HR 4, Final Speeches
Villarreal up again to speak against HR 4. Says senate won’t take control because they respect this provision in the constitution. Lt. Governor doesn’t ask senators to sign a blank check to suspend constitutional provisions in that chamber.
On the comparison to history…technology, etc. Says that is the wrong comparison and the right one was that how the senate handles things when their body is divided. Finally, handing over power to the governor. “We would not need to hand over power to the governor as long as bills that came forward were reasonable, met some common sense criteria, I thought the original list was in that spirit, obviously it is not. I hope in voting down this resolution, those of you who are considering voting against this resolution realize that a vote against is really a vote for preserving the power in the process.
Berman is addressing Villarreal. Says the senate vs. House comparison is apples to oranges.
Villarreal said only 8 bills passed in the first 60 days last time.
Dunnam is up now. Says look at the facts of what we are really talking about. “We are told if we don’t pass this, the whole House will come to gridlock. I have the calendars from the last several sessions. In the 76th legislature, do you know how many were brought up in the first 60 days? Two! IN the 77th, we brought up six. In the 78th session, six came to the House floor, and in the 79th session, ten bills. Those include the emergency bills. So you are being told if we can’t bring up ten bills in the next 60 days the Senate is going to rule the world and the sky is going to fall. If we can’t take up 6-10 bills in the next 60 days, nobody’s bills are going to be passed. That’s not credible. You know that.
I would not cut myself out of the process by voting against this. Members on this floor were just told if they vote against this they will be cut out of the process. I don’t know about you but I represent 145,000 Texans. 145,000 Texans. And they sent me here and they sent me here to fight for them. The Texas constitution says that my 145,000 constituants have the right, have the right to have a say in waht comes before this body on this floor in the first 60 days no matter what party I am in. It’s not my right, it’s not 30 members’s right, it is the right not of 30 members but the right of 150,000 texans times 30… And I’m being asked to give that away…just give it away so that anything could come on this floor in the first 60 days whether my constituants like it or not.
Everyone is here to work hard. No one is here to obstruct good policy for the people of the state of Texas. Mr. Chisum stood up to this microphone and [Suspended the rules] he asked we suspend it, and we did. On behalf of the people I represent, [if I vote for this], I gave a blank check. I gave their vote away. We just want to participate in a conservative manner and the only way to participate is to vote no.
Dan Branch is asking if Dunnam has voted for it before.
Branch asks under what speakers. Dunnam says four times, including once under Craddick.
Branch: You ignore the fact that a lot of bills are moving through committees in this time.
Dunnam: There were 14 voted out of committee in 77th, 2 additional in last session. This resolution has nothing about committee process. As of next week on Feb 7, the committees can do anything they want.
Branch: You voted this in the past….
Dunnam: I didn’t vote for this in 2003 (because of Robin Hood).
Bonnen is up now. “Were republicans in the minority then all just too stupid to bring this up?”
Dunnam says no, because they had a fair shake.
Bonnen is now essentially saying that Democrats haven’t asked for any chairmanships, etc.
Turner up. He just asked the Lege to “take a chill pill.”
Popularity: 4% [?]
Do you know that you can 
