How many supporters does a bill need to pass?

House Bill 1348, the Smith-Eiland bill to tighten campaign finance laws, now has eighty-four coauthors. That's more than enough votes to pass out of the House right now. So why hasn't it already done so? This might be a clue:

Speculation is that the bills might be in trouble because Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Tom Craddick all remain on the sidelines on the bill.

An ongoing grand jury investigation into Craddick and lobbyist Mike Toomey, who was Perry’s chief of staff, also isn’t helping.

The Senate is supposed to give a hearing to SB649, which is its version of HB1348, today. The House Elections Committee, chaired by PLOBmaster Mary Denny (not one of those 84 coauthors, as you might expect), will supposedly get to it Real Soon Now.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on April 07, 2005 to That's our Lege | TrackBack