The Senate rejected the House’s amendments to Senate Bill 7 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), the session’s most significant election-related bill, and appointed a conference committee to work out a compromise version with the House. Senate conferees are Hughes and Sens. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway), Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) and Beverly Powell (D-Burleson).
In the House, Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) substituted the language of his own House Bill 6 for the entirety of Senate Bill 7, and 18 amendments were added on the House floor (The final version passed by the House is not available online.). As such, the chambers’ passed versions of the bill are vastly different with many provisions contained in only one of the bills. Where the bills disagree, conferees may choose either chamber’s provision or develop a compromise. This means that provisions that were never discussed in one chamber could end up in the final bill, which cannot be amended.
CD6 special: John Anthony Castro, who finished sixth (5.5%) in the May 1 special election, said he would vote for Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-Waxahachie). Castro said he “would not support anyone” who has the endorsement of former President Trump. He endorsed Susan Wright, who finished first in the 23-candidate field.
San Antonio: The San Antonio Police Officers Assoc. endorsed Rudy Lopez and Patrick Von Dohlen in the D5 and D9 runoffs, respectively. Lopez faces Teri Castillo, who received more than twice as many votes in the May 1 election. Von Dohlen faces incumbent John Courage.
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