Texas State Senators Pass Governor's Agenda While State House Is Stalled
While work in the Texas House has been frozen, the GOP-controlled Senate has been working away, passing legislation.
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While work in the Texas House has been frozen, the GOP-controlled Senate has been working away, passing legislation.
House Republicans have filed House Bill 241, which calls for an independent third-party to conduct a forensic audit of the election results in each precinct in the Texas counties with at least 415,000 residents.
After a week of high-profile news conferences, Texas Democrats said they enter their second week out of state with a continued dual-track fight.
It's a life of stress and scrutiny as Democratic lawmakers who left Texas to block a restrictive voting bill shelter in a downtown D.C. hotel.
The headlines would not have looked out of place this week: "Texas House paralyzed by Democrats walkout," "On the lam, Texas Democrats rough it" and "Texas Democrats vanish (again)." But those all appeared 18 years ago.
Texas Democrats who hurriedly fled Austin to Washington to block sweeping new election laws back home acknowledged they can't stay away forever and urged Congress to act on voting rights.
Nearly 100 left-leaning organizations are asking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to schedule a new vote this month on Democrats' sweeping voting and elections bill.
Democrats in the Texas Legislature have left the state in a second revolt against a GOP overhaul of election laws, according to the Texas Democratic Caucus.
The newly filed election integrity bills quickly became the most contentious issue as the Special Session of the Texas Legislature began on July 8.
Both the Senate and House will hold hearings on their election integrity bills on Saturday, July 10.
Texas Republicans are set to mount another push for restrictive new voting laws as lawmakers begin a 30-day special legislative session.
In announcing his special session items Wednesday, Governor Greg Abbott said, "These special session priority items put the people of Texas first and will keep the Lone Star State on a path to prosperity."
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has released information on 11 agenda items that will be taken up during the special legislative session that begins July 8.
In 1992, Sen. Nelson became the tenth woman, and the third Republican woman, elected to the Senate, according to a statement released on her website.
"Agenda items will be announced prior to the convening of the special session," the brief statement read.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed the legislature's portion of the state budget after an elections bill he prioritized was killed when Democrats walked out at end of this year's session.
O'Rourke told supporters his latest campaign is all about fighting back against Texas Republicans' efforts to pass an elections integrity bill. "I believe we may just have a shot at saving our democracy."
Texas lawmakers will be called back for a special session later this fall so they can redraw state House and Senate districts, along with Congressional districts.
The political blame game in Austin is heating up following the dramatic end of the regular Texas legislative session when House Democrats walked out, preventing some priority bills for Republicans from passing.
The 214 and 817 area codes rank among the highest in the nation in the number of robocalls received, according to the Robocall Index by Youmail.
Gov. Abbott was referring to House Democrats who walked out late Sunday night, leaving the chamber without a quorum, before the midnight deadline to pass bills.
Last weekend, lawmakers finalized the language of a bill that limits who can buy your personal information from the state.
A sweeping voting bill in Texas that was on the verge of Gov. Greg Abbott's desk failed to pass Sunday night after Democrats walked out of the House chamber before a midnight deadline.
After a debate that lasted through the overnight hours, Texas Senate Republicans muscled a sweeping voting bill to the cusp of the governor's desk early Sunday.
The Texas House on Friday night, May 28, voted to accept the Senate's changes to the medical marijuana expansion bill.
