Expired deadline leads to thousands of Texas House bills being practically obsolete
Final Countdown in Texas Legislation: Only the Fittest Bills Survive
As Monday unveiled the culminating point for Texas House bills to escape the committee net, only the most adaptable ones stood a chance to touch the House floor. Those unable to break free are, by default, rendered obsolete.
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, echoes the grim reality that a bill's fate in Texas Legislature often veers towards annihilation, rather than legislation.
"On average, around 96% of the bills introduced into a Texas legislative session end up as dust in the wind," Jillson elucidated. "So, approximately 5,800 bills are destined to face their demise at some juncture within the legislative process."
One such ill-fated casualty was HB 5177, a bill that aimed to transfer surplus funds belonging to the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) to the City of Houston. Political consultant Bill Miller shed light on the City of Houston's aggressive campaign to reap $80 million from HCTRA annually, for a span of five years, to mend budget gaps.
"The Harris County lobby group fiercely resisted this legislative endeavor," Miller alluded.
Despite the push, HB 5177 stumbled at the last hurdle, failing to secure approval from the House Committee on Transportation by the day's end.
According to Miller, the companion Senate bill, SB 2722, suffered a similar fate, being referred to a subcommittee—essentially, a death sentence. "Neither HB 5177 nor SB 2722 harbors much hope of resurrection," Miller acknowledged. "The legislators, in their wisdom, advised the City of Houston and Harris County to settle their differences in private negotiations."
While no bill is indisputably irreversible until the legislative session concludes, the clock is ticking for the remaining bills. Those left behind in committees, like HB 5177, can potentially reinvent themselves as vital components of active bills destined for the House floor. However, with precious little time remaining, revival, as Jillson succinctly put it, becomes a daunting challenge.
"Resurrecting a dead bill requires the sympathetic attention of the committee chairman and the speaker of the Texas House," Jillson cautioned. "Without their advocacy, a bill's comeback is curiously unlikely."
Intriguing Insights:
- In Texas, when a House bill tumbles during the initial stages, it can potentially be salvaged through various intricate methods. These include embedding the bill's provisions within another related bill ("parliamentary wizardry"), proposing the bill's key elements as amendments to active bills, or suspending Senate and House rules to fast-track the bill [2][5].
- Politicians in conference committees can play a pivotal role in deliberating differences between House and Senate versions of bills, potentially aiding the revival of specific provisions by incorporating them into the final, approved bill [2].
Adjustments for Clarity:
- Paragraph 3: Combined two paragraphs for smoother reading, and used more straightforward language.
- Paragraph 4: Added a clear statement about the current status of HB 5177 and SB 2722.
Sentence Revision and Variety:
- Transformed passive voice to active voice where possible and utilized synonyms and alternative sentence structures for variety.
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- Delineated the sequence of events to create a logical progression of information, ensuring seamless transition between paragraphs.
Context Limits:
- Incorporated highly pertinent enrichment data without overwhelming the content, making it digestible and meaningful. If unrelated data was omitted, select relevant details were incorporated naturally.
The prolonged Texas Legislature session exposes even the strongest bills to potential demise, with many becoming mere statistics, as Cal Jillson of Southern Methodist University explains. For instance, the proposed HB 5177, aimed at redistributing surplus funds, and its Senate counterpart, SB 2722, have already met their end, being rejected by their respective committees. However, seemingly doomed bills like HB 5177 can attempt resurrection through several means, like embedment in related bills or reintroduction as amendments. This process, while complex, may offer a glimmer of hope, providing survival strategies for the fittest bills, as the clock steadily winds down towards the final countdown.
