Republican-backed Election Bill Finally Passes

The House and Senate adopted the conference committee report for Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), sending the session’s main elections bill to Gov. Greg Abbott (R). No Democrats voted to adopt the report, and Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio) was the...

No House Quorum as Second Special Session Convenes

The Second Called Session of the Texas Legislature convened today (Saturday) at noon. A quorum could not be established in the House, as 55 Democratic members remained absent, many of them still out of state, and around 10 Republican members were absent, many of whom...

Senate Bill 7 Dies as House Lacks Quorum

This post has been updated since our Breaking News alert. The clock ran out on the session’s most significant election legislation, Senate Bill 7 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola). The official cause of death is the House being forced to adjourn because it lacked...

House Elections Swaps 6 for 7 After Early Stumble

On a party-line, 5-4 vote, the House Elections Committee passed Senate Bill 7 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) after a committee substitute replaced all of the bill’s provisions with the text of House Bill 6 by Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park). The bill passed...

Patrick Creates Election Security Committee

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has established a seven-member Select Committee on Election Security and appointed Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) as chair. Patrick named Sens. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), Don Huffines (R-Dallas), Joan Huffman (R-Houston),...

Straus Releases Interim Charges

Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) issued interim study charges to the standing and select committees of the House of Representatives. Many, including one election-related charge, direct committees to assess the impacts from Hurricane Harvey or the potential response...

Abbott Vetoes Trio of Election Measures

Three election-related bills were among 50 vetoes issued by Gov. Greg Abbott. House Bill 2410 by Rep. Celia Israel (D-Austin) would have permitted a primary runoff to be conducted by mail if fewer than 100 votes were cast in the county’s primary election and no...

Abbott Signs Voter ID, Straight-party Bills

Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law bills that conform the state’s Voter ID law to recent judicial rulings and end the option to cast a single-punch, straight-party ballot after the 2018 general election. Senate Bill 5 by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) codifies a process...