HB 13 Debate

HB 13 is back up for debate in the House right now. It’s the pig-with-very-little-lipstick “border security” bill. Analysis is here.

They are debating Merritt’s amendment (6) which deals with the Homeland and Border Security Council. The amendment, like others, adds some safeguards not on the bill, and a motion to table is on the floor.

Crap…Berman is asking if they’ll take an amendment on Sanctuary Cities…this spells d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r.

Liveblogging starts after the jump.

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9:00 p.m. Now, on to something else.

8:58 p.m.: Gallego asks for Pickett’s remarks to be in the journal.

8:57 p.m.: Now Pickett is up criticizing Berman over the comment about the El Paso bond. Pickett says the bond is for American citizens serving at Fort Bliss, and that is what the bond issue is for.

8:56 p.m.: Riddle asks for Berman’s to be in the Journal….same is done for Martinez’s Fishers’s.

8:54 p.m.: Trey Martinez Fischer is up now to verbally give Berman a beat down.

Thanks Swinford for ashcanning Berman’s bills, is applauded.

“I respect my colleague from District 6…my colleague Rafael Anchia reminded me that immigrants built this capitol brick by brick so we can debate these issues…”

“I want to leave with a piece for you to think about. Many of you attended a bipartisan luncheon…on the issue of immigration and [a local catholic priest]…There are issues of immigration that go back to our bible. They did not start in this state and did not start in this century and they will not end in this state and this century….Let’s think about the humanity, let’s think about the human issues, there is nothing more human, nothing more elemental, than humanity…and when we replace human beings by calling them aliens and other derrogatory terms, we are breaking them down…we are talking about mothers…let us not forget about the human aspect of our debate. Remember the humanity in our debate and in our words.”

8:40 p.m.: Berman is up on personal privilege. “This is probably the only time you are going to hear anyone talk about illegal aliens on the floor of the House of Representatives because we’ve been shut out of this bill at every turn.”

Now he’s on about sanctuary cities. “The majority of the members on this floor consider HB 13 half a bill….because it dealt with border security only and not the 1 and a half million illegal aliens costing millions of taxpayer dollars each year.”

Says constituants asked for these bills. (Psha!)

“We need to vote on illegal aliens to say that we did a little bit of something on it.”

Says Chair of State Affairs said that he didn’t want a circus and all the bills were divisive [Oh, I know something I could say right here...]. Berman calls State Affairs “marathon circuses.” Says Chair unilaterally decided no illegal alien legislation would be heard on the floor of the House this year.

Now complaining that bills were sent to the AG for review. “Nothing should ever leave this house for review by anyone else.” Says he could kick himself for not protesting that right then.

Says Bear Sternes says there are 20 million illegals in the nation and that 5 million work for cash and don’t pay taxes. And, if they do, they are doing so with fraudulent identities.

“In the early part of the century when my parents came through Ellis Island, they were given a physical examination. If anything wasn’t right, they were put on the boat and sent back. Note I say “immigrant,” because they are the people who…assimilate into our culture and pay their taxes and eventually raise their hands and become citizens.”

NOW, he’s blaming immigrants for bringing Polio, the plague, leprosy, malaria, Chagas Disease, ad Dengue Fever to Texas. (and he cites a whopping 36 cases of leprosy).

Says El Paso’s 290 million bond election is a result of illegal aliens.

Now he’s talking about Strayhorn’s illegal aliens report and the 17.9 billion they put in the Texas economy. [Oh, jesus, it's like being lectured by Phill Gramm...]

[we just got an email that Berman is going to challenge Cornyn in the '08 U.S. Senate Primary...just kidding...]

Berman admits he filed a bill to challenge the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Says author of the 14th Amendment in 1866 in the U.S. Senate said it didn’t apply to foreigners.

“I thought it was time for us to challenge the 14th amendment because we are creating more than 350,000 new U.S. Citizens a year and I believe they are being created erroneously.”

Just referred to his constituent as “middle class.” Evidently he forgot he represents the Azaela District.

8:39 p.m.: People are now postponing stuff.

8:38 p.m.: CRADDICK PUBLICLY PRAISES SWINFORD, saying he did a great job and asks members to give him a round of applause. (Capitol Annex calls Speaker Craddick out of order; shouldn’t he have moved to suspend the rules before he asked them to applaud?)

8:38 p.m.: Swinford is applauded. Someone hollers. Taking a vote. Record vote. (What reading is this? 224th?) Passes 140-5.

8:37 p.m.: Swinford is closing. He is shuffling papers at a rapid rate as he speaks. Is he about to pull out some Pledge and polish the podium? No, he just moves adoption and walks away…

8:35 p.m.: Merritt speaking for the bill. Don’t know about you but if a bunch of my amendments didn’t get on the bill, I’d be saying “adios” and voting no, but that’s just me. Evidently, Merritt’s ok with the bill even though he disagrees with it because “it’s the best we have.” That makes sense I suppose. Now he’s thanking Swinford for allowing him to present his amendments…

8:34 p.m.: Farrar asks Escobar if he’s happy with some forms Sheriffs departments submitted to the House (surveys I guess? Don’t know.)

8:33 p.m.: Farrar has to waive her hands to get Craddick to notice she’s at the back mic to question Escobar. She’s asking him if she realizes that this bill doesn’t pass, the border area will already get the money because it’s already been appropriated. Escobar says we have checks and balances and that everyone (sheriffs on the border) is totally aware of what the intention of the body is in terms of this bill.

8:32 p.m.: Escobar speaking in favor. “Issue on the border is very critical…this bill has checks and balances on issues of concerns about other people who have made a presentation tonight. All people on the border would be very grateful to you.” “We will put a stop or a good stop on many of the concerns that we have here.”

8:31 p.m. (and a half or something). Farrar is speaking against it.

“Today we denied state level law enforcement the opportunity to do the fullest job it could do on the border…We are effectively setting up a political patronage system…It’s kind of like the Enterprise Fund but for criminal justice…”

DAMN, she’s good.

8:31 p.m.: This is a surprise. This is an amendment by Hughes. Clarifies that intelligence gathering be done by law enforcement.

8:30 p.m. Someone just emailed me and said the amendment will be a combination of every anti-immigration measure Leo Berman has yet to have passed out of committee. Doubtful, but if it was, we’ll be here for the next 67 hours….

8:29 p.m.: How many bills are dying every second we sit here?

8:27 p.m.: Where is this amendment coming from? The Texas Legislative Council or Paraguay?

8:25 p.m.: The doing of nothing continues.

8:23 p.m.: House doing nothing while we wait for the amendment. The camera is going that annoying shot where you see the whole house and it looks like two giant piles of paper with an aisle in the middle. Why can’t they zoom in on someone’s laptop–especially someone’s laptop who is reading a blog. I’ll buy the camera guy a case of whatever he’s drinking if he can find a member who is actually looking at the GOP Caucus Blog during session (insert sound of crickets chirping here).

8:22 p.m.: There is another amendment coming from somewhere. $10 bucks says it’s a Merritt amendment.

8:21 p.m.: Craddick just sat down in his chair and it looked like it was going to fall backwards on him. Don’t we have some money in HB 1 to tighten up the bolts on the chairs in the chamber? There’s enough hilarity in the House…we don’t need to see Craddick falling out of his chair on America’s Funniest Videos….

8:20 p.m.: Who’s the young blond lady chewing gum sitting by Craddick on the podium? Isn’t chewing gum on the floor (the DIAS! no less) against House rules?). She is also repeatedly flipping her hair.

8:19 p.m.: Rules & Resolutions will meet at 8:30 p.m., it has been announced. [What is it with three button suits today? I've noticed more members than usual in them (Even a clerk looks to be wearing one). Can you tell this is getting dull, we're now commenting on fashion.

8:18 p.m.: Voting is going on and Craddick is having some weird conversation you can only pick up about half of. Tabled, 109-32.

8:16 p.m.: Border Reps are arguing with Merritt over whether this actually diverts or not. Merritt says it can give them more officers, they say it diverts resources. [And why do we keep hearing hoot and hollering sounds from the floor or the Gallery? Are they having a rodeo in the back hall?]

8:06 p.m.: Guillen is speaking against the amendment because it diverts resources around the state from the border.

8:04 p.m.: Merritt has another amendment. Allows for establishment of state program for which funding has been stopped on federal level, it’s a COPS (community oriented policing) program.

8:01 p.m.: A motion to table prevails, 100-33 .

7:59 p.m.: Another Merritt amendment, which would move Homeland Security to DPS from Governor’s Office. Merritt says this takes politics out of the equation.

7:57 p.m.: Various amendments acceptable to the author.

7:56 p.m.: Motion tabled, 94-41

7:49 p.m.: Raymond (maybe Escobar?) says he’s opposing the amendment.

7:34 p.m. Amendment by Herrero. Removes Bureau of Border Security from Governor’s Office to DPS.

7:28 p.m.: Motion to table prevails, 103-37.

7:23 p.m.: Merritt says that Governor’s office (who’s getting this ass load of cash) has not held border sheriff’s accountable.

7:18 p.m.: Merritt is closing. “With my amendment, it makes us speak to these Border Sheriff’s that we’re not going to give you $40 million for overtime if you are not going to use it as intended….We have to make these border sheriff’s accountable.”

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