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This week, the House passed HB 4, its proposed congressional district maps. Rebecca’s got the record vote and some clips from the House debate.
As of this writing, Sen. Carol Alvarado is staging a filibuster of the bill in the Senate—if you are reading this after August 23, it’s likely the bill has passed the Senate or is about to do so.
Also this week, both the House and the Senate passed legislation that would strengthen regulation of youth camps, and both chambers are considering bills related to disaster relief and emergency management in the wake of the July 4 Hill Country floods. And committees are hearing bills on other items in the special session call, from bathroom regulations and banning abortion pills to restructuring standardized tests and banning local government lobbying.
But as legislators and witnesses alike are observing, the legislators can’t always explain, and sometimes clearly don’t know, what exactly is in the bills they are considering. Witnesses are having to testify on concepts and substitute bills that haven’t been written. Thousands of Texans have spent the summer testifying their hearts out in opposition to racially discriminatory redistricting, and it’s not clear HB 4 reflects any of the public testimony lawmakers have heard.
None of that is surprising, considering how precipitously the process is moving—but it’s no way to run a state.
Special legislative sessions are supposed to be called in extraordinary circumstances to meet specific needs that can’t wait for the next regular session. The time between regular sessions—the legislative interim—is supposed to be a time for research and deliberation about complex issues, so legislators and stakeholders can do the preparation necessary for responsible policy establishment during the sessions.
Unfortunately, this year’s special sessions have been a poorly composed salad of special interests, perennial favorites, major state policy issues, and high-stakes partisan legislation with potentially global implications. The special sessions are distracting from important work that legislators should already be working on, like remediating the impact the new federal budget will have on Texas families and addressing our ongoing infrastructure shortcomings.
Texas and the U.S. are facing serious challenges, and more are on the horizon. Texas has the resources, creativity, and optimism to provide real leadership. Instead, we are the instigators of a national redistricting conflict, legislators have done real damage to their interpersonal relationships, and communities across the state are worried about how to keep their schools open.
When the special session is over, legislators will go back to their districts, in most cases to launch re-election campaigns. At that point, constituents should take Sen. Borris Miles’ words to heart: Don't give up; show them who you are; and vote. |
