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First Special Session Ends, Second Begins
The first special session of the 79th Legislature, which was called to primarily address school finance and property tax relief, ended on July 20. The school finance legislation, House Bill 2, was not ultimately passed primarily due to a filibuster performed by a senator from Houston on the last day of the special session. The conference committee on House Bill 2, which is a group comprised of House and Senate members who were assigned to work out the differences in the House and Senate versions of the bill, had finalized language on the bill and sent the bill back to both chambers for final approval.
Because the final vote on the bill was to occur on the last day, the filibuster was successful in killing the bill due to the expiration of the special session. Due to the placement of the House Bill 2 before all other legislation to be approved, bills pertaining to issues such as limiting eminent domain, tuition revenue bonds and telecommunications deregulation died without final approval also. Immediately following the closing of the special session, Governor Perry called the legislature back in for a second special session, which began the following day, to complete the work on school finance and property tax relief.
Filibusters are tools that are sparingly used and can only be performed in the Senate. A filibuster occurs when one senator holds the floor through talking or long speeches, without sitting down or leaving the vicinity of the senator's desk. A senator is allowed to hold the floor against a bill for as long as he or she can stand and talk. Although the primary purpose of a filibuster is usually to kill a bill, as was the case with House Bill 2, sometimes this is also done to reach a compromise or to delay a vote as long as possible. The longest filibuster on record in the Texas Senate is 43 hours on a workers compensation bill in 1977.
Since the conference committee had reached an agreement to language on the school finance issue, it is likely that the second special session will proceed more quickly than the first. The agreed language is likely to before the House this week and, if passed, sent to conference committee where members from the House and Senate will again work together to present a bill that will be acceptable to both chambers.
I encourage you to contact me during the special session with your comments and suggestions or if I may be of assistance with any issues dealing with state agencies. You can reach me by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by e-mailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us.
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