Final two weeks of the Texas Lege

That's if there is no special session, of course, and the odds are good that one will be called to address the budget if the current Cold War between the House and the Senate prevents a compromise.  So with a lot of business remaining and a short time to get it done, this checklist from Progress Texas is a great place to both keep up and take action.

1. Texas Democrats Block Anti-Gay Marriage Bill, Republicans Vow to Revive It - A bill would have barred Texas from issuing marriage licenses, even if the Supreme Court rules in favor of marriage equality.
2. Texas GOP Block Proposal They Said Was Necessary for Medicaid Expansion - Republicans said they need block grants to fix healthcare - then they blocked the block grants.
3. Why Would Republicans Give Abusive and Absentee Parents Final Say in Teen Abortions? - The headline about sums it up, this is a terrible bill that poses more questions than answers.
4. Final Weeks for Legislature to Address Marijuana Policy Reform - The unprecedented progress we've seen on marijuana policy reform could culminate with a limited medical marijuana proposal.
5. Jade Helm: Not the Only Military Controversy Looming Over Greg Abbott - Republicans propose cutting a college aid plan that the state promised to military families.

Pro-choice activists are needed tomorrow at the Capitol.

Now that the House has officially passed its deadline to introduce new legislation, we’re going to start heading over to more Senate committees as they hear bills that have already moved through the House. Here’s a recap on how awful these bills are:

HB 3994: the very harmful bill that attacks abused and neglected teens’ access to abortion and requires all people seeking abortion to have a government ID, is set on the major state calendar on Wednesday, May 13. For more information on why judicial bypass is a safety net for teens, read this blog post from Emily Rooke-Ley, Hotline Coordinator at Jane’s Due Process.

HB 416: Relating to requiring personnel of abortion facilities and certain other facilities performing abortions to complete training on human trafficking. This bill would require abortion providers and all staff that come in contact with patients to complete a mandatory human trafficking training. First, abortion providers already provide this training to staff. This training should be required of other health providers who are far more likely to encounter trafficking survivors. Here’s more on the true intentions of this bill.

We’ll see you Monday. Don’t forget to wear your orange!

Follow the action on the Twitter hashtag #TrustTX.

Sunday Funnies, off the rails

Clinton-Castro 2016: done deal

Not talking about the White House chances yet.  Just the Democratic ticket (and the yard signs, the bumper stickers, and all that swag).

Henry Cisneros, who was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for former President Bill Clinton, adds more fuel to the growing fire that former San Antonio Mayor and current HUD Secretary Julián Castro is at the top of Hillary Clinton's list of potential vice presidential running mates.

"What I am hearing in Washington, including from people in Hillary Clinton’s campaign, is that the first person on their lists is Julián Castro," said Cisneros, according to the transcript of an interview taped with Univision's Al Punto.

The public affairs show airs on Sundays at 10 a.m. on Univision 23-WLTV in Miami.

"... They don’t have a second option," said Cisneros, "because he is the superior candidate considering his record, personality, demeanor and Latin heritage."

Who said it first?  I know I said it 18 months ago.  If you're thinking progressive, though, you'd still be mistaken.  Castro is as centrist and cautious as they come.  Still, the race in Texas would be exciting, liven things up a lot for Democrats down the ballot, like Pete Gallego for one.  Should help the Ds a great deal locally, especially if Ed Gonzales runs for Harris County sheriff, for another.

The GOP would have to match that, so my early money goes on a Walker-Rubio ticket.  I'm guessing Ted Cruz is less likely to be involved because he's just too nuts for moderate conservatives (sic).  And it's about 18 months until we vote in November of 2016, so remember you heard that Republican pairing here first.

Update: The Hill, via Pensito Review, list the ten Senate races Democrats are mostly likely to flip in 2016.  Wisconsin moved to the top of the list with Russ Feingold's announcement last week.

Update II: If you prefer a more cynical take on Clinton-Castro 2016, then read Joe Concha.

B.B. King died last night, and so did a lot of bills in the Texas Lege

-- First, let's pay our respects to the legend.



-- "Big Tex" Cecil Bell's anti-gay marriage bill died at midnight, but may rise as a zombie if it can find a live one to latch onto.

Bills he has authored this session would do everything from taking the ability to issue marriage licenses away from county clerks to stripping salaries from local or state employees who issue same-sex marriage licenses.

Bell's strongest bid fell short Thursday night when House Bill 4105, a bill that would have forbidden state or local governments from using public funds to issue same-sex marriage licenses, failed to pass the House before midnight — the deadline for House bills.

Enough Republicans had signed on as co-sponsors to guarantee the bill's passage had it reached the floor, and Democrats spent Thursday prolonging debate in an attempt to run down the clock and prevent Bell's legislation from being heard — a practice called "chubbing." They were ultimately successful.

While the bill is now dead, Bell is not out of moves. He could still attempt to attach an amendment to a related Senate bill.

"From my perspective, no bill is dead as long as there are are other bills in front. You just have to find something that's germane," Bell said after passage of the House deadline spawned hope among opponents that the measure is done with for this session. “The session still moves on.”

Marriage equality advocates remain on watch to destroy its brain.  More on how it went down last night, and the ramifications moving forward, from RG Ratcliffe at Burkablog.

Update: Once again, well-analyzed and well-written from Hooks at the Observer.

It was a very dumb bill from the start, and mismanaged by its supporters even by the low standards of the Texas Legislature. It was filed very late—literally on the last day a bill could be filed, March 13—and then it sat around. By the time it was eligible to come to the House floor, it was so far back on the calendar that it became easy for Democrats to talk and talk and talk—a tactic known as “chubbing,” for some probably ungodly reason—until the midnight Thursday deadline for considering yet-unpassed House bills.

Immediately, the posturing began. Democrats celebrated the death of 4105 as a triumph of legislative cunning and tenacity. Conservatives bashed House leadership while simultaneously claiming the bill’s existence was evidence they were “#StillWinning,” even if the bill got hara-kiri’ed. On Friday, the overwhelming majority of the House GOP caucus pledged their undying support of traditional marriage in a flowery letter. They wanted the bill to have passed so bad, they said.

It makes perfect sense for the Democrats to claim total victory here, especially since they will have few other chances this session. Gay marriage and gay rights are a huge issue for the party, though it’s hard to predict the practical consequences of Bell’s bill given that the Supreme Court soon might effectively sweep away the relevant statutes. And Democrats certainly were a major reason why the bill died: Chubbing isn’t as tough as filibustering, but they did smart work over the last week to slow the process just enough.

But if they hit a home run here, it’s because they got an easy pitch. Most House GOPers, whatever their other faults, still know a stupid bill when they see one. There’s a general level of acknowledgement in many quarters—even among some social conservatives—that the increasingly Sisyphean struggle against gay marriage is a lost cause, and a distraction from causes the godly folk really care about, like abortion. (Importantly, the business lobby, the Legislature’s one true Almighty Power, is tired of these shenanigans.)

In other words, if House Republicans wanted this to pass, it would have.