Governor Rick Perry has signed three bills dealing with issues important to the LGBT community: HB 1942, HB 1386 and HB 2229. All three bills were passed during the Legislature's 81st regular session.
HB 1942, by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington), is designed to address bullying in Texas Public Schools. The bill allows schools to include information on preventing bullying to be included in staff development training and permits school administrators to transfer bullies to different campuses or classes than their victims (under current code only the victim may be transferred). It requires the State Board of education to include information on "awareness, prevention, identification, self-defense in response to, and resolution of and intervention in bullying and harassment" in the curriculum developed for health classes in public schools. It also requires school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies that protect people who report bullying and contain clear policies on how accusations of bullying will be addressed and creates a standard definition of bullying in the education code. (The definition of bullying created by HB 1942 is extremely narrow: in order to qualify as bullying the behavior must take place on a school campus, at a school sponsored event or in a school owned vehicle; it must physically harm another student or that student's property or threaten to do so; it must also be "severe, persistent, and pervasive;" "exploit an imbalance of power" and disrupt the educational environment.) HB 1942 does not acknowledge in any way the existence of queer students or that they are particularly targeted for bullying.
HB 1386, by Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), addresses the epidemic of teen suicide. The bill requires the State Department of Health to annually compile a list of programs and resources designed to address teen suicide. That list must then be made available to school districts which may, but are not required to, implement programs they feel are appropriate for their districts. Programs on the Department of Health's list must provide resources to assist in identifying youth at risk for suicide, and provide resources for addressing that risk. The training provided by the programs must be created for both teachers and other school staff that regularly interact with students such as law enforcement professionals and school nurses. HB 1386 does not acknowledge that LGBT youth are at particular risk of suicide.
HB 2229, also by Coleman, makes permanent the state's HIV Medication Advisory Committee. Texas has a program that assists low-income HIV-positive people with obtaining medication. The Advisory Committee is made up of health professionals and current or former clients of the program and provides on-the-ground advice on how the program should be run. The committee was previously formed by the Department of State Health Services. Since its existence was only created by agency rule the head of the agency, Commissioner Dr. David Lakey, was able to dissolve the committee earlier this year. After public outcry the committee was reformed. HB 2229 insures that only the legislature, and not the agency commissioner, has the power to dissolve the committee in the future.
It's heartening that Perry choose to sign these bills. Under the Texas Constitution the governor has 30 days after a bill is passed to either sign or veto a bill, if he does not sign the bill it becomes law anyway without his signature. There was never any indication from the Governor's office that he might veto these bills, but he still had the option of letting them become law without his signature, providing him political cover if he felt his support of the bills might become a liability. Perry's signature shows how noncontroversial these bills are. It also shows how mainstream issues like bullying and HIV prevention are if they are not connected to the queer community. While the passage of these three bills is a victory, the absence of any mention in them to LGBT people is a reminder that support for the community is still political poison in Texas.
A Texpatriate attempting grad school in Chicago
Showing posts with label Diane Patrick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diane Patrick. Show all posts
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
House Concurs with Senate Amendments to HB 1942
The Texas House of Representatives has concurred with Senate amendments to HB 1942. The bill, by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington), is an amalgamation of several anti-bullying bills filed this year. The House Public Education Committee forged a compromise out of the least controversial elements of those bills and rewrote HB 1942 to reflect that compromise. The bill passed out of the House with broad bi-partisan support. The Senate made some minor changes, including protections for students receiving special education services and cleaning up some tortured syntax in the bills definition of bullying.
The bill must now be signed by both the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor, a mere formality, before being sent to the Governor's desk. The Governor has 30 days to sign or veto the bill. If he does not sign the bill it becomes law without his signature. Governor Perry has not indicated his intentions regarding HB 1942 but opposition is not anticipated.
The bill must now be signed by both the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor, a mere formality, before being sent to the Governor's desk. The Governor has 30 days to sign or veto the bill. If he does not sign the bill it becomes law without his signature. Governor Perry has not indicated his intentions regarding HB 1942 but opposition is not anticipated.
Day 134: Last Day For Senate Bills in the House
Today is the 135th day of the 82nd session of the Texas Legislature. The House reconvenes and the Senate returns from recess at 9:00 am.
It was a red-letter day for Equality Texas yesterday. Two of the bills on their legislative agenda, HB 1942 by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington) and HB 1386 by Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) were passed by the Senate. Both bills are designed to give schools tools to combat bullying and teen suicide. The House must now concur with changes the Senate made to the bills. HB 1942, which passed first, is on the "items eligible" calendar in the House, a list of bills passed by the Senate on which the House must take action. House rules require that members have 24 hours to review Senate amendments before the vote to concur takes place. Since the amendments to HB 1942 were distributed to House members late last night it is not eligible for consideration until 9:20 this evening. The amendments for HB 1386 have yet to be distributed, that will likely happen today.
Today is the last day the House can consider Senate Bills on second reading. The state constitution requires that bills be "read" on three separate days in both the House and Senate. (they don't actually read the whole bill, just the bill number and a short description called the "caption.") After first reading in the House the bill is referred to one of the House committees. If the committee likes the bill and recommends it to the House the bill is then read a second time, after which the entire House may debate it and vote on it. If the bill passes it is then read for the third time, debated and voted on again. (There's an exception to today's deadline - bills on the "local and consent calendar," a list of noncontroversial bills that received unanimous support in committee, don't have to be considered on second reading until tomorrow).
Unfortunately SB 205 by John Whitmire (D-Houston) is not on the schedule for today, nor is SB 66 by Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo). SB 205 would have expanded and clarified the requirements of school districts student codes of conduct in relation to anti-bullying policies. SB 66 would have closed a loophole that prevents school districts from expelling students who transferred to the district in the same academic year, even for egregious behavior problems. Portions of SB 205 were included in HB 1942, but it's a shame to see these two bills die so close to the finish line.
Wayne Christian (R-Center), who previously amended HB 1 (the budget) to include a provision requiring Texas universities that have LGBT resource centers to equally fund "family and traditional values centers," is rumored to be looking for a Senate bill he can similarly amend. Christian's amendment to the budget was removed by the Senate. He prefiled an identical amendment, and one that would prohibit LGBT resource centers from being housed in state buildings, to SB 1811, one of a series of "fiscal matters" bills that compliment the budget. SB 1811 was debated by the House last Friday, when the debate went past midnight Simpson and several other members withdrew amendments dealing with education on the assumption that they could be added to SB 1581, another fiscal matters bill that deals specifically with education funding. Yesterday SB 1581 came up on second reading in the House but was killed by a "point of order" (an objection that the bill was not considered win accordance with the rules of the House).
If Christian is looking for another vehicle for his amendments SB 8, which is on today's schedule, may be his last chance. It's one of the last "fiscal matters" bills still waiting for House approval, but it deals with Health Care - a very different subject than education. If Christian offers his amendments to SB 8 they should be very susceptible to a point of order based on House Rule 11 Sec. 2 which requires amendments to be on the same subject as the original bill.
It was a red-letter day for Equality Texas yesterday. Two of the bills on their legislative agenda, HB 1942 by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington) and HB 1386 by Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) were passed by the Senate. Both bills are designed to give schools tools to combat bullying and teen suicide. The House must now concur with changes the Senate made to the bills. HB 1942, which passed first, is on the "items eligible" calendar in the House, a list of bills passed by the Senate on which the House must take action. House rules require that members have 24 hours to review Senate amendments before the vote to concur takes place. Since the amendments to HB 1942 were distributed to House members late last night it is not eligible for consideration until 9:20 this evening. The amendments for HB 1386 have yet to be distributed, that will likely happen today.
Today is the last day the House can consider Senate Bills on second reading. The state constitution requires that bills be "read" on three separate days in both the House and Senate. (they don't actually read the whole bill, just the bill number and a short description called the "caption.") After first reading in the House the bill is referred to one of the House committees. If the committee likes the bill and recommends it to the House the bill is then read a second time, after which the entire House may debate it and vote on it. If the bill passes it is then read for the third time, debated and voted on again. (There's an exception to today's deadline - bills on the "local and consent calendar," a list of noncontroversial bills that received unanimous support in committee, don't have to be considered on second reading until tomorrow).
Unfortunately SB 205 by John Whitmire (D-Houston) is not on the schedule for today, nor is SB 66 by Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo). SB 205 would have expanded and clarified the requirements of school districts student codes of conduct in relation to anti-bullying policies. SB 66 would have closed a loophole that prevents school districts from expelling students who transferred to the district in the same academic year, even for egregious behavior problems. Portions of SB 205 were included in HB 1942, but it's a shame to see these two bills die so close to the finish line.
Wayne Christian (R-Center), who previously amended HB 1 (the budget) to include a provision requiring Texas universities that have LGBT resource centers to equally fund "family and traditional values centers," is rumored to be looking for a Senate bill he can similarly amend. Christian's amendment to the budget was removed by the Senate. He prefiled an identical amendment, and one that would prohibit LGBT resource centers from being housed in state buildings, to SB 1811, one of a series of "fiscal matters" bills that compliment the budget. SB 1811 was debated by the House last Friday, when the debate went past midnight Simpson and several other members withdrew amendments dealing with education on the assumption that they could be added to SB 1581, another fiscal matters bill that deals specifically with education funding. Yesterday SB 1581 came up on second reading in the House but was killed by a "point of order" (an objection that the bill was not considered win accordance with the rules of the House).
If Christian is looking for another vehicle for his amendments SB 8, which is on today's schedule, may be his last chance. It's one of the last "fiscal matters" bills still waiting for House approval, but it deals with Health Care - a very different subject than education. If Christian offers his amendments to SB 8 they should be very susceptible to a point of order based on House Rule 11 Sec. 2 which requires amendments to be on the same subject as the original bill.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day 134: Final Push for Bully Bills in Senate
Today is the 134th day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The Senate reconvenes at 10 am, the House at 11.
Today's Senate intent calendar has two bills designed to address school bullying and youth suicide: HB 1942 by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington) and HB 1386 by Garnet Coleman (D-Houston). The intent calendar is list of bills Senators plan to bring up for a vote by having 2/3 of the Senators (or 21) agree to debate the bill.
Patrick's bill is an amalgamation of ideas from a number of anti-bullying bills sent to the House Public Education Committee. The Committee formed a sub-committee which forged the least controversial ideas into a "super bill," the authors the component bills then all signed on as co-authors of HB 1942. The bill was also on the intent calendar last Friday and Saturday but was not brought up for a vote.
Coleman's bill would allow school districts to work in cooperation with other state agencies to provide counseling and other services to youth at risk of suicide and to provide education to administrators and teachers on how to identify at risk youth. It does not require school district to take any action but provides resources to those who wish to address the issue. This is it's first day on the Senate's Intent Calendar.
It's vital that Senators hear from constituents telling them to support HB 1942 and HB 1386. Equality Texas has set up an easy to use form e-mail generator here. You can find the phone number for your Senator here. You can find the phone and fax numbers for all of the Senator's here.
Today's Senate intent calendar has two bills designed to address school bullying and youth suicide: HB 1942 by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington) and HB 1386 by Garnet Coleman (D-Houston). The intent calendar is list of bills Senators plan to bring up for a vote by having 2/3 of the Senators (or 21) agree to debate the bill.
Patrick's bill is an amalgamation of ideas from a number of anti-bullying bills sent to the House Public Education Committee. The Committee formed a sub-committee which forged the least controversial ideas into a "super bill," the authors the component bills then all signed on as co-authors of HB 1942. The bill was also on the intent calendar last Friday and Saturday but was not brought up for a vote.
Coleman's bill would allow school districts to work in cooperation with other state agencies to provide counseling and other services to youth at risk of suicide and to provide education to administrators and teachers on how to identify at risk youth. It does not require school district to take any action but provides resources to those who wish to address the issue. This is it's first day on the Senate's Intent Calendar.
It's vital that Senators hear from constituents telling them to support HB 1942 and HB 1386. Equality Texas has set up an easy to use form e-mail generator here. You can find the phone number for your Senator here. You can find the phone and fax numbers for all of the Senator's here.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
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)
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)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
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.
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 113: Anti-Bullying Bill on House Floor, Take 2
Today is the 113th day of the 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature, except for in the House where it's still technically the 112th day for a little while longer... no really. The House "recessed" just after 7 pm last night and will return today at 10 am, since they did not adjourn at the end of the day yesterday they will still, technically, be on the 112th legislative day and will still be working on the list of bills to be considered that day. The Senate will reconvene at 11 am.
On the list of bills to be considered in the House on the 112th day is the "super" anti-bullying bill HB 1942 by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington). The bill is an amalgamation of ideas from several anti-bullying bills heard in the House Public Education Committee. It's the only major House anti-bullying bill to make it out of committee this session. This next Monday, May 9th - the 119th day of session, is the last day for House committees to vote out House bills, and even then bills of this nature must be voted on by the entire House before midnight on May 12th in order to advance. With the clock ticking HB 1942 may be our last, and best, chance of real anti-bullying reform. Please contact your House member and tell them to support HB 1942. Equality Texas has set up an easy-to-use e-mail form that takes less than a minute HERE.
The nifty trick about the House still being on the 112th day this morning is that it will let them take both the 2nd and 3rd reading vote on HB 1942 on the same calendar day. The Texas constitution requires that bills be "read" on three different days in the House. "Read" means that the bill number and a short description, called the bill caption are read aloud and then, depending on whether it's 1st, 2nd or 3rd reading a different action is taken. After 1st reading the bill is referred to a committee which then holds public hearings and makes a recommendation to the entire House of the bill. After second reading the bill can be debated by the entire House, amended by a majority vote, and then voted on. If the bill passes 2nd reading it's then read a 3rd time and can be debated, amended by a 2/3 vote and voted on again (after which it's sent to the Senate for consideration in the case of House bills or the Governor for signing in the case of most Senate bills). Since HB 1942 is to be considered on 2nd reading on the 112th legislative day the House can pass it, adjourn, reconvene and then pass it on 3rd reading on the same day.
As I mentioned last Friday in my weekly column on the Dallas Voice's Instant Tea Blog, the Senate was expected to start debate this week on HB 1, the appropriations bill that will govern the state's budget for the next two years. It's looking, however, like that might not happen. The bill is on the Senate's "intent calendar," a fast-track list of bills that require a 2/3 vote of the Senate to be brought up for debate (more info on how the intent calendar works from LQ's Day 107 post), but the capitol scuttlebutt says that Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan), who is carrying the bill in the Senate, doesn't have the required 21 votes to bring it up.
The budget touches every aspect of state government. Among the host of concerning issues in the current version of the budget are the underfunding of Texas' HIV medication assistance program and an amendment added by Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Center) designed to reduce funding for campus LGBT resource centers and reappropriate those funds for "Family and Traditional Values Centers" (although it seems that the amendment might have been so poorly written that it will not have its intended effect).
If the Senate does not bring up the bill in time for it to pass out of the legislature before the looming end-of-session deadline on May 30th, Governor Perry will be forced to call a "special session." The governor has broad discretion to call all legislators back to Austin to conduct pressing business that arises between the regular sessions held for 140 days in the spring of odd-numbered years. The lack of a state budget, which would precipitate the complete shutdown of state government this fall, definitely qualifies as pressing.
A special session to approve the budget has advantages and disadvantages. If the budget show down comes to this the legislature will be forced to start at square one on the budget, meaning that things like the Christian amendment would be removed, but also meaning that hard-fought funding for the state's HIV medication assistance program (however inadequate to meet the rising rate of infection in Texas) would also be removed. A special session would mean that LGBT activists would have the interim period between the regular and special sessions to further lobby lawmakers, but it also means that the budget would be crafted under the unique rules governing special sessions, which allow the legislature to work much more quickly and make it more difficult to monitor legislation and inform the public of any actions, good or bad, that take place.
The only sure prediction in the legislature is its unpredictability. With only 27 days left in the regular session people on all sides of the political spectrum are carefully watching the Senate in an attempt to discern the next move.
On the list of bills to be considered in the House on the 112th day is the "super" anti-bullying bill HB 1942 by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington). The bill is an amalgamation of ideas from several anti-bullying bills heard in the House Public Education Committee. It's the only major House anti-bullying bill to make it out of committee this session. This next Monday, May 9th - the 119th day of session, is the last day for House committees to vote out House bills, and even then bills of this nature must be voted on by the entire House before midnight on May 12th in order to advance. With the clock ticking HB 1942 may be our last, and best, chance of real anti-bullying reform. Please contact your House member and tell them to support HB 1942. Equality Texas has set up an easy-to-use e-mail form that takes less than a minute HERE.
The nifty trick about the House still being on the 112th day this morning is that it will let them take both the 2nd and 3rd reading vote on HB 1942 on the same calendar day. The Texas constitution requires that bills be "read" on three different days in the House. "Read" means that the bill number and a short description, called the bill caption are read aloud and then, depending on whether it's 1st, 2nd or 3rd reading a different action is taken. After 1st reading the bill is referred to a committee which then holds public hearings and makes a recommendation to the entire House of the bill. After second reading the bill can be debated by the entire House, amended by a majority vote, and then voted on. If the bill passes 2nd reading it's then read a 3rd time and can be debated, amended by a 2/3 vote and voted on again (after which it's sent to the Senate for consideration in the case of House bills or the Governor for signing in the case of most Senate bills). Since HB 1942 is to be considered on 2nd reading on the 112th legislative day the House can pass it, adjourn, reconvene and then pass it on 3rd reading on the same day.
As I mentioned last Friday in my weekly column on the Dallas Voice's Instant Tea Blog, the Senate was expected to start debate this week on HB 1, the appropriations bill that will govern the state's budget for the next two years. It's looking, however, like that might not happen. The bill is on the Senate's "intent calendar," a fast-track list of bills that require a 2/3 vote of the Senate to be brought up for debate (more info on how the intent calendar works from LQ's Day 107 post), but the capitol scuttlebutt says that Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan), who is carrying the bill in the Senate, doesn't have the required 21 votes to bring it up.
The budget touches every aspect of state government. Among the host of concerning issues in the current version of the budget are the underfunding of Texas' HIV medication assistance program and an amendment added by Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Center) designed to reduce funding for campus LGBT resource centers and reappropriate those funds for "Family and Traditional Values Centers" (although it seems that the amendment might have been so poorly written that it will not have its intended effect).
If the Senate does not bring up the bill in time for it to pass out of the legislature before the looming end-of-session deadline on May 30th, Governor Perry will be forced to call a "special session." The governor has broad discretion to call all legislators back to Austin to conduct pressing business that arises between the regular sessions held for 140 days in the spring of odd-numbered years. The lack of a state budget, which would precipitate the complete shutdown of state government this fall, definitely qualifies as pressing.
A special session to approve the budget has advantages and disadvantages. If the budget show down comes to this the legislature will be forced to start at square one on the budget, meaning that things like the Christian amendment would be removed, but also meaning that hard-fought funding for the state's HIV medication assistance program (however inadequate to meet the rising rate of infection in Texas) would also be removed. A special session would mean that LGBT activists would have the interim period between the regular and special sessions to further lobby lawmakers, but it also means that the budget would be crafted under the unique rules governing special sessions, which allow the legislature to work much more quickly and make it more difficult to monitor legislation and inform the public of any actions, good or bad, that take place.
The only sure prediction in the legislature is its unpredictability. With only 27 days left in the regular session people on all sides of the political spectrum are carefully watching the Senate in an attempt to discern the next move.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Day 112: Anti-Bullying Bill on House Floor
Today is the 112 day of 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The House reconvenes at 10 am, the Senate at 11 am.
On the House's schedule for today is HB 1942 - the "super" bully bill. Introduced by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington), HB 1942 is an amalgamation of many ideas on how to fight bullying condensed into a single bill by the House Public Education Committee. Although it contains no recognition of queer students it will go a long way towards improving their lives. As the only major anti-bullying bill to make it out of House Committee this session HB 1942 is our best, and perhaps last, chance to create meaningful change this session, a similiar opportunity won't come along for two more years.
It is imperative that House members hear from constituents telling them to support HB 1942. Equality Texas has set up an easy to use e-mail generator HERE. Please contact your reps today and encourage everyone you know who cares about the well being of children to do the same.
Early efforts have already yielded results. HB 1942 picked up two co-authors over the weekend: Long Burnam (D-Fort Worth) and Elliot Naishtat (D-Austin). The bill now has a bipartisan selection of five authors and five co-authors, but we need the support of as many House members as possible so keep those e-mails and phone calls coming.
On the House's schedule for today is HB 1942 - the "super" bully bill. Introduced by Diane Patrick (R-Arlington), HB 1942 is an amalgamation of many ideas on how to fight bullying condensed into a single bill by the House Public Education Committee. Although it contains no recognition of queer students it will go a long way towards improving their lives. As the only major anti-bullying bill to make it out of House Committee this session HB 1942 is our best, and perhaps last, chance to create meaningful change this session, a similiar opportunity won't come along for two more years.
It is imperative that House members hear from constituents telling them to support HB 1942. Equality Texas has set up an easy to use e-mail generator HERE. Please contact your reps today and encourage everyone you know who cares about the well being of children to do the same.
Early efforts have already yielded results. HB 1942 picked up two co-authors over the weekend: Long Burnam (D-Fort Worth) and Elliot Naishtat (D-Austin). The bill now has a bipartisan selection of five authors and five co-authors, but we need the support of as many House members as possible so keep those e-mails and phone calls coming.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
House Public Education Committee Passes Bullying Legislation
The House Public Education Committee has "reported favorably" on the committee substitute to HB 1942 by Rep. Diane Patrick (R-Arlington). Technically committees do not pass legislation, but instead issue reports to the whole body on whether the legislation is a good idea, by reporting favorably the committee is recommending that the House pass HB 1942. A "committee substitute" is a way to amend a bill in committee by completely replacing it with another bill on the same topic. In the case of HB 1942 the committee substitute is the result of negotiations by the sub-committee on bullying and incorporates elements of several other bills that have been filed this session.
When compared to HB 242 (The Strama/Davis big bully bill) the committee substitute for HB 1942 (or CSHB 1942) is far less comprehensive. Strama's bill, as originally filed, did four major things:
However, that definition only applies to section 25, which gives school districts the ability to transfer the victims of bullying to other classes or campuses. There are other sections of the education code which talk about bullying, but they do not have their own definitions.
CSHB 1942 fixes this by redefining bullying for the entire code (including Sec 25.0342) as
The next step in the process will be for the "Calendars Committee" to place CSHB 1942 on the House's schedule. The House divides bills into seven calendars, depending on what the bill does. Different calendars are heard on different days and the Calendars Committees determine which bills go on which calendars. The Public Education Committee recommended CSHB 1942 be placed on the General State Calendar, which is reserved for non-emergent bills that have a statewide impact but only effect some citizens (in this case students). CSHB must be debated on the House floor before midnight on May 12 in order to move on to the next step in the process: Senate consideration. Last session similar legislation (HB 1324 by Strama (D-Travis Co)) failed to pass because it didn't make this deadline (for more information read LQ's Anti-Bullying Legislation in Texas Part II).
Once CSHB 1942 reaches the floor there will be an opportunity to amend it. With such a carefully crafted compromise, however, it's likely that Democratic members who find fault with the bill will be encouraged to not attempt to make it better. The best hope for improving this legislation (for instance fixing that whole and/or issue) is for members to speak privately with Rep. Patrick and the bill's co-authors (Shelton, Strama, Eissler and Guillen) about any desired changes before CSHB 1942 reaches the floor. If Patrick is agreeable a "friendly amendment" can be offered to fix any issues without subjecting the bill to prolonged debate which might endanger it.
CSHB 1942 incorporates ideas from a number of bills filed this session, including HB 24, HB 195, HB 224/SB 242, SB 42 and SB 205 and is the result of compromises designed to appease a majority Republican committee and a majority Republican Legislature (10 of the 11 committee members voted in favor of the bill, including 5 Republicans and the bill's principal author, Diane Patrick is a Republican). By removing any recognition of sexual orientation (let alone gender identity and expression) as a motivating bias for bullying, and by removing any suggestion that administrators have a responsibility to respond to off-campus bullying the crafters of this compromise have made it more appealing to the majority of legislators. Although it will likely face some opposition on the floor it is likely to pass, provided that there is still enough time left in the session.
When compared to HB 242 (The Strama/Davis big bully bill) the committee substitute for HB 1942 (or CSHB 1942) is far less comprehensive. Strama's bill, as originally filed, did four major things:
- Require that all staff, teachers, parents and students receive training on how to identify and prevent bullying;
- Allow for the transfer of bullies to different classes/campuses than their victims (currently only the victim may be transferred);
- allow school administrators to address cyberbullying that takes place off campus if the electronic communication is received on campus or at a school event or if it substantially disrupts school operations; and
- Require school districts to annually report instances of bullying to the state, enumerating the report by motivating bias including sexual orientation, but not gender identity and expression.
- Require that school health curriculums include information on how to "effectively address awareness, prevention, identification, and resolution of and intervention in bullying," but would not require training for staff, teachers or parents (the bill says that districts "may" provide training for teachers, but does not require it);
- Allow for the transfer of bullies to different classes/campuses than their victims (currently only the victim may be transferred);
- Allow school administrators to address cyberbullying, but only if it "occurs on school property, at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, or on a vehicle operated by the district;"
- Not require any state-level reporting on instances of bullying; and
- Further clarify the requirements of anti-bullying policies schools must adopt in their Student Codes of Conduct.
"'bullying' means engaging in written or verbal expression or physical conduct that a school district board of trustees or the board's designee determines: (1) will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student's property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student's person or of damage to the student's property; or (2) is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student." (emphasis added)
However, that definition only applies to section 25, which gives school districts the ability to transfer the victims of bullying to other classes or campuses. There are other sections of the education code which talk about bullying, but they do not have their own definitions.
CSHB 1942 fixes this by redefining bullying for the entire code (including Sec 25.0342) as
"bullying" means engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or physical conduct that occurs on school property, at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, or on a vehicle operated by the district and that: (1) has the effect or will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student ’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student ’s person or of damage to the student ’s property; (2) is sufficiently severe, persistent, and pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student; (3) exploits an imbalance of power between the student perpetrator and the student victim through written or verbal expression or physical conduct; and (4) interferes with a student ’s education or substantially disrupts the operation of a school. (emphasis added)The use of the word "and" in the proposed new definition (instead of the word "or") means that, to be considered bullying, the behavior will have to meet every criteria in the definition. Under this definition if a bully threatens to harm a student in a severe and pervasive way that exploits an imbalance of power and interferes with a student's eduction, but isn't persistent about it, it wouldn't count as bullying. If a bully physically harms a student in a severe, persistent and pervasive way that substantially disrupts the operation of the school, but administrators do not perceive an imbalance of power, it wouldn't count as bullying. The use of the word "and" where previously "or" was used weakens the existent protections in the code.
The next step in the process will be for the "Calendars Committee" to place CSHB 1942 on the House's schedule. The House divides bills into seven calendars, depending on what the bill does. Different calendars are heard on different days and the Calendars Committees determine which bills go on which calendars. The Public Education Committee recommended CSHB 1942 be placed on the General State Calendar, which is reserved for non-emergent bills that have a statewide impact but only effect some citizens (in this case students). CSHB must be debated on the House floor before midnight on May 12 in order to move on to the next step in the process: Senate consideration. Last session similar legislation (HB 1324 by Strama (D-Travis Co)) failed to pass because it didn't make this deadline (for more information read LQ's Anti-Bullying Legislation in Texas Part II).
Once CSHB 1942 reaches the floor there will be an opportunity to amend it. With such a carefully crafted compromise, however, it's likely that Democratic members who find fault with the bill will be encouraged to not attempt to make it better. The best hope for improving this legislation (for instance fixing that whole and/or issue) is for members to speak privately with Rep. Patrick and the bill's co-authors (Shelton, Strama, Eissler and Guillen) about any desired changes before CSHB 1942 reaches the floor. If Patrick is agreeable a "friendly amendment" can be offered to fix any issues without subjecting the bill to prolonged debate which might endanger it.
CSHB 1942 incorporates ideas from a number of bills filed this session, including HB 24, HB 195, HB 224/SB 242, SB 42 and SB 205 and is the result of compromises designed to appease a majority Republican committee and a majority Republican Legislature (10 of the 11 committee members voted in favor of the bill, including 5 Republicans and the bill's principal author, Diane Patrick is a Republican). By removing any recognition of sexual orientation (let alone gender identity and expression) as a motivating bias for bullying, and by removing any suggestion that administrators have a responsibility to respond to off-campus bullying the crafters of this compromise have made it more appealing to the majority of legislators. Although it will likely face some opposition on the floor it is likely to pass, provided that there is still enough time left in the session.
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