06.22.07
Sen. Chris Harris In The DMN
It’s just a little short interview/editorial with state Sen. Chris Harris (R - Arlington), Legislature in Review, but there’s a couple of things about it that are interesting. One is that first on his list of accomplishments by the 80th Lege are the increases in spending for social services - CHIP, Medicaid, and adult and child protective services. While those are great accomplishments it’s just odd to see those first on a Republicans list. Looks like he’s running for reelection. The interesting thing was his biggest regret from the session:
Question: What was your biggest regret?
Answer: My biggest regret was that time ran out on many important bills this session. At the beginning of session, the House did not pass a rule to allow bills to be heard on the floor until after the 60th legislative day. This slowed down the entire process and killed many House and Senate bills in the end. We worked very hard on many pieces of good legislation only to see them die as time ran out.
As most legislature followers know, that bill did nothing of the kind. It was passed because the Speaker was much less powerful. All the rule change did was provide a uniquely American check and balance by requiring a vote, and only a simple majority was needed, to bring up a bill during the first 60 days. It’s sad to see a legislator, who must be aware of the nuance on that issue, as well as the newspaper, to continue misleading on this. You can read EOW’s reporting on the 60-day rule here, here and here.