Been meaning to note a comment in this BOR post. No time like the present:
Good morning, my job as the Senate Democratic Caucus advisor included, in this case, helping to facilitate the Senators’ signatures on the blocking petition. One clarification: all the Senators who were asked to sign the petition did sign the petition. Senator Armbrister wasn’t available to ask, as he was presiding over the Senate at the time that Chairwoman Van de Putte gathered the Senate Democrats to discuss it. So, no villians here. Have a great day!
Since I made a comment about Sen. Armbrister when I celebrated the death of HB1706, I owe it to him to set the record straight.
Well, to say “death of HB1706” may be premature. The ubiquitous Carl Whitmarsh forwarded an email earlier from Ed Martin which reminds us that dead bills can and sometimes do get resurrected as amendments to other bills. This one shouldn’t be considered truly dead until the final sine die on May 30. I hope it’s got a stake through it, but vigilance is still in order.
There’s more coming. Be sure to check out HB 1270, up Tuesday on the House floor. BAAAAD bill by Bohac, aimed at the Latino and ex-felon voter registration drives that took place last year. The bill would place the same requirements on those registering voters as exist for voting itself. In the past, non-voting felons and non-citizens who wanted to participate in the process could do so by registering voters, even if they themselves couldn’t vote.