SOS vendor examination/certification process closed to public

[sonias]

I meant to post this on Saturday; we lost a big vote on the amendments and potential blocking of Mary Denny's bill HB2465 on Friday night. The bill was posted for a vote, not the normal local and uncontested calendar, but a real vote. So we went into over-drive on our second chance to kill the bill. We worked really hard with our Democratic Senators to either amend this bill, by taking out section 8 or slightly changing the wording for that bill. We had hoped that we had gotten 11 of them to block the bill. We really were better off without this bill than to have the examination meeting closed to the public. Anyway our Senate Dems wouldn't hold for the hate amendment (HJR6), so e-voting sure wasn't going to light their fire. The final vote on passage of HB2465 was 31-0.

The only good news is that Senator Shapleigh rescued the interim study of a voter verified paper trail in a successful amendment to this bill. Now mind you Mary Denny as the author has to accept that amendment, so don't hold your breath. She wrote the substitute of HB166 that included that study when she gutted Pena's requirement for verified paper ballots, but that won't necessarily stop her from killing it in the final bill. She is after all the queen of mean.

Here's the prior thread discussing the House bill and a link to The Texas Observer blog entry.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x14683
:cry:
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Sonia

[GOPisEvil]

1. Why, oh why, would we want an open, transparent process?

It's not like our government would choose faulty equipment or anything. :sarcasm:

[sonias]

2. Well we know those in power right now don't

Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain.

Just like I expected, we got a notice from our bill watching service and the Woman of Mass Destruction (Mary Denny-WMD) strikes again.

"TX-HB 2465 By Denny. Relating to a public hearing conducted by the secretary of state in regard to voting system equipment. - House refused to concur in Senate amendments CONFEREES: Denny-chair..."

Seems like the WMD just doesn't even want to study a verifiable paper ballot. That was the only amendment that was put on her bill. Senator Shapleigh who was sponsoring the Pena bill in the House and gave it one more try. Mind you the amendment was written exactly, as in the substitute bill Denny herself authored to replace Pena's bill (HB166). And she voted for it in her committee and the House floor.


Sonia

[GOPisEvil]

3. They really do hate democracy, don't they?

How DARE we "little people" think we have any control over the government!

[sonias]

4. And let's add insult to injury, we get Big Brother to boot

The biometrics bill passed passed the Senate. They hate us for our freedom.

The Texas Observer has a small write up:

http://www.texaslegislatureobserved.com/
Monday, May 23, 2005
Ok, Now let me see your face, please

Today the Senate passed HB 2337, the biometric boondoggle, which would require the DPS to take facial recognition information from people applying for or renewing their drivers’ licenses. With little drama, the bill passed 28-2.

This was one of those issues ACLU had very hard to kill or substantially amend. Scott Henson who writes the blog Grits for Breakfast had a good write up of that on Monday May 16th. Scott and his team worked hard to kill this bill, but this mean season was different. No swaying the easily intimidated Lege on this one. They easily gave up our freedom.

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/
Big Brother a vote or two away
The future is now.

Today, Big Brother is no longer some paranoid concept from a futuristic novel -- it's a phenomena that's just a vote or two away at the Texas Legislature from near-permanent ensconcement.

As the Texas Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee prepares to consider gathering biometric facial recognition data on Texas drivers and ID card holders on Wednesday morning, Austin's KXAN-TV reports on the proliferation of surveillance cameras in Austin, many operated by local government, that monitor public spaces. Those government cameras could ultimately hook into the proposed biometric facial recognition database, so police could theoretically identify individuals by name from surveillance footage. I doubt many people realize the scope of the current proliferation of surveillance technology, but it's fairly stunning.

More at link above.

Sonia

[GOPisEvil]

5. One of the things that bugs me about using City Hall as a protest site

is this biometrics thing. You know there will be cameras around City Hall and the Capitol if there aren't already. We'll get branded as the dissenters, and more easily rounded up. :tinfoilhat:

Good thing my license doesn't need to be renewed until 2010.

[sonias]

6. Not so fast there dissident

Your license renewal will happen a lot quicker. I heard they are shortening the renewal term to soak more money from the peasants (us) and to improve the accuracy of said database. It's not in the bill but there's plenty of time.

Sonia