I hope you’ve all enjoyed the relative quiet in the Lege these past few weeks, because it will be coming to an end soon.
The controversial Voter ID bill that triggered a nasty Senate fight last month over a rules change today was referred directly to the full Senate for a vote, setting the stage for new unpleasantness.
Now that it has been referred, Senate Bill 362 could be brought up for consideration as soon as next week, several senators said.
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[Tuesday’s] referral came without fanfare, one of more than 50 bills that were assigned today to various committees. While mostly symbolic, it could promises to put outnumbered Democrats who oppose it on alert against the Upper Chamber’s Republican majority.
Normally, bills are referred to Senate committees for review and approval before they come to the full Senate for debate and a vote. This bill was referred directly to the Committee of the Whole, the full Senate.
The controversial measure by Sens. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, and Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, would require Texas voters to verify their identity before they could cast a ballot.
No immediate word on when the measure will be brought up for Senate debate.
I suppose this is to be expected, given that voter ID is the single most important issue facing Texas today. I realize that the Senate Republicans and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have done everything they can to stack the deck in their favor on this, but I trust that the Senate Dems still have plenty of fight in them and will take whatever action they think is needed, given that their colleagues see them as little more than nuisances that need to be quelled. We know that the House Dems will do their part. See this video of State Rep. Rafael Anchia, who is on the Elections committee, for the evidence. Todd Hill kindly provided a transcription of the relevant bit:
When I looked at the [committee] assignments on the Elections committee, the speaker didn’t really follow through on bi-partisanship in that committee. He didn’t even put a veneer of bi-partisanship. Most of the committee’s you have a Democratic Chair with a Republican majority-he didn’t do that here.
He put a Republican Chair in place and a Republican majority-including people who have voted for the worst kind of voter disenfranchisement Bill in the past.
So that’s a place of concern. If you’ve got a grandparent at home who might be a Korean War veteran, and 85 years old without a driver’s license they are going to be required to bring their voter registration card and their driver’s license as well. I think that’s going to disenfranchise a lot of people.
So if they want to move a partisan disenfranchisement Bill then they’re going to have a fight on their hands.
We get can stuff done this session, or we can blow it up over voter ID. That’s the choice the Republican leadership has to make.