The fate of the two-thirds rule

Today’s the day we find out what rules the Senate will use. A lot of people seem to think that despite Dan Patrick’s best efforts, the two thirds rule will stay mostly, if not entirely, intact. The Statesman editorialized in favor of this on Sunday, including a call to remove the exception that was carved out in 2009 for voter ID bills. I’ve said before that I have mixed feelings about such anti-majoritarian measures – they always look better when you’re playing defense than when you have the numbers – but I would like to point out that this isn’t the only way in which a dedicated minority can change the course of legislation. I don’t know what will happen with the Rainy Day Fund, but it takes a supermajority to use it, and last I checked that didn’t bother Sen. Patrick. So whatever happens with the 2/3 tradition, let’s all admit that we like rules that work in favor of our side, we don’t like rules that work against us, we feel no shame arguing both sides of the same rules, and move on.

Related Posts:

This entry was posted in That's our Lege and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.