Voter I.D. Requirement & the Blocker Bill
Wednesday update: 7:15 p.m.
The Senate has finally voted, and they voted in favor of eliminating the 2/3rd’s rule/ Blocker Bill but only as it pertains to the Voter I.D. bill. The vote was 18-13 of the 31 members. Not a lot of smiling for just the second day of the session.
The Senate is now deadlocked on the Blocker Bill or 2/3rd’s rule, breaking out into full debate and speeches on this issue with the main issue the possible change of the rule as it relates to the Voter I.D. bill (HB 125) filed in the House by Rep. Betty Brown, which failed in the Senate last session, by the will of 1/3 of the Senate members, and has been filed again this session by Rep. Brown. The issue of redistricting apparently was a part of this discussion but now appears to have been removed. The Senate came on to the floor at 11:00 a.m. and it is after 6 p.m. and they are still debating, with amendment after amendment being submitted to the change of this rule.
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/ram/helix/ch1.ram
The House and Senate are now officially in session and with the Speaker of the House issue all but decided (they’ll be voting for him shortly, we turn to the Senate, where the first issue of interest could be the Blocker Bill or 2/3’s rule as it is called by many. It essentially is a rule of procedure that the Texas Senate members agree to, where no bill will be considered by the full Senate unless the bill has the support of 2/3’s of the 31 Texas Senators, which in effect is 21 Senators . Ths current Texas Senate is made up of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. We believe that, unless otherwise specified in the Texas Constitution, important Texas legislation should only require a simple majority vote in the Senate and should not be held back by a minority of members.
To see what others are saying about this issue:
http://www.harriscountygop.com/eblast/eb011009.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRHTxiR8BTs.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/legislature/stories/DN-senate_14tex.ART.State.Edition2.4b4edc6.html -Dallas Morning News Coverage
Jonathan