State legislative committee developing recommendations in response to Uvalde school shooting
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - State legislative committees developing recommendations in response to the deadly mass shooting in Uvalde may still be months away from being released.
A memo by Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan last week says the interim committee reports will be due on Nov. 11, which is three days after the election.
However, the committees can release their reports before that date.
A staffer with the House Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety told CBS 11 last week the committee may not release its recommendations publicly until November.
There has been no word from the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee on its recommendations.
That committee's Chair, Rep. James White, R-Hillister, recently left the legislature to become the Executive Director of the Texas Funeral Services Commission.
Speaker Phelan hasn't announced yet a new chair for the committee.
A staffer with the State Senate's Special committee To Protect All Texans said last week, their recommendations could be released by the second week of September, but on Monday said the process is taking longer and that a specific date for release can't be provided.
The developments come as some families touched personally by the deadly school shootings in Uvalde and Santa Fe, Texas four years ago rallied at the state Capitol on Saturday.
Hundreds of people attended the rally where speakers demanded Governor Greg Abbott call a special session so that lawmakers can change state law.
They want the state to raise the minimum age someone can buy an A-R 15 style rifle to 21.
The 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde was able to buy two of that style of weapon legally.
In response to the rally organized by March For Our Lives, Governor Abbott's Press Secretary Renae Eze told CBS 11, "Governor Abbott has taken immediate action to address all aspects of the heinous crime committed in Uvalde, including issuing six directives to make schools safer and working with Texas legislative leadership to provide $105.5 million to support additional school safety and mental health initiatives."
The Governor also asked lawmakers to develop recommendations for potential solutions, and legislative leaders announced the committees that would be responsible for doing so.
They held hearings in June and August.
Democratic State Representative Victoria Neave Criado of Mesquite said Monday, "We support the call for the special session we need. In order to pass, we have to be able to be in the Capitol to file the bills and get those bills on the Governor's desk."
Neave Criado said the legislature shouldn't wait for the next regular legislative session to begin in January.
"We know that it's a few months away, but time is of the essence with the families and so I certainly understand the urgency and I'm aligned with them and lots of families in our community who want action now," Neave Criado said.
The office of Democratic State Representative Rhetta Bowers of Garland, who serves as vice chair of the House Homeland Security and Public Safety committee told us they're prepared to adhere to the Speakers' guidelines about when the report is due.
Bowers' office said there is still a lot from Uvalde under investigation, and that they want the report to be as thorough as possible.
Republican State Senator Drew Springer of Gainesville said the Governor's directives are a good start, and until there's a majority that can get behind new legislation, he doesn't see the need for a special session right away.
Neave Criado said she favors raising the age to purchase assault-style rifles to 21, establishing red flag laws, and universal background checks.
But she acknowledged there's no agreement yet.
"I think there's a lot of work to do with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle," she said.
But both Democrats and Republicans have said there is wide agreement to make schools safer and provide more mental health services.
