The Texas Tribune
With a new lieutenant governor installed for the first time in over a decade Wednesday — and over the cries of Democrats except for Brownsville's Eddie Lucio — the Texas Senate voted to break from an almost 70-year tradition intended to encourage compromise among its 31 members.
Now the approval of only 19 senators instead of 21 will be required to bring legislation to the floor for debate. The change — passed on a vote of 20-10 — has the practical effect of allowing Republicans to consider a bill without a single vote from one of the chamber's 11 Democrats. Lt. Gov. Dan Ptrick, who presides over the Senate, has targeted the tradition known as the "
two-thirds rule" since he first entered the Legislature in 2007.
Fighting to preserve the rule, Democrats said the change would strike a blow to the democratic process.
“I think it’s a sad day for the Senate, and one that we will look back on with regret,” said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston.
In the past, senators have used the rule to scuttle measures on voter identification, abortion and redistricting.
Ellis, along with other Democrats, urged Republicans to look beyond the rule’s effect on hot-button partisan legislation. Dropping the threshold needed to consider a bill from two-thirds to three-fifths, they said, would mean less clout for any members who held the minority view on issues like water rights, transportation policy and gambling.
State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, noted that the change would affect not just debate over legislation but also over whether to approve other rule changes, including whether to bar lobbyists from the floor or publicly post committee meetings.
But Republicans argued that the rule had allowed for too much abuse of procedure for political purposes, including plunging lawmakers into multiple special sessions.
The change was about “better governing,” said state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler.
“If anyone on this floor can stand up and say they are an independent voter and don’t always vote on party lines, you are looking at him,” he said. He added that he was “very comfortable” that partisanship would not increase because of the new rule.
Eltife put together the package of procedural changes that included the new three-fifths rule in his role as chairman of the chamber’s administration committee. He said some Republicans had pushed for a simple majority vote to bring bills to the floor, but he had fought to keep some form of a supermajority requirement in place.
The changes passed Wednesday reduce the number of standing Senate committees from 18 to 14 — nixing panels on open government, jurisprudence, economic development, and government organization. They also limit the honorary recognitions and resolutions members can make on the floor.
All but one of the chamber’s Democrats opposed dropping the new rule, and all but one of its Republicans voted in favor of it.
State Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, said he supported it because too many of his bills had been killed over the years after they lacked one vote to come to the floor. State Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, who left the chamber quickly without speaking to reporters, abstained from the vote.
With a new lieutenant governor installed for the first time in over a decade Wednesday — and over the cries of Democrats except for Brownsville's Eddie Lucio — the Texas Senate voted to break from an almost 70-year tradition intended to encourage compromise among its 31 members.
Now the approval of only 19 senators instead of 21 will be required to bring legislation to the floor for debate. The change — passed on a vote of 20-10 — has the practical effect of allowing Republicans to consider a bill without a single vote from one of the chamber's 11 Democrats. Lt. Gov. Dan Ptrick, who presides over the Senate, has targeted the tradition known as the "
two-thirds rule" since he first entered the Legislature in 2007.Fighting to preserve the rule, Democrats said the change would strike a blow to the democratic process.
“I think it’s a sad day for the Senate, and one that we will look back on with regret,” said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston.
In the past, senators have used the rule to scuttle measures on voter identification, abortion and redistricting.
Ellis, along with other Democrats, urged Republicans to look beyond the rule’s effect on hot-button partisan legislation. Dropping the threshold needed to consider a bill from two-thirds to three-fifths, they said, would mean less clout for any members who held the minority view on issues like water rights, transportation policy and gambling.
State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, noted that the change would affect not just debate over legislation but also over whether to approve other rule changes, including whether to bar lobbyists from the floor or publicly post committee meetings.
But Republicans argued that the rule had allowed for too much abuse of procedure for political purposes, including plunging lawmakers into multiple special sessions.
The change was about “better governing,” said state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler.
“If anyone on this floor can stand up and say they are an independent voter and don’t always vote on party lines, you are looking at him,” he said. He added that he was “very comfortable” that partisanship would not increase because of the new rule.
Eltife put together the package of procedural changes that included the new three-fifths rule in his role as chairman of the chamber’s administration committee. He said some Republicans had pushed for a simple majority vote to bring bills to the floor, but he had fought to keep some form of a supermajority requirement in place.
The changes passed Wednesday reduce the number of standing Senate committees from 18 to 14 — nixing panels on open government, jurisprudence, economic development, and government organization. They also limit the honorary recognitions and resolutions members can make on the floor.
All but one of the chamber’s Democrats opposed dropping the new rule, and all but one of its Republicans voted in favor of it.
State Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, said he supported it because too many of his bills had been killed over the years after they lacked one vote to come to the floor. State Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, who left the chamber quickly without speaking to reporters, abstained from the vote.
15 comments:
Senator Eddie Lucio is a Joke and his son is also a bow-tie wearing joke. Eddie went from middle school PE instructor to the Texas Senate and today his ignorance makes South Texas a joke. We need new officials to represent South Texas....not more Democrats in Republican clothing, whose votes are for sale to the highest bidder and the needs of the voters are secondary to personal greed and gratification.
Lucio sold out along time ago folks lets not beat around the bushes, and the urd too is sold out, remember its what's good for them and not the voters. cca
We need Government officials that are gonna help our Community not for themselves.
Per his Personal Financial Statement (Form PFS), I was not aware that Eddie Lucio III is on the payroll for International Education Services as VP for External Affairs (sounds to me like a lobbyist).
EIS received $34,332,283 in federal grants (Form 990 for FY2012)
So, why don't you run you dumbshit si te crees tan reata?!
This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Eddie has been an embarrassment for years. He wants so much to be a friend of the cool guys in charge (Republicans) that he'll gladly vote against the interest of the party he claims to belong to (Democrats). The truly sad thing is that he knows that no matter what he does he will be re-elected over and over by the ill-informed voters of his district. The other side of this situation is that Eddie thinks this makes him friends with the cool guys in charge. The truth is that they are delighted to have the gullible Eddie do their bidding while they pretend he's now part of the cool guy group. I really doubt the people who have voted for this trained seal so many times will ever wake up.
none of you here who blogged can beat him and that really chaps your hide.
who's the joke now?
He will always be a joke......his own family votes for his opponent ! His legacy to his grandkids is they will learn they had a corrupt clown for a grandfather .
That's because Money moves your Ass. That is how you stay in office. Gov. Perry loves him. "he is my bus-boy."
10:29 AM
Any of the young guns running for Brownsville City Commission could beat that piece of shit.
To:
*****************************************************************
Anonymous said..........none of you here who blogged can beat him and that really chaps your hide. Who's the joke now?
January 23, 2015 at 10:29 AM
*****************************************************************
Getting elected does not define you as a person. What you do for the people is what defines you as a person.
Bragging about it (getting elected) anonymously just defines you as CLICK
Gov. Perry telling Sen. Lucio, "I love you. You dumb fuck."
Now that's funny!!
young guns running for city commission can beat the senator?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!
tetreau? longoria? villarreal? portillo?
they don't know SHIT in the state world!
neither do you!
run for office if you have the balls. you don't.
Running for a state office requires tons of shit money; and you ARE a politician if you enjoy eating Shit and liking it.
Post a Comment