8/15/2017
Rep. Roland Guiterrez, D-San Antonio, raises a question from the floor of the House as lawmakers close out their work on legislation concerning retired teacher benefits on August 15, 2017.
Rep. Roland Guiterrez, D-San Antonio, raises a question from the floor of the House as lawmakers close out their work on legislation concerning retired teacher benefits on August 15, 2017.
Photo: Tom Reel, Staff / San Antonio Express-NewsShantea Huot, arriving to pick up a friend, walks past the huge Confederate memorial just inside the capitol grounds on the south entrance on August 15, 2017.
Shantea Huot, arriving to pick up a friend, walks past the huge Confederate memorial just inside the capitol grounds on the south entrance on August 15, 2017.
Photo: Tom Reel, Staff / San Antonio Express-NewsAUSTIN — The Texas House pulled a dramatic and early final curtain on the special session Tuesday, leaving a number of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority items unfinished and giving senators a take-it-or-leave it choice on a proposal to rein in property tax increases.
The House’s adjournment came one day ahead of Wednesday’s deadline to end the special legislative session called by Abbott to address a slew of issues, half of which died. The House’s decision to end early killed all hopes for the so-called bathroom bill, which was one of the most prominent bills touted by Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. The session began July 18, and was scheduled to end Wednesday.
Abbott, if he chooses, can call another special session, or he can claim victory with the bills that passed.
His spokesman, John Wittman, accentuated the positive, saying, “Our office believes this special session has produced a far better Texas than before.”
“I think I can speak for a near unanimous number of Texas House members that we considered the agenda placed before us, and we have worked through it extensively and are ready to go home to our districts, our families, our businesses and our lives as citizens,” House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, told the San Antonio Express-News after his chamber adjourned at 6:51 p.m.
Some tea party lawmakers disagreed, with Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, saying on Twitter that members were “loudly objecting” at the prospect of an early adjournment.
Straus said that given deadlines for considering legislation, there was no more work that the House could do, as a practical matter.
Asked whether he had informed Abbott and Patrick, who presides over the Senate, that the House planned to adjourn sine die, Straus said, “It was literally a decision made on the fly.
“I think it’s pretty clear that our work was done, and I’ve not spoken to the lieutenant governor or the governor directly today,” Straus said Tuesday night.
Straus said he had “no idea” whether Abbott would call another special session. He made note that before this special session, lawmakers had met for 140 days in their regular session that ended May 29.
“I think 140 days to get our work done is what I prefer, and I think I’d be in the majority of Texas citizens in saying so,” Straus said.
Lawmakers addressed a number of the issues that Abbott put before them, including a must-pass bill to continue several state agencies and legislation on school finance; retired teachers’ health care; abortion restrictions; cities’ authority over trees and annexation; targeting maternal mortality; do-not-resuscitate orders; and mail-in ballot fraud.
But the House under Straus stood firm against the bathroom bill championed by Patrick and passed by the Senate to restrict the restrooms that transgender people can use in buildings of political subdivisions, including schools.
Straus, top business executives and a number of faith leaders said the bill would target vulnerable people and prompt boycotts affecting the state’s economy because the measure is widely viewed as discriminatory.
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican who authored the bathroom bill, said she was disappointed in its failure.
“It was a worthy discussion and something that I think the state should have purview over, to set the policies, especially in our schools,” said Kolkhorst, who like other bill backers called it important to protect the safety and privacy of women and children.
Left hanging Tuesday evening was a proposal to institute automatic rollback elections if big cities, counties and special districts raise local property tax revenues over a certain amount.
The Senate had approved a bill to institute automatic rollback elections if those property tax revenues are slated to go up by more than 4 percent. The House version — the only one that’s now alive — put the threshold at 6 percent. Both measures contained exemptions at differing levels.
Senators had asked for a conference committee to negotiate differences on the measures, but the House declined, citing the tight deadline. Tuesday night, the Senate faced the decision of approving the House bill or nothing, unless Abbott decides to start the clock running on a second special session.
The bathroom and property tax issues are the ones that forced the special session in the first place, courtesy of Patrick. When he saw the House in the regular session wasn’t going to pass the bills in a form he wanted during the regular session, Patrick stalled the legislation to continue several state agencies, including the Texas Medical Board.
The House adjourned Tuesday night after approving Senate changes to a school finance measure. House Public Education Committee Chairman Dan Huberty, R-Houston, called the bill a disappointment, noting it contained far less money for schools than the House had wanted.
However, he said, it also addresses important issues, including providing funding to help retired teachers with their health care costs, assist schools in danger of closing and funds for children with autism and dyslexia.
“I’ve been in sales my entire life. I know when you get the best deal,” Huberty said.
Senate Finance Committee Chair. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said after the bill passed, “We could not leave here without helping our retired teachers, we could not, could not ... and we're helping our schools.
pfikac@express-news.net
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