Speedreading Day at the House
April 27th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
The House blitzed through the Local and Consent Calendar this morning, with Speaker Pro Tem Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) wielding the gavel like a metronome. Bills placed on this calendar are supposed to be non-controversial so they can pass as a mere formality, without debate or a record vote. Nearly any objection can kill a bill; a rep. has only to state that he intends to discuss the bill for 10 minutes, disqualifying it from the L&C calendar. So in this case, what didn’t pass is more interesting than what gets by the gatekeeper.
Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) was certainly the most active troublemaker, especially early on. The first three bills blocked were thanks to Burnam.
First was HB 465, by Kino Flores (D-Palmview), which would have eliminated appropriate (in Burnam’s view) minimum standards for bail bond sureties that Robert Talton (R-Pasadena) worked to pass just a couple sessions ago. Burnam later confirmed that it was, indeed, “an unholy alliance between Talton and progressives.”
A few bills later, Burnam again stepped to the back mic and kept the words “under God” out of the state’s pledge of allegiance, at least for the time being. HB 1034 by Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball) would update the state’s pledge to match the federal one that has been droning from kids every schoolday for 50 years.
“Ms. Riddle, could you explain to me what about this bill is local?” Burnam asked.
Riddle protested that this bill was more of the consent variety. “I have over 90 co-authors on this bill,” she said. Regardless, it was eventually sent back to committee.
Later, Burnam assistant Doug Lewin said they expect the rather overtly religious bill, which the state may someday have to protect in court (= $$$), to easily pass the full House, but they’re looking for a good floor tussle once it gets there.
Finally, in another twist, Burnam shot down an environmental bill he supports. Rep. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) laid out HB 1252, authored by Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton), which improves TCEQ’s permitting process on air emissions.
“You’re not Mr. Bonnen, are you?” Mr. Burnam astutely observed from the back mic.
“No,” Hancock said as Turner tried to shuffle the bill off the calendar.
Milking it, Burnam went on, “I was going to send greetings to Mr. Bonnen from Dr. Lisa Doggett and Jim Marston.” That would be Jim Marston, the environmental expert (and Texas Observer board member) whom a petulant Bonnen called “ignorant” at a recent hearing. And Lisa Doggett, member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, who Bonnen badgered at the same hearing until she broke down in tears. “So would you extend those greetings to Mr. Bonnen for me,” Burnam continued, “like 10 minutes from now when we finish talking about this bill?”
The bill wasn’t spiked just for spite, though. Burnam assistant Lewin said the rep. did it because Bonnen, as chairman of the House Committee on Environmental Regulation, was “not hearing a whole host of environmental bills that deserve a hearing.” His unwillingness to grant hearings forced progressives to bring the permit bill to the floor because “we need it as an amendment vehicle,” just to get some environmental legislation heard, Lewin said. “That’s not the way the process is supposed to work.”
