NUMBERS USA TEXAS ALERT- IMM. BILLS IN LEGISLATURE
Urge the Texas Legislature to Pass Illegal Immigration Reduction Bills
Tell Texas House Speaker Not to Bury Illegal Immigration Bills in Dead-End Committee
This is a special message for NumbersUSA members in Texas.
Dear Texas friends,
A number of strong illegal immigration reduction bills have been introduced in the Texas State House of Representatives this year – most notably Rep. Leo Berman's Oklahoma-like enforcement bill (HB 266). Since House Speaker Joe Straus is responsible for assigning which committee will hear legislation, he has the power to promote a bill he likes by assigning it to a committee likely to pass it, or to kill a bill he dislikes by assigning it to an unfriendly committee. The Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas (IRCOT) fears Speaker Straus plans to assign this year's crop of immigration enforcement bills to dead-end committees, just like Speaker Craddick did last year.
As you may know, it is rumored that Straus, a Republican, obtained his speakership in a deal with Democrats in which he promised to bottleneck enforcement bills. True or not, Texas cannot afford to wait to see how he disposes of good legislation.
IRCOT is asking Texans to contact Speaker Straus by phone and email to ask for favorable placement of this year's bills. They have provided the following talking/drafting points:
Dear Speaker Straus:
In the 2007 session, several important bills dealing with the problem of illegal immigration were all sent to Rep. David Swinford's committee, where they were killed and not allowed to come to a floor vote.
For the 2009 session, the important immigration bills filed by Rep. Leo Berman and Rep. Debbie Riddle, and others, should not be assigned to a hostile committee and left to rot. Please ensure these bills are assigned to the appropriate committee.
I will be watching you closely to make sure you prioritize action on illegal immigration in the 2009 session.
Please help by contacting Speaker Straus as soon as possible. He is likely to assign bills very soon.
Email contact form
Phone: 512-463-1000
Thank you in advance for your assistance
Capitol Office
Room CAP 2W.13
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
(512) 463-0686
(512) 463-1064 Fax
(512) 463-1064 Fax District Office
7373 Broadway, Suite 202-A
San Antonio, TX 78209
(210) 828-4411
(512) 463-1064 Fax
http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/em ... joe.straus
http://www.numbersusa.com/content/
House committees: How late is late?
House committees: How late is late?
By Laylan Copelin | Thursday, January 29, 2009, 02:21 PM
Texas Speaker Joe Straus told House members today to submit their committee preferences by Monday.
Straus will then tackle committee assignments.
The House traditionally takes longer to organize than the smaller Senate. This year the process may take longer than usual because Straus only became the presumed speaker eight days before the session started.
So how late a start are we talking about?
In 2003 and 2005, then-Speaker Tom Craddick named committees by the 17th day of the session. But he had the advantage in 2003 of knowing he was going to be speaker two months before the start of the session. In 2005, he was the incumbent speaker with no challenger.
The 2007 comparison might be fairer. Craddick survived a contested speaker’s race on the first day of the session. That delayed committee assignments until the 25th day.
Straus still has time. A week from Friday, Feb. 6, will be the 25th day of this session.
No official word yet on what is Straus’ personal deadline for naming committees.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... _is_l.html