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Austin's Donna Howard Holds House Seat, GOP Seeks Power in Senate [Politics]
Last week's elections left the Texas House with a 99-to-51 Republican majority--now 98-51, because Republican Rep. Ed Kuempel died two days after the election. Even if (when) Kuempel's vacant seat is filled by another Republican, Howard's small victory will keep Republicans from having a two-thirds supermajority in the legislature.
Neil has not yet petitioned the County Clerk's office for a recount. "We knew it would be tough. We knew it would be tight from day one, and we just kept working to try to get one more vote than our opponent," Neil said. In the end, that one vote went to Donna Howard.
With no Republican two-thirds majority in the Texas Senate either, state GOP senators are to lower the bar for legislation. Current Texas Senate rules require a two-thirds majority for bills to be voted on by the body. The balance of power is 19-12 following the November 2nd elections. While Republicans hold a majority of seats, they need 21 seats to shut out Democrat blockage of certain bills, like the voter ID bill from the previous session. There, GOP senators were able to change the rule temporarily and bring the bill to a vote.
As the Texas Tribune reports, Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) wants to make that exception permanent, changing the rule from two-thirds to 60 percent--and reducing the threshold number of votes to 18.
"Obviously there are more votes on the conservative side of the ledger," Sen. Patrick stated, "and so issues, particularly dealing with immigration, may finally move forward." The senator claims that six or seven senators have already committed to a permanent rule change. He needs only 10 more to make that 60 percent rule a reality.
