Did abortion bill pass? Depends on who you ask

[struggle4progress]

Texas senators are trying to get to the bottom of whether Republicans successfully pushed through a vote on Senate Bill 5, the omnibus abortion restriction bill, ahead of their midnight deadline.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, says the bill passed at 12:02 a.m.; if that’s true, the vote may not withstand legal scrutiny.

“It’s pretty conclusive that it didn’t pass,” said Whitmire.

But the Senate still has not officially adjourned sine die. When Senators resume floor proceedings, Whitmire said Democrats will call a point of order on the motion to vote on a bill after the midnight deadline ...

http://smmercury.com/2013/06/26/did-abortion-bill-pass-depends-on-who-you-ask/

[Tx4obama]

1. Uresti said journal clerk has handwritten note in her notebook that vote started at 12:02

Uresti said journal clerk has handwritten note in her notebook that vote started at 12:02. #txlege

Here: http://www.texasobserver.org/live-blog-senate-filibuster-on-anti-abortion-bill/

[struggle4progress]

2. Texas Vote Passing Abortion Bill Is Rendered Moot

By MANNY FERNANDEZ and ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: June 26, 2013

... The State Senate’s vote came right at a midnight Tuesday deadline, amid widespread confusion and the noise of a chanting crowd of the bill’s opponents in an upstairs gallery. Senate Democrats said the vote took place past the deadline at 12:02 a.m. or 12:03 a.m., while Republicans disputed those claims, saying the vote was legitimate.

But at 3 a.m., Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the presiding officer of the Senate and a Republican supporter of the bill, told lawmakers and reporters that although the bill passed on a 19-to-10 vote, the bill could not be signed in the presence of the Senate and was therefore dead, blaming “an unruly mob using Occupy Wall Street tactics” as the primary cause ...

Mr. Dewhurst called for a vote on the bill but as the clock neared midnight and the crowd erupted, several Democratic senators said they believed they were voting on a procedural matter. “I don’t mind losing fair and square, but this has been a total sham and mockery of the rules,” said State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, a San Antonio Democrat ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/us/politics/texas-abortion-bill.html