It was no secret, as the House Democrats began chubbing on Thursday May 21 to avoid addressing the contentious Voter ID bill (SB 362), that the only way to salvage dying Senate Bills trapped behind Voter ID on the House Calendar was to amend them onto House Bills already passed to the Senate.
The deadline for either chamber to pass bills originating from the opposing chamber was 12:00 midnight on Wednesday May 27. Both chambers worked late into the evening, but most eyes were focused on the Senate. As the clock neared the twelfth hour legislators and advocates grew increasingly concerned that only a handful of Senate bills would be saved by amendment...until time stood still. When the clock in the Senate Chamber reached 11:56, it mysteriously stopped. The Senate continued passing bills until 2:26 am.
Three important bills were saved by amendment:
SB 841 creating a CHIP buy-in program for families between 200%-300% Federal Poverty Level was amended onto HB 1795
SB 7 creating pilot nutrition education programs to prevent obesity in children was amended onto HB 870, and
SB 14 relating to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association was amended onto HB 4409 in hopes of avoiding a Special Session. Governor Perry has explicitly identified windstorm insurance as a “must pass” bill this session.
The Senate Amended House Bills will be sent back to the House for approval before referring them to conference committees. There is some concern that the House Bills to which these Senate Bills were amended are not germane enough for the Senate Bills, raising suspicions that these bills could die by point of order. We will keep you posted.
