Quorum Report tweets that Speaker Straus has won the Republican caucus vote for Speaker with 70 out of 100 votes (for more information on the unorthodox practice of taking a caucus vote for House Speaker see Legislative Queery's post UPDATE: Chisum Remains in Speakers Race).
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the vote was stopped after Straus received 70 votes so it is possible that he actually had much broader support. It is now all but certain that Joe Straus will remain House Speaker for another session. With that settled the next major step in getting the session underway will be the adoption of the House's rules, followed by the appointment of committee chairs by the Speaker.
Straus is a Republican from Bexar County. He has been praised for his even-handed and statesmen-like approach to the Speakership and vilified by the far right for not suppressing moderate and liberal members.
The Texas State Constitution allows the House to adopt its own rules within certain guidelines. The rules generally remain about the same with minor tweaks here and there to address issues that have risen since the last revision. It takes a two-thirds majority of the House to approve the rules.
(With the new Republican super-majority it is possible that an attempt will be made to majorly edit the rules to make it easier to pass conservative legislative priorities. Last session a change in Senate Rules allowed voter suppression legislation that had stalled in previous sessions to sail through the Senate, creating a major crisis when it reached the House and the Democratic leadership slowed House business to a standstill to prevent its passage. It is possible that something similar may be tried in the House this session.)
Once the rules have been adopted the next order of business is for the Speaker to appoint chairs, vice-chairs and members to each of the House's standing committees (the exact number and nature of committees is laid out in the House Rules, so appointments can not be made until the rules are agreed upon). Committee Chairs determine which bills will receive hearings and in what order and which bills will be voted out of committee. A chairpersonship is a very powerful position.
Historically both Democratic and Republican speakers have appointed chairs from both parties with the appointments roughly divided between parties in proportion to that party's seats in the House. If that pattern holds true we should see about 11 Democratic committee chairs and 23 Republicans.
Assuming the committee structure this session is similar to what it's been in the past (which seems likely), most media will be focused on the chairs of the Appropriations, Elections, Redistricting, Border and Intergovernmental Affairs, State Affairs and Ways and Means committees. These committees will likely handle the highest profile issues like the budget, voter suppression, redistricting, and immigration. It is very likely that all of those chairpersonships will go to Republicans.
Most of the legislation that will most directly effect the queer community, however, is likely to go through the Public Education Committee (anti-bullying), the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee (Hate Crime reform) and the Insurance Committee (insurance non-discrimination).
Straus's chairs last session of those committees were: Rob Eissler (R), Public Education; John Smithee (R) - Insurance and Pete Gallego (D) - Criminal Jurisprudence.
Last session Chairman Eissler was fairly supportive of anti-bullying legislation, scheduling it for a hearing and bringing it up for a vote, if a bit late in the session. He supported Straus's bid to remain speaker so it seems likely that he may keep his chairmanship. If so, the public attention on bullying and the early filing of several anti-bullying bills will likely mean an earlier hearing date, and hopefully earlier passage out of committee.
Chairman Smithee is one of what I like to call the "gang of 37" - arch conservatives who have consistently opposed any legislation that improves the lives of queer people - regardless of how minor. If he remains chairman of the House Committee on Insurance it seems unlikely that any effort to outlaw insurance discrimination based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity and Expression will succeed.
Smithee is also frequently named as a potential candidate for Speaker. He has supported Straus in the past but his potential as a rival makes it important for Straus to reward his loyalty. It seems almost certain that Smithee will be appointed as a committee chair... but which one? Speaker Straus will want to be certain that the chairs of the high profile committees and the chairs of the procedural committees like Calendars are all Republican stalwarts. He may choose to promote Smithee to a more powerful position. If so, we may have a new chair of Insurance, and a new hope for justice.
Chairman Gallego has a solid record of votes in favor of the best interest of the queer community. Last session his committee sent through Marc Veasey's HB 616 (refiled this session as HB 172) which would study the effectiveness of Texas' current Hate Crimes Law and suggest improvements, but the bill stalled waiting to reach the House floor.
There will be fewer Democratic Chairs this session, there is no getting around that. Gallego may be one of the Democrats who lose their chairmanship. I will be watching this appointment carefully.
Expect to learn the new lineup of committee chairs within a week or so. The outcome is crucial to the eventual success or failure of many vital bills.
A Texpatriate attempting grad school in Chicago
Monday, January 10, 2011
"Die-in" Planned at State Capitol
A Facebook page has been created to promote a scheduled 'die-in' on the front lawn of the Texas State Capitol in Austin tomorrow at 6 pm. The event is designed to draw attention to the very real and deadly consequences that can result from bullying.
I am a big believer in the power of protests and publicity events to sway public opinion and in turn to sway elected officials. I wish the organizers the best of luck and encourage anyone who will be in Austin to participate as volume is key to the success of these sorts of events.
I also encourage anyone who is planning to participate to come a couple of hours early and visit the offices of their State Representative and Senator (if you don't know who that is you can find out Here (House) and Here (Senate)). There are dozens of protests and rallies at the capitol every week. I can tell you from experience that most of the time the people working in the building, most of whom work in underground offices, have no idea what is happening on the front lawn (unless, of course, it involves free food).
Direct action is most effective when coupled with direct communication. Without that a 'die-in' just looks like a bunch of people taking a nap.
I am a big believer in the power of protests and publicity events to sway public opinion and in turn to sway elected officials. I wish the organizers the best of luck and encourage anyone who will be in Austin to participate as volume is key to the success of these sorts of events.
I also encourage anyone who is planning to participate to come a couple of hours early and visit the offices of their State Representative and Senator (if you don't know who that is you can find out Here (House) and Here (Senate)). There are dozens of protests and rallies at the capitol every week. I can tell you from experience that most of the time the people working in the building, most of whom work in underground offices, have no idea what is happening on the front lawn (unless, of course, it involves free food).
Direct action is most effective when coupled with direct communication. Without that a 'die-in' just looks like a bunch of people taking a nap.
Bipartisan Votes Key to LGBT Legislative Successes - Part I
Last month The Austin American Statesmen reported that Representatives Pena and Ritter, formerly Democratic State House members, switched parties and are now Republicans. This change means that the Texas House now has 101 Republicans and 49 Democrats.
One-hundred is a key number in the Texas House, which has 150 members total, there are several key parliamentary procedures that require two-thirds of the members, including establishing a quorum, suspending the House rules, approving proposed constitutional amendments and even expelling fellow house members.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, in order to exercise their new found power they will have to find a way to unite a party that is increasingly fractured and discordant. The same Teabagger movement that swept them into their 'super majority' has also emboldened the most arch members of their conservative wing and saddled them with 30 freshmen legislators, most of whom ran on such fevered opposition to federal issues it's difficult to know if they understand they've been elected to the state legislature.
While the current partisan break down of the House is certain to play a major role in issues such as voter suppression and redistricting, its influence on the fate of major queer issues such as bullying and ending insurance discrimination is hard to predict.
Attempting to understand the relationship between the partisan divide and the fate of legislation that affects the queer community I looked at 10 house votes from the last 5 regular sessions. What I found was that support or opposition to the best interest of the queer community never fell along partisan lines. In fact 15 of the 44 incumbent Democrats in the House this session have a record of voting against LGBT people at least once and 23 of 69 incumbent Republicans have a history of, at least once, voting for them.
Before we look at the historic votes more closely let's talk about the challenges of interpreting Texas House votes. According to the House Rules all votes are taken by voice vote, but any member can request that a 'record vote' be taken which will record specifically who voted which way (technically the rules say that every vote must be a voice vote but that after the vote is taken any member may request that a record vote may also be taken - historically the presiding officer of the house has forgone this formality and skipped right to the record vote if requested).
If only a voice vote is taken and the measure passes members who opposed the measure may enter their official opposition in the record. In that instance the House Journal only reflects those in opposition.
In cases of record votes each member of the house uses a voting machine embedded into their desk to record their vote. The machine allows them to vote either 'yea', 'nay' or 'present not voting' for each item before the House.
If a member is away from the House Chamber due to illness, family emergency or similar circumstance they can ask a fellow member to request that the Speaker excuse them, if a vote happens while they are away they are notated as being "Absent-Excused" in the record. Typically a member who is "Absent-Excused" will miss an entire day of votes.
The House often meets for hours on end without breaks. Members must often step out of the chamber the eat meals, meet with constituents or take bathroom breaks. If a member happens to be away from their desk and unable to vote when a record vote is taken they are recorded as being 'absent' from that vote.
So on any vote there are five different ways that a members position could be recorded: Yea, Nay, Present - Not Voting, Absent-Excused and Absent.
The issue is further complicated by a long standing tradition of members voting for each other. Many representatives feel that it is appropriate for them to record a vote on the machine embedded in the desk of a colleague who is absent, obstinately voting in the manner that member would and sparing them a record of being "absent" for a vote. The practice is strictly prohibited by House Rule 5, section 47, but it still happens (and was famously defended by Rep. Debbie Riddle after she was caught, on tape, voting for Rep. Kuempel).
These votes are jokingly referred to as "voting machine malfunctions". The House Rules allow members to enter a statement in the official house record explaining that their voting machine "malfunctioned" and stating how they intended to vote. Members can enter a similar statement if they are absent for a vote and would like a record of their position on the record.
For the purposes of analyzing historic House votes I have chosen to reflect member's "intended" vote if it differs from their recorded vote.
Up next in Part II - the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Act of 1999 and the power of committee chairmanship.
One-hundred is a key number in the Texas House, which has 150 members total, there are several key parliamentary procedures that require two-thirds of the members, including establishing a quorum, suspending the House rules, approving proposed constitutional amendments and even expelling fellow house members.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, in order to exercise their new found power they will have to find a way to unite a party that is increasingly fractured and discordant. The same Teabagger movement that swept them into their 'super majority' has also emboldened the most arch members of their conservative wing and saddled them with 30 freshmen legislators, most of whom ran on such fevered opposition to federal issues it's difficult to know if they understand they've been elected to the state legislature.
While the current partisan break down of the House is certain to play a major role in issues such as voter suppression and redistricting, its influence on the fate of major queer issues such as bullying and ending insurance discrimination is hard to predict.
Attempting to understand the relationship between the partisan divide and the fate of legislation that affects the queer community I looked at 10 house votes from the last 5 regular sessions. What I found was that support or opposition to the best interest of the queer community never fell along partisan lines. In fact 15 of the 44 incumbent Democrats in the House this session have a record of voting against LGBT people at least once and 23 of 69 incumbent Republicans have a history of, at least once, voting for them.
Before we look at the historic votes more closely let's talk about the challenges of interpreting Texas House votes. According to the House Rules all votes are taken by voice vote, but any member can request that a 'record vote' be taken which will record specifically who voted which way (technically the rules say that every vote must be a voice vote but that after the vote is taken any member may request that a record vote may also be taken - historically the presiding officer of the house has forgone this formality and skipped right to the record vote if requested).
If only a voice vote is taken and the measure passes members who opposed the measure may enter their official opposition in the record. In that instance the House Journal only reflects those in opposition.
In cases of record votes each member of the house uses a voting machine embedded into their desk to record their vote. The machine allows them to vote either 'yea', 'nay' or 'present not voting' for each item before the House.
If a member is away from the House Chamber due to illness, family emergency or similar circumstance they can ask a fellow member to request that the Speaker excuse them, if a vote happens while they are away they are notated as being "Absent-Excused" in the record. Typically a member who is "Absent-Excused" will miss an entire day of votes.
The House often meets for hours on end without breaks. Members must often step out of the chamber the eat meals, meet with constituents or take bathroom breaks. If a member happens to be away from their desk and unable to vote when a record vote is taken they are recorded as being 'absent' from that vote.
So on any vote there are five different ways that a members position could be recorded: Yea, Nay, Present - Not Voting, Absent-Excused and Absent.
The issue is further complicated by a long standing tradition of members voting for each other. Many representatives feel that it is appropriate for them to record a vote on the machine embedded in the desk of a colleague who is absent, obstinately voting in the manner that member would and sparing them a record of being "absent" for a vote. The practice is strictly prohibited by House Rule 5, section 47, but it still happens (and was famously defended by Rep. Debbie Riddle after she was caught, on tape, voting for Rep. Kuempel).
These votes are jokingly referred to as "voting machine malfunctions". The House Rules allow members to enter a statement in the official house record explaining that their voting machine "malfunctioned" and stating how they intended to vote. Members can enter a similar statement if they are absent for a vote and would like a record of their position on the record.
For the purposes of analyzing historic House votes I have chosen to reflect member's "intended" vote if it differs from their recorded vote.
Up next in Part II - the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Act of 1999 and the power of committee chairmanship.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Today's Shooting
Our thoughts go out to the Hon. Gabrielle Giffords, the Hon. Jon Roll and all of the victims of today's senseless shooting and their family and friends. No matter our disagreements, regardless of how serious or fervent the values that separate us, let us remember that violence - and threats of violence - are never the road to justice.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Equality Project Coming to Houston January 22nd
The Equality Project is coming to Houston, Saturday, January 22. Created by Equality Texas Foundation, the Equality Project is designed to teach members of the LGBT community and their allies to effectively communicate with elected officials. The January 22 training will be held at the Transgender Community Center at 604 Pacific from 10 am to 3 pm.
The training will focus on influencing members of the State Legislature during the upcoming legislative session, but will also give general information vital to communicating with any elected official. The Texas Legislature will convene on January 11, starting its biennial whirlwind of lawmaking. Several bills important to the LGBT community have already been filed, including legislation to end insurance discrimination and several anti-bullying measures.
I am honored that Equality Texas has asked me to lead this training. I attended the training the last time it was in Houston and was impressed by how thoughtfully the curriculum is constructed.
It is shocking to me that their are member of the State Legislature who claim they 'don't have any gay people in my district'. If they believe that it is our fault, as a community, for not communicating with them. This training aims to correct that.
Participants will learn about bills that have been filed and will review the process by which a bill becomes a law (the training is non-partisan and will not advocate for any particular legislation). Role-playing plays a major role in the training as participants practice speaking directly to lawmakers and staffers. Lunch will be provided.
The training is free but pre-registration is required to reserve space and so information can be gathered about each registrant's elected officials. To register, visit: http://bit.ly/g0px8j
Equality Project Training is presented by Equality Texas Foundation, with support from The Transgender Foundation of America, Houston Stonewall Young Democrats and the Houston GLBT Community Center.
The training will focus on influencing members of the State Legislature during the upcoming legislative session, but will also give general information vital to communicating with any elected official. The Texas Legislature will convene on January 11, starting its biennial whirlwind of lawmaking. Several bills important to the LGBT community have already been filed, including legislation to end insurance discrimination and several anti-bullying measures.
I am honored that Equality Texas has asked me to lead this training. I attended the training the last time it was in Houston and was impressed by how thoughtfully the curriculum is constructed.
It is shocking to me that their are member of the State Legislature who claim they 'don't have any gay people in my district'. If they believe that it is our fault, as a community, for not communicating with them. This training aims to correct that.
Participants will learn about bills that have been filed and will review the process by which a bill becomes a law (the training is non-partisan and will not advocate for any particular legislation). Role-playing plays a major role in the training as participants practice speaking directly to lawmakers and staffers. Lunch will be provided.
The training is free but pre-registration is required to reserve space and so information can be gathered about each registrant's elected officials. To register, visit: http://bit.ly/g0px8j
Equality Project Training is presented by Equality Texas Foundation, with support from The Transgender Foundation of America, Houston Stonewall Young Democrats and the Houston GLBT Community Center.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Brunch Against Bullying
Houston Stonewall Young Democrats, in cooperation with Equality Texas, is holding a "Brunch Against Bullying" on January 16th at 10:30 am in Houston at the home of Mr. Patrick Dickson.
The Brunch will raise funds for the Trevor Project, the only nationwide 24 hour hot-line for LGBTQ youth and to provide low cost transportation to Equality Texas' Lobby Day in Austin on March 7th.
Tickets at $50, there are also a number of sponsorship levels available, visit www.houstonstonewallyd.com/brunchagainstbullying.html for more information.
The Trevor project is a wonderful, and worthwhile, beneficiary for this event, but I am particularly excited to see early efforts to help people get to Lobby Day.
Equality Texas' Lobby Day is a single day set aside each legislative session for queer Texans and their allies to visit lawmakers in Austin. Last year more than 400 people participated in Lobby Day, yet there are still legislators who claim that they "don't have any gay people in their district". It is vital to the advancement of justice that the people who make the rules we have to live by hear from LGBT constituents.
Anti-bullying efforts are sure to be a major legislative concern this year. Ensuring that legislators hear from constituents about the issue of bullying will help garner support.
I hope that other communities in Texas will soon start planning ways that they can encourage people to participate in Lobby Day. There are many people in our community for whom even a day trip to Austin is prohibitively expensive. If we are to advance it is imperative that those in positions of leadership work to find ways to insure that every voice is heard, not just the voices of people who can afford to be heard.
Please bring up the topic at the next meeting of any community organizations your belong to. This year, let's overwhelm the state capital with people advocating for their own freedom.
The Brunch will raise funds for the Trevor Project, the only nationwide 24 hour hot-line for LGBTQ youth and to provide low cost transportation to Equality Texas' Lobby Day in Austin on March 7th.
Tickets at $50, there are also a number of sponsorship levels available, visit www.houstonstonewallyd.com/brunchagainstbullying.html for more information.
The Trevor project is a wonderful, and worthwhile, beneficiary for this event, but I am particularly excited to see early efforts to help people get to Lobby Day.
Equality Texas' Lobby Day is a single day set aside each legislative session for queer Texans and their allies to visit lawmakers in Austin. Last year more than 400 people participated in Lobby Day, yet there are still legislators who claim that they "don't have any gay people in their district". It is vital to the advancement of justice that the people who make the rules we have to live by hear from LGBT constituents.
Anti-bullying efforts are sure to be a major legislative concern this year. Ensuring that legislators hear from constituents about the issue of bullying will help garner support.
I hope that other communities in Texas will soon start planning ways that they can encourage people to participate in Lobby Day. There are many people in our community for whom even a day trip to Austin is prohibitively expensive. If we are to advance it is imperative that those in positions of leadership work to find ways to insure that every voice is heard, not just the voices of people who can afford to be heard.
Please bring up the topic at the next meeting of any community organizations your belong to. This year, let's overwhelm the state capital with people advocating for their own freedom.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Sentencing Delayed for Attacker of Trans Man
Terrance Calhoun, who brutally attacked and robbed a gay transgender student at Houston Community College this summer faced Harris County District Court Judge Belinda Hill at his sentencing hearing today.
The attack took place on June 22 near downtown Houston. Calhoun followed Lance Reyna into the restroom, shouted “Hey queer!”, and demanded Reyna’s possessions while thrusting a knife against Reyna’s throat. After robbing Reyna, Calhoun struck him in the face and shoved him to the floor.
I accompanied Reyna to the Houston Police Station a couple of weeks after the attack, where he identified Calhoun in a line-up. This was the first time he had seen his attacker since the robbery. Lance was pale and could barely speak above a whisper as he bravely identified the man who had left him bruised and bleeding on a restroom floor.
Calhoun's face in the lineup was brazen, his body held in tension between defiance and threat. A far cry from his demeanor in court today where he shuffled his feet, cried and spoke so softly that the judge repeatedly asked him to speak up.
Reyna testified in court today that he fears another attack and believes that Calhoun should serve at least a portion of the 5 years to life in prison that Texas law allows.
Calhoun plead guilty to aggravated robbery, but denied shouting the anti-gay epithet during the attack. His defense attorney attempted to convince the judge that the Christian values of his large, supportive family would prevent him from re-offending if the judge gave him probation instead of jail time. District Attorney Jonathan Stephenson succinctly retorted that if Calhoun's Christian values and supportive family didn't help him set his life straight after his previous drug conviction (a conviction for which he was serving probation at the time of the attack on Reyna) the court had no reason to believe they would do so now.
Judge Hill ordered Calhoun, who has been out on bail, to return to county custody for 120 days while she considers his sentence. “I’m pleased to know that my attacker is now behind bars, where he cannot harm anyone else,” said Reyna. “I thank the judge for her sensitive consideration of this issue, and look forward to her final ruling.”
Understand that the Harris County DA is not claiming that it was not a hate crime, they are simply choosing not to request that the judge in the case add a finding that Calhoun acted out of an anti-gay bias to the charges against him.
Why not? Because the Texas hate crime law (found in Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42.014) only allows prosecutors to add to the maximum allowed for the crime in question. Because the guidelines for aggravated robbery allow for a sentence of 5 years to life in prison attaching the hate crime charge would not increase the potential punishment the judge could prescribe (a person can not serve more time than life). There is no incentive for the prosecutor to pursue a hate crime charge when doing so would create more work, and would not affect the final sentence of the defendant.
“The Texas Hate Crimes statute is disappointingly insufficient as a tool against attacks like this”, said Cristan Williams, executive director of the Transgender Foundation of America, "I am hopeful that state lawmakers will consider revising the law to make it more useful”.
According to Randal Terrel, former Policy Director for Equality Texas, over 1,800 potential hate crimes have been reported to the Department of Public Safety since the Texas hate crimes statute went into effect in 2001. Only 12 have been prosecuted as hate crimes.
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Tarrant County) filed legislation last month (HB 172) that would require a study to look for ways to improve the law. (Legislative Queery's synopsis of the bill HERE) He filed a similar bill last session, which was heard in committee and sent to the full House for a vote, but it was not voted on before the end of session.
One solution to the problem with the hate crime law would be to edit the statute to allow an increase in the minimum allowable sentence in cases where the maximum is life. Under the current statute Judge Hill could sentence Calhoun to as little as 5 years in prison. He would then be eligible for parole in about two and a half years. If the law were amended so that including the hate crimes charge increased the minimum sentence, say to 10 years, prosecutors would have a reason to use it since it would likely result in longer sentences.
Another idea for improving the law would be amend it to include gender identity and expression. Currently the hate crimes statute list several attributes, and allows for a perpetrators bias against people with those attributes to trigger the hate crimes enhancement. Under the current law crimes committed because of the perpetrator's bias against transgender people cannot be prosecuted as hate crimes. ( This omission was not an issue in this case because Reyna is both gay and transgender, and because the epithet used "queer" demonstrates Calhoun's bias against gay people.) Last legislative session Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) filed a bill (HB 2966) that would have done that. It did not receive a hearing.
Judge Hill indicated that her final ruling will likely be "deferred adjudication", a legal process by which she can wait to sentence him until he completes requirements of the court. Hill suggested that she might order Calhoun to attend one year of substance abuse treatment at a “lock-down” facility followed by 10 years of probation. If Calhoun did not follow the rules of the treatment facility or violated his probation he would then find himself back in front of Judge Hill, who could sentence him to up to in life in prison.
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