Straus, Patrick draw the line
Legislative leaders refuse to budge on bathroom bill
AUSTIN — House Speaker Joe Straus said Friday that state representatives will not budge on negotiating a final deal on the so-called bathroom bill battle with the Senate.
Straus gave senators, whose leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, has pushed for a far-reaching bathroom bill, an ultimatum with three days left in the legislative session: Take it or leave it on a scaled-back House version of the measure.
Patrick responded that he and the Senate aren’t budging, either, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said failure to reach a compromise could prompt him to call a special session on the contentious issue. But Abbott told reporters on Friday that he still holds out hope for a deal. Patrick has made it clear he wants a special session on the issue unless there’s a tougher bill than the House passed.
So be it, Straus said Friday as he told reporters: “If the Senate wants to pass a bathroom bill, they can concur with the bill we passed earlier this week.
The House has compromised enough on this issue.”
Calling it “absurd,” Straus said the Senate prioritized a bathroom bill targeting transgender people over reforming the state’s beleaguered school finance system.
“The House tried to start fixing school finance, but the Senate chose not even to appoint a conference committee,” Straus said, referring to a panel of negotiators appointed by both chambers to hammer out compromises on issues where they disagree. “On the issue of bathrooms, the House is availing itself of the same option.”
Last week, the House voted to require schools districts to provide private accommodations to students who request them, a major departure from a more aggressive Senate-backed measure that would have forced Texans to use bathrooms in government buildings that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificate.
LGBT activists blasted both proposals as discriminatory toward transgender people, but the Senate version drew the most ire.
“The bill gave educators room to handle these issues,” Straus said. “Especially for me, this was a compromise. As far as I’m concerned, it was enough. We will go no further.”
Added Straus: “In a year when we’ve done so much to improve mental health care, to protect children in the fight against bullying, there’s no reason to make a tragic and a costly mistake.”
Special session threatened
Patrick accused Straus of “not letting the House be the House,” insisting that the stronger version that the Senate would accept is supported by 80 House members — enough to pass it. He insisted that a majority of Texans support privacy legislation.
“He says he has compromised, but he has not compromised at all,” Patrick said. “It’s Joe Straus who’s causing the special session. … He laid down the gauntlet tonight.”
Patrick reiterated that there are two must-pass bills for the Senate that still need to be acted upon: The bathroom bill and property tax reform.
“If not, we will be in a special session caused by Joe Straus,” he said, adding later: “Now is the time to get this done.”
Patrick said the House still could bring up the bathroom bill, though he did not give specifics about how it could happen. Several House members in attendance at Patrick’s news conference said they were unsure how that could happen.
“Despite tensions, the session is not yet over. The taxpayers deserve to have the Legislature finish their work on time. Only the governor can determine when or if there is a special session, and if so, what issues are addressed,” Abbott’s press secretary, John Wittman, said.
House and Senate members are expected to continue trying to hammer out an agreement on property tax reform Saturday.
Patrick also has said he will urge Abbott to call a special session on that issue if a deal is not reached.
Abortion legislation
Earlier Friday, the chambers did find something to agree on as the Senate concurred with House amendments to sweeping abortion legislation that bans the most common procedure and prohibits the use of fetal tissue in medical research.
Approved 22-9, the final version of Senate Bill 8 also requires fetal remains to be buried or cremated and makes two procedures already banned by federal law — partial-birth abortions and the sale of fetal body parts — a crime.
The House added amendments including one that outlaws dismemberment abortions in Texas.
Critics of the bill predicted that Texas again will be sued. Almost a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned abortion regulations in Texas that would have left only nine abortion clinics open.
“This imposes more barriers to women who are trying to get treated or are seeking safe abortions, and it’s unfortunate that in this state we are seemingly interminably pursuing these measures that inevitably are going to lead to challenges in the federal courts,” said Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso.
Supporters in the Republicancontrolled Senate disagreed. Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown — a Senate author of the bill — said the measure contains wording that allows sections of the new law that are not overturned by the courts to remain in effect.
“We should not be afraid to pass laws that are necessary, proper and right,” he said.