Earlier this afternoon, Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst were huddled with their staff and Parliamentarian Denise Davies, who was holding a copy of the session calendar. House Democratic Caucus Leader Jim Dunnam got to explain the situation to members, and point some fingers directly at the Senate. “They’ve had over 400 House bills that they’ve been sitting on since Saturday,” he said.
So how to fix that as deadlines loom? “A number of bills will be flying back and forth between the two bodies” said Straus, noting that he expects another 160 bills will join the stack after midnight. The big priorities are the budget, House Bill 300 (the heavily amended TxDoT Sunset Bill), CHIP reform and the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association: But there’s a mechanical problem.
At 150 members wanting to read 400 bills with amendments, getting all those copies printed up in time would be a near impossible job. So to get everything sorted, the House will suspend certain printing rules and send members Senate-amended House Bills electronically. All bills will become eligible for discussion 24 hours after the chief clerk receives a hard copy, “Therefore, you will get it before its time stamp,” explained Dunnam.
For paper-craving members, Speaker Pro Tem Craig Eiland announced, spare ink cartridges are available.
This article appears in May 22 • 2009.
