Sanctuary cities legislation flailing in Texas legislature

Anti-sanctuary cities legislation appears dead with less than 72 hours left in the special legislative session.

Leading state lawmakers said the clock is running out for the measure, which would allow local authorities to enforce federal immigration law.

Asked Monday if the legislation was dead, state Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, who chairs the State Affairs committee, suggested that time seems to have run out for passage of a stand-alone bill.

Cook said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Gov. Rick Perry and Speaker Joe Straus agreed to add the anti-sanctuary cities language last week on to Senate Bill 1, an important fiscal bill that is necessary to the budget because it frees up billions of dollars and contains a school finance plan.

But Cook said a “Senator has essentially blocked” the addition of the language. He did not name the senator but he is presumably speaking about state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, who is the author of the fiscal bill, which hit its own snags during the regular session and must pass in order to balance the budget.

“You know we’re out of time, so that’s where we are,” Cook said.

“I don’t see how there would have been time,” Cook said when asked whether the bill is dead. “There certainly would have been time last week if it had gone on Senate Bill 1 but I don’t see how there would be time now.”

The legislation, an emergency item for Perry, would put local governments at risk of losing state grant money if they establish a policy that prohibits employees from questioning the immigration status of people they detain or arrest. But the measure, which passed the House in the regular session but failed in the Senate, has received pushback from influential Republican donors and evangelical ministers.

Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, on Monday confirmed that anti-sanctaury cities legislation was not added to Senate Bill 1.

Two versions of the anti-sanctuary cities legislation are stuck in the House’s State Affairs committee.

One by state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, includes anti-sanctuary cities language, as well as a measure that would expand the federal Secure Communities program and a requirement that proof of citizenship be shown when applying for a driver's license. It has already cleared the Senate.

Dewhurst said in a statement that adding a “reduced version” of the sanctuary cities measure to the fiscal bill was suggested Thursday but no official agreement was reached to do so.

“After a long discussion on Saturday with a majority of Senators, there was no interest in reducing the Senate’s Sanctuary Cities prohibition and attaching it to an unrelated school finance bill, which would most likely jeopardize the passage of both sanctuary cities and school finance,” Dewhurst said in a statement.

Dewhurst said House leaders have had the Senate version of the bill for two weeks and need to pass the measure.

But state House leaders seem to be pushing for their own version of the bill.

The bill, by state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, would only include the anti-sanctuary cities language. That version has a longer way to go.

Under normal House rules, the House version would have to be voted out of committee today, then head to the full House for debate on Tuesday. After that, it would move to the Senate on Wednesday where Senators could filibuster the measure.  

Solomons said the legislature should be focused on the issue of sanctuary cities, without including the additional provisions that are in the Senate version. He said it will be hard to get the legislation passed if his bill does not get voted out of committee today.

 “Earlier this morning it was a little more optimistic,” Solomons said. “What time is it now? It’s not quite as optimistic because time is running out. Every hour that goes by is difficult.”

Comments

[James]

I hope it passes simply to restrict the tyrannical force of the local government in El Paso. We have politicians who do not represent the citizens of El Paso and nearby areas. They have intentionally passed ordinances to steal more money away from citizens and penalize or criminalize us by certain ordinances (City council and County). Recalling them is extremely difficult and anti-citizen rights. Yet, they support the illegal act of crossing the border, and supporting the free use of services, they support any noncitizen refusing to pay any sales taxes. Sure the sanctuary cities are a gigantic burden on the state, and, in El Paso, the politicians (majority) are dictating what citizens should follow and allowing non-citizens to take advantage of that.

[Chris]

James

Since a purchase at a checkout register isn't complete unless the entire price is paid, including the sales tax, then your blather about people refusing to pay sales tax on a purchase is ridiculous, worthy only of the mockery it so richly deserves.

But, if you can post an actual quote from any of our elected officials here in El Paso saying "I support undocumented immigrants who don't pay sales tax on a purchase", then I'll immediately apologize for my snide reply.

Good luck lil' trooper.