Will the Sanctuary Cities Bill Survive Texas Senate?

[sonias]

Texas Tribune 5/18/11
Will the Sanctuary Cities Bill Survive Texas Senate?

They won’t give names, nor will they engage in a game of hypothetical vote counting, but Senate Democrats will say the coalition forming against the state’s proposed sanctuary cities bill isn’t what observers would expect.

9snip)
“There are some Republicans probably that would not like to see that bill come over, while some probably do support it,” said state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, the chairman of the Senate Hispanic Caucus. “But I think this late in the game, with some of the more important issues, obviously the budget and school finance, it would slow down those other bills.”

If the Senate adheres to tradition and follows its two-thirds rule, Democrats can stop the measure by blocking it from consideration. The Senate debates bills on the floor in the order they come in. Going out of order requires a two-thirds vote. Uresti said he’s confident the 12 Democratic senators will unite against the bill and block it from coming to the floor. Senate Republicans who want to see the bill advance, albeit in an unorthodox way, can do what they did with the budget and strategically set the bill so it comes up on a “House” day. Two days each week, House bills come before Senate bills and the two-thirds vote isn’t necessary.

(snip)
If HB 12 dies in the Senate, proponents of the measure will likely look for another bill to serve as a vehicle. Attention could then turn again to Williams. He’s filed SB 9, a homeland security bill loaded with controversial measures, including requiring all law enforcement agencies to adopt the federal Secure Communities program. The bill also would institute stronger penalties for a laundry list of felonies and codify proof-of-citizenship requirements for driver's licenses and state-issued IDs. It would also establish an automatic license-plate reader pilot program for vehicles used by DPS officers.

But Williams said during debate on SB 9 that sanctuary cities is a separate matter and he would not allow the issue to appear as an amendment to SB 9. He reiterated his opposition Monday.

Lets see how much pressure Perry puts on Senate members to get his one of his pet emergency items for him to sign this session.

I hope there are some Senate Rs willing to buck Perry insanity on this one.

:shrug:

[PDittie]

1. NO it won't!

Sen. Hinojosa gutted it like a fish today:

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2011/05/18/senate_committee_guts_houses_s.html

[sonias]

2. Woo hoo!!!

Go Chuy!!! Why the hell not. It's not like the Rs are playing nice. What does he have to lose this session?

:bounce::woohoo::bounce::woohoo::bounce:

[sonias]

3. Sanctuary Cities Bill Gutted by Senate Committee

Texas Tribune 5/18/11

Sanctuary Cities Bill Gutted by Senate Committee

In a surprise move that could effectively kill HB 12, the sanctuary cities bill that Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item, a Senate committee today replaced the immigration language with a homeland security bill by state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands.

The move could be deadly for the sanctuary cities legislation because the Williams bill, which was offered as a substitute to HB 12 by Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, does not contain any language about local law enforcement checking immigration status.

The homeland security bill, SB 9, which is also a controversial measure, was passed out of the Senate last month. It doesn’t have a House sponsor, though, and the House committee didn’t vote on it Tuesday. The bill would require all law enforcement agencies to adopt the federal Secure Communities program. It also would institute stronger penalties for a laundry list of felonies and codify proof-of-citizenship requirements for driver's licenses and state-issued IDs. It would establish an automatic license-plate reader pilot program for vehicles used by Department of Public Safety officers. It does not, however, prohibit local governments from preventing police from asking people about their citizenship. That means it wouldn’t put an end to sanctuary cities. The committee approved the new bill unanimously.

Pass me some fried fillet of HB12, please.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[sonias]

4. SB9 is just as bad according to MALDEF and ACLU

Maybe way too early to celebrate. I just read the Tribune story and SB9 is just as sucky. I think it was a bold move by Chuy - maybe he'll get lucky and both bills (HB12 & SB9) both die.

Let's hope so.

:kick:

[sonias]

5. Oh for crying out loud!!!

Texas Tribune 5/20/11
Sanctuary Cities Bill Back on Track in Texas Senate

Sanctuary cities legislation was revived today and will be sent to the Texas Senate for consideration.

In another surprise move by the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee, Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, made a motion to reconsider a vote the committee took Wednesday that replaced the original language of House Bill 12, the sanctuary cities legislation. It would prohibit local governmental entities from adopting policies that prevent local law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status of people lawfully detained or arrested. The issue was designated an emergency item by Gov. Rick Perry and the bill passed the House earlier this month on a party line vote.

But the substitute Williams accepted Wednesday gutted the sanctuary cities language from HB 12, and replaced it with language from one of his own bills, SB 9, an omnibus homeland security bill that had passed the Senate but was stuck in a House committee. Friday, the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security took up SB 9, however, and voted it out.

The motion to reconsider the vote in the Senate committee passed on a party line vote, 5 to 3. Williams then made a motion to consider HB 12 as it was passed out of the full House earlier this month, with the sanctuary cities language in tact. The motion passed on the same party line vote.

:puke::mad::puke::grr: