Texas Redistricting Committee Resumes Work in Austin

Laredo, TX, Morning Times ^ | 07-11-03 | AP

[Theodore R.]

Redistricting committee back in Austin

Associated Press

AUSTIN (AP) - After days of hearings on the road, Senate committee members taking testimony on plans to redraw congressional boundaries indicated Thursday they were planning to take some time before voting on a proposed new map.

The Senate Jurisprudence Committee approved a resolution saying it would not vote on a map before at least noon Tuesday. Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, said he had planned to start putting a map together Thursday and would stand strong for a map with which he is comfortable.

Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said he wanted senators to have a chance to review the transcripts from the hearings the committee held across the state before a vote is held.

"The Senate cannot break its word to the people of Texas by proceeding with this issue before the entire Senate has had an opportunity to review the testimony received in community," Gallegos said.

He said failure of the committee to wait would show that the committee was no better than the House, which he said passed its redistricting bill through a "fatally flawed process." Gallegos did not believe that the public was given adequate time to comment on the issue when it was in the House.

House Speaker Tom Craddick's office did not respond to the criticism and Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, did not return a telephone call from The Associated Press.

The House approved a plan this week that could send as many as 21 Texas Republicans to Congress. Democrats now have a 17-15 hold in the delegation. Republicans, led by U.S. Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, have said the state should have more Republican districts to reflect the state's voting trends.

Earlier Thursday, several House Democrats from rural parts of the state urged the Senate to vote against a redistricting plan, saying they wanted to maintain a rural voice in Congress.

"We can end up with big cities and suburban congressmen representing us in rural Texas," said Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville.

Rep. John Mabry, D-Waco, noted that the bill could be stopped in the Senate Jurisprudence Committee if four of the seven members vote to kill it.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said that if a map did not get out of the committee, the issue would be considered dead in the Senate. He believes the chamber would support a fair bill.

Senate rules require two-thirds of the chamber's 31 members to vote to bring a bill up for debate. The Senate is ruled 19-12 by Republicans, but it would take only 11 Democrats to block a bill.

If a bill is approved in the Senate, it likely would go to a conference committee of Senate and House members. Mabry said the bill could leave that committee looking more like the map the House approved but Harris seemed to contest that.

"If it gets to the point where I am not comfortable with that map, I have no problem being locked down until two years from now," Harris said, adding he did not want a map shoved down his throat.

Meanwhile, Sen. Royce West, a member of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee, voiced concern about lawyer Andy Taylor advising Republican lawmakers as they draft congressional redistricting maps. Taylor also serves as the attorney of record for Texans for a Republican majority, a political group founded by DeLay, the Houston Chronicle reported in its Thursday editions.

Jane Shepperd, a spokeswoman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, defended Taylor's role.

"Mr. Taylor was retained for a single purpose: To ensure any map passed by the Legislature clears the Department of Justice and withstands court challenges," Shepperd said.

07/11/03

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[Redbob]

We need to keep up the pressure on these senators to approve a map that reflects and represents the GOP majority in this State!

[Support Free Republic]

See that good looking dude on the left? He's got FAR BETTER THINGS to do than conduct Freepathons! Come on, let's get this thing over with.

[Dog Gone]

It will be interesting to see how the Senate map differs from the House map.

[Theodore R.]

Somehow, I feel that the Democrats are still going to prevail in the redistricting fight. Just like I think SD will reelect Daschle (and Bush!).

[Tall_Texan]

Despite all the theatrics from the Democrats over the House plan, they needn't have worried. The Senate said "to hell with that" the minute it passed - even the Republicans rejected it. I suspect, in their arrogance, they thought *they* should be the ones drawing lines, not the House. And since they will not only need party unity (all those RINOs) on the Republican side, they'll need to get at least two Dems to agree to the map in order to push it forward.

Whatever we wind up getting will be nothing close to what DeLay wanted.

[ken5050]

Disagree....this is going to pass....they've probably already got at least two Dems in the Senate to go along..now they're trying to get a few more to come aboard...using the theory that since it's gonna happen you might as well get something out of it, and when 4 or so Dems go along, they all give each other political cover....The Dems who go along will get some very nice perks...new, safe, districts..minimal opposition, and speedy passage of a few of their pet pieces of legislation, and some nice pork.....Again, there's no way Delay would have brought this up again unless he knew he had the winning votes...he wouldn't hand the Dems a PR victory..

[Theodore R.]

Well, Ken, let's hope you are right. So often we have seen Democrats snatch victory from what was thought to have been a "done deal."

[Dog Gone]

I agree with you except that the crossover Dems won't get new districts. The state legislative districts aren't on the agenda, just the US Congressional districts.

However, they might be set up to win one of those if they want to move to Washington.

[deport]

Senate rules require two-thirds of the chamber's 31 members to vote to bring a bill up for debate. The Senate is ruled 19-12 by Republicans, but it would take only 11 Democrats to block a bill.

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I'd like for one of these media pundits or anyone else to show the rule that they keep talking about...... It doesn't exist that I can find. Rather isn't this is a tradition of long standing and can be broken should the Senate choose to act with just a majority...

Senate Rules of Procedure

If the Senate comes forward with a different version of the district alignments and it's passed them I'm guessing it's down to a conference type committee to try and reconcile the differences, correct? That means that time is critical in passage of any bill during the 30 day session as additional action by the other body will be required to finalize the legislation....

[deport]

How are the dems that go along going to get new safe districts as the Senate isn't being redistricted? DeLay isn't bringing this up officially, it's the Governor. DeLay has no direct control over the Texas Legislature, but maybe some input into and with some of the state reps/senators.... I doubt that many dance to DeLay's tune.

[ken5050]

Sorry for the confusiion..a couple of the new congressional districts will be safe Dem minority districts, which, no doubt, a few of the Texas Dem monority state senators who vote for the bill may well aspire to..

[Dog Gone]

I think there's plenty of time to get a bill passed. Didn't this session start on June 30?

[deport]

Yes that has been one caveat that has been discussed whereby one of the Hispanic senators has indicated in the past that he maybe inclined to vote for redistricting should a new Hispanic district be allocated to the South Texas region... They have changed one other to become a minority district but most of that area was in democrat districts to begin with, but it will offer the opportunity for a minority to become the Representative. That is why one of the Black House members from the Houston area voted for the bill in the House...

It will be interesting during the next couple of weeks... If it's not completed this time around they can come back and continue if the Governor chooses to call another session. I think there have been multiple sessions before of up to six back to back before they ceased.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Senate rules require two-thirds of the chamber's 31 members to vote to bring a bill up for debate. The Senate is ruled 19-12 by Republicans, but it would take only 11 Democrats to block a bill.

This is NOT TRUE and NEVER HAS BEEN. 30 years ago the dims started using a "blocking bill" to start every secession of the Senate so the lib dims and the conservative dims could get along. They start each secession with The Rose Bush Bill to move the shrubs on the Capitol grounds. They never vote on the damn thing so the rules have to be suspended to take any other action, a 2/3 voted needed to do so. There is NO RULE just stupid tradition which RINO, STUPID, A$$HOLE Dewhurst is going along with.

Given that the Senate can ONLY talk about bills which cover the reason the Governor called the special secession, the Rose Bush Bill is illegal. HOWEVER RINO Dewhurst is allowing the 2/3 WITH NO DAMN REASON TO DO SO!

Bigun I TOLD you this guy was a problem long before the election!

End of rant ..... for an hour or so! ;-)

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Session, session, session .......

[Theodore R.]

Curmudgeon from Houston, Had John Sharp been lieutenant governor, the Senate probably would not have been met in a special session. He would have just declared the special session "out of order" in that redistricting had alreday been a "done deal" by federal judges in 2001. And the Democrats would have cheered their 2006 gubernatorial nominee, and the Republicans would have gnashed their teeth.

So why is Dewhurst only marginally going along with his party? He called himself a "Bush Republican in his 1998 ads for land commissioner. He voted with the 3-2 (the swing vote, along with Comptroller Strayhorn and Attorney General Cornyn) Republican majority on the Legislative Redistricting Board in 2001 to draw up the current lines for both houses of the state legislature.

Is he just trying to get Democrats to say nice things about him or what?

I'm afraid before this is over that Republicans (who voted for Dewhurst) will still be gnashing their teeth.

[Theodore R.]

If Perry "retires" in 2006, Dewhurst will enter the GOP primary to succeed him. Will there be a conservative challenger, maybe Greg Abbott, in the primary to Dewhurst? If so, would such a divisive primary work to hand the governorship back to the Democrats for the first time in 12 years?

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Had John Sharp been lieutenant governor, the Senate probably would not have been met in a special session

I would not have voted for Sharp, but did think we could have found a smarter, more conservative candidate in our primary. I have dealt with the aftermath of Dewhurst fu%$^ps before.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

If so, would such a divisive primary work to hand the governorship back to the Democrats for the first time in 12 years?

I do not believe it would. The dims kept the Governorship for twenty years by coming together after the primary.