See-Sawing at the Capitol
HB20 Provides a Roller-Coaster of Emotions
Good morning, friends,
Couldn’t let the day dawn without marking current events at the Capitol in Austin. Lawmakers went deep into the night on House Bill 20— the controversial proposal to create a “Border Protection Unit,” that would basically act as some kind of a State of Texas Border Patrol.
We’ve personally waffled back and forth on the thing. Some aspects of the bill seemed less ideal to us. But, the way things are evolving with the oncoming demise of Title 42, and signs that the Rio Grande Valley and the El Paso sector are already crumbling under the strain of Venezuelans and others rushing to enter the country, we find ourselves growing more and more convinced that the bill is necessary, warts and all, if one is not going to get a full-on declaration of invasion and the full use of Texas Military to close the border.
The bill was basically administratively killed on the House Floor late Tuesday night.
Texas Democrats raised a procedural issue-- calling a point of order.
Rep. Rafael Anchia, an attorney from the Dallas area, alleged that the bill contains multiple subjects and the caption failed to give proper notice.
The "caption" is a feature of every bill, like the "header" and the "enacting clause." Collectively it's all part of what's called the bill's introductory language.
At that point, House Speaker Dade Phelan upheld the complaint.
Texas Conservatives appear to be incandescent in some online corners-- alleging that the Speaker and other House Leaders used Democrats as a tool to kill a bill they didn't really want.
An estimated 2-to-3 hundred protestors from activist groups in the Rio Grande Valley were apparently in Austin at the time, lobbying lawmakers to reject the bill, claiming it will enable "vigilantes" and shield them from oversight.
—Copy from a piece released by us to local press in Kinney County, shortly before their deadlines Tuesday Night
About an hour after all of that— about an hour after most protestors went home, something else happened:
Jasper Scherer is a reporter for the Houston Chronicle.
Bob Libal is a pretty hardcore left-leaning activist out of Austin. Libal has conducted himself with integrity on past visits to Kinney County, and while we may disagree on some things, we happen to respect much of the way he goes about his business online and in person.
So, there you have it folks. A roller-coaster ride from start to finish— though, we note that it’s not finished yet. Lawmakers still have to vote tomorrow. And then Texas Senators get ahold of it.
There’s also always the possibility of a special session.
We’ll do our best not to drive you crazy with all of the feints and kayfabe that is surely happening.
Is Dade Phelan toying with our emotions? Is he performing secret squirrel actions to outfox ‘the libs?’ Did the Governor of Texas intervene via secret phone call and twist a few arms? Was the whole thing a setup, meant to trick protestors into going home temporarily happy?
Who knows! We surely do not.
Also of note, lawmakers passed House Bill 3782 which would create some kind of border security advisory council, that would advise the legislature or the Governor, or his designee on national security issues facing the Southern Border. Speaking for ourselves— one thing that’s leapt out at us through all of this, is how unprepared and unknowledgeable many lawmakers have seemed about these issues. The bill would seem to address some of that.
The bill now goes to the State Senate.
And on that note, we’ll call it a night. Local readers of the Kinney County Post and the Brackett Times will have to forgive us when issues arrive on local news stands, lacking this latest, latest turn of events.
Deadlines are deadlines, and sometimes analog gets pinched while trying to compete with the digital.
Have a great morning— we’ll be back again soon. As always, no one should mistake this newsletter for any kind of an official communication. Any misdeeds, errors or other problems are entirely our own.