Sept. 9, 2003, 3:52PM
By R.G. RATCLIFFE and ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
AUTIN - Gov. Rick Perry today said he will call a third special legislative session on congressional redistricting to begin on Monday.
Perry said the session will focus on redistricting, but also will include legislation that has been on the call of two previous special sessions: fixing problems in a transportation bill, government reorganization and appropriating about $800 million that was left pending at the end of regular legislative session.
"Monday's a good start day," Perry told the Houston Chronicle. "We've got a lot of issues in front of us. I could call them in tomorrow, but you've got September 11th and all of the appropriate memorials that day. And then you've got Friday and Saturday and Sunday."
Perry said it also will give Democratic senators who went to Albuquerque, N.M., to deny the Senate a quorum in the last special session enough time to get back to Austin. Republican leaders hope a third session will allow them to finally redraw congressional district lines so the GOP can win a majority of seats in the Texas delegation.
Their efforts have been stymied by a House walkout, followed by the exodus of 11 Democratic senators July 28. The 10 senators still in Albuquerque decided late Monday to return to Texas to attend a federal court hearing Thursday in Laredo, then to return to the Capitol.
Senators in Albuquerque made the decision after a 11/2-hour conference call late Monday with colleagues traveling elsewhere to push the Democrats' stand against a Republican effort to redraw Texas' U.S. House districts.
The call connected senators who were in Florida, Pennsylvania and California for meetings.
Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, Senate Democratic Caucus chair, said the senators will take their congressional redistricting battle to the Texas Capitol, where they plan to debate the issue.
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, left Albuquerque last week and said he would return for any special session called by the governor, giving the Senate a quorum.
"Once he makes a quorum, it's a moot point for us to be out of state," Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said late Monday. "We have to at least come back and register our votes."
Gallegos said it may be impossible to stop a redistricting bill in a third special session, but he joked that Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, might be able to do so with a filibuster.
"Gonzalo's still got a filibuster in him," Gallegos said. "I don't know if it's a 30-day filibuster. We may have to prop him up."
Van de Putte said the senators will attend the Thursday hearing on their suit seeking to force Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to restore a traditional Senate procedure that requires a two-thirds majority to take up any legislation. If the rule were reinstated, the Democrats likely would have enough votes to prevent a redistricting proposal from being considered on the Senate floor in a third session.
Sen. Juan Hinojosa of McAllen told his hometown newspaper this weekend the senators were planning press conferences in Lubbock and Waco upon their return to Texas, culminating with a rally at the steps of the state Capitol.
Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, was less certain of that, saying there isn't time to set up a return trip with stops along the way before ending with an Austin rally.
Though the last special session ended two weeks ago, the senators have stayed outside of Texas with an Albuquerque hotel as their headquarters. Their boycott became irrelevant, at least as a way to prevent legislation, when Whitmire returned home.
One of the biggest problems facing the Republicans is a dispute between Sen. Robert Duncan of Lubbock and House Speaker Tom Craddick over how West Texas districts should be drawn.
Currently, District 19 is dominated by Lubbock and includes Craddick's hometown of Midland. U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, represents the district.
But Craddick wants a new district created that would make Midland the population center. That would require pairing Lubbock with Abilene, now represented by District 17 U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Abilene. People in Abilene have complained that they could lose a congressional district focused on their needs. Lubbock officials fear Stenholm would defeat freshman Neugebauer and leave Lubbock without direct congressional representation.
Dewhurst said he has been talking to Duncan and Craddick in hopes of reaching a compromise. "I think we're going to reach an agreement on a whole map," Dewhurst said.
Villafranca reported from Albuquerque, and Ratcliffe reported from Austin. The Associated Press contributed to this report from South Florida.
