Texas Senate To Send TSA Anti-Groping Bill To Floor Monday; Texas House Speaker Playing Games
Public Advocate made sure our supporters knew who to call when the Texas legislature was considering an anti-Groping law that would shut down TSA's assault on every airport and mass transit passenger.
Public Advocate representatives are on the scene and on the phones. There may be a full vote in the Senate. But now the House Speaker is playing little games with the bill's sponsor and saying the bill is "publicity stunt" and is stalling a vote in the House
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst Seems To Be Behaving.
This the Texas Tribune posting about Dewhurst who publicly derailed the first vote in the Texas Senate.
(quote) Updated 3:40 p.m. (Friday, June 24) : Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst issued a statement this afternoon saying the Senate will try to pass its version of the bill out of committee on Monday (unquote)
And Public Advocate made sure the Governor got the word from our supporters to put the bill on the special legislative session, and Governor Rick Perry responded to the public outcry.
Speaker Joe Straus Playing Games?
According to the Texas Tribune, now comes Speaker Joe Straus "hinting that the House did not have a quorum present to pass the legislation. But that wasn't the only reason the bill wasn't heard."
"The bill, without some serious revisions, appears to me to be nothing more than an ill-advised publicity stunt, unenforceable…[and] misdirected at uniform security personnel," Straus said. He argued the bill should be aimed "at Washington, at the bosses of these people."
So he is trying to get the bill sponsor to write another bill more pleasing to Washington.
The special session ends Wednesday, and with the recent setback, it is unlikely the bill will be approved by both chambers in time to pass. A committee hearing to consider an identical version of the bill filed by Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, was cancelled on Thursday, June 23.
The entire article in the Texas Tribune is here