House Bill 4701 -- the bad petition bill:
Watch ace attorney Andrew Hendrickson, ACLU Texas, rip HB 4701, the bad petition bill, a new one on its violation of the Texas Constitution's separation of powers. HB 4701 seeks to give a member of the Executive Branch -- the Attorney General -- the power to overrule what cities and citizens can put on the ballot for a public vote without judicial review. This was a whole new take on the legislation that escaped us.
Thanks to Hendrickson and a team of ACLU legal beagles, we have gained a deeper understanding of bad bills this session. We will tell you more real soon.
Also, thanks to the many people who chimed in, HB 4701 received two-to-one comments against the legislation in the Elections Committee on Thursday night. We will see what comes out of the sausage grinder as thousands of bills are now on the chopping block this late in the session. The session ends on Memorial Day, May 29.
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Congratulations to aquifer protectors
across Texas, we have a Tuesday hearing!
See HB 4445, see hearing notice here. The bill was introduced by freshman Rep. Stan Gerdes (R-Smithville) to address the problem of "leakage" of precious groundwater throughout the state of Texas, especially in large municipal water systems. Its Senate companion, SB 1988, is carried by water-heavy-weight Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock).
LIV thanks Natural Resources Committee Chairman Tracy King (D-Uvalde) and committee staffer, Sam Bacarisse. The bill is one of only eight on the agenda for Tuesday. We hope to see you there, or please click on the notice above on Tuesday morning and weigh in on the bill. We haven't yet seen the substitute bill, so we suggest you watch the deliberations and then weigh in. You must, however, get your comments in before the end of the hearing.
Note to you water protectors: Visit a little later if this link is not yet live for additional information about the bill before the hearing.
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Huge Congratulations to Rodney Reed!
Reed, his family, and the thousands of Texans who have followed this case received the great news that none other than the US Supreme Court agreed Reed has the right to seek further DNA testing to prove his innocence. Click here for this KXAN report.