With Six Weeks Left, Can The House And Senate Reconcile Their Differences?
As the legislative session heads into its final six weeks, lawmakers have a lot left to do. They face the task of reconciling budgets passed by the House and Senate into a single document. They must act on the governor’s emergency agenda items. And they’ll need to decide the fate of the more than 6,000 bills filed during the session.
Texas Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey says conflicts between House and Senate Republicans that have been brewing all session will continue to play out as the two bodies work to produce a final budget for the state.
“We’re at the greatest difference right now,” Ramsey says. “This is a pretty normal state of affairs. They rattle their swords a bunch, and then five members from each body go into a room and go line by line through the budget and reconcile their differences. So they’re making a lot of noises right now. They have plenty of time to fix it. They do have some really significant differences to close though.“
Among the most high-profile fights this session has been the so-called ‘bathroom bill’ which would require people to use the bathroom associated with the gender on their birth certificate in selected public places. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is the bill’s staunchest advocate, and House Speaker Joe Straus is against it. The fight, Ramsey says, is partly about how conservative voters and business backers of the party differ no the bill.
Read more: http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/with-six-weeks-left-can-the-house-and-senate-reconciling-their-differences/
