bill will be brought up for it's second House wide vote, the last step before it's sent to the Senate for approval.

Day 107: The House

Today is the 107th day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The House reconvenes at 10, the Senate at 11. Several good pieces of legislation passed both bodies yesterday, but contentious bills under consideration today will undoubtedly slow the process and make for a late evening for lawmakers. Here's what's going on in the Senate, this is what's happening in the House:

The Texas constitution requires bills to be "read" in each chamber on three separate days (the whole bill isn't read, just the bill number and a very brief description, called the "caption"). After the first reading bills are sent to committee for consideration. The second reading is the first opportunity for members to debate or amend the bill on the floor, after which it is voted on. Continued debate is allowed after the third reading but amendment of the bill requires a 2/3 vote. After debate on third reading (and potentially amendment) the whole chamber votes on the bill again. If the bill passes on third reading it is then sent to the other chamber for further consideration.

HB 1666 by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) expands the states current law against posting on social media sites with the intent to "harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten another person" to include non-social media sites like youtube and blogger. The bill sailed through the House on third reading yesterday, 141 to 1. Freshman Rep. John V. Garza (R-San Antonio) was the lone "nay" vote as even David Simpson (R-Longview), who opposed the bill on second reading voted "yea." It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

HB 2229 by Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) passed the House on second reading after initially being tabled. The bill makes permanent the Texas HIV Medication Advisory Committee. Texas has a program that provides medication assistance to low-income HIV-positive people. The Advisory Committee is made up of people who are on the ground dealing with the day-to-day functions of the program and is designed to provide real world input. Earlier this year the committee was dissolved when Department of State Health Services Commissioner, Dr. David Lakey, failed to renew it. It has since been reformed after public outcry. Coleman's bill seeks to prevent future commissioners from doing something similar.

HB 2229 seemed poised to pass until an amendment was added by Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio) creating a pilot needle exchange program. Texas has had needle exchange programs in the past and they are a proven way to reduce the transmission of HIV and other blood born diseases. However many House Republicans oppose such programs arguing that, by providing clean needles to IV drug users, the state is condoning drug use. The House voted on HB 2229 and it failed to pass, 53 to 89.

After talking with their colleagues Coleman and McClendon struck a compromise. A motion was made to reconsider the vote, McClendon withdrew her amendment, and the vote was taken again. This time HB 2229 passed on second reading, 104 to 36. It is on the schedule to be considered on third reading to today.

Also today, the House is scheduled to begin debate on the contentious issue of redistricting. The state constitution requires that the legislature redraw the House and Senate district borders every ten years in response to the U.S. census. HB 150 by Burt Solomons (R-Carrollton) will redraw the House borders. Solomons' proposal seeks to solidify the current Republican super-majority in the House. The committee hearings on the bill have been heated, with representatives of Hispanic and African American groups claiming that Solomons has purposefully divided their communities and lessened their voting power. The current House borders also dived the historic the "gayborhoods" of Montrose in Houston and Oaklawn in Dallas (Read LQ's Texas House Districts Divide Queer Main Street).

It should be a prime day for House floor watching, if you're so inclined you can watch the whole thing unfold HERE.