House Democrats threaten to block constitutional amendments

In the leadup to the House vote on SB 2, the session's signature school voucher legislation, Democrats stated their intent to block any bills that propose constitutional amendments if SB 2 passed without a provision allowing for a public vote on the issue. On April 17, SB 2 passed the House without that amendment, and after concurrence by the Senate is headed to the governor for his signature. 

A handful of House Joint Resolutions (HJRs) were scheduled for today (April 23) but were pulled down by Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). Joint resolutions are used to propose amendments to the Texas Constitution and require a two-thirds vote from each chamber, so the 62 House Democrats can prevent those resolutions from advancing. Burrows likely delayed the votes to continue negotiating with Democrats to ensure their passage. 

Rep. Candy Noble (R-Lucas) opted to bring HJR 72 to the floor in spite of pressure from Democrats. The resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to provide a special type of homestead exemption for homes of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Comments from other members highlighted how lifechanging the exemption would be; nobody spoke against the content of the resolution itself. Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) briefly appeared asked Noble to confirm that they had spoken the night prior about her delaying her resolution until Monday, but she replied that she changed her mind since then.

HJR passed 90-2, with 51 members (all Democrats) present, but not voting. The bill will be heard for a third and final reading at a future date. It needs 100 yes votes to be sent to voters for approval.

The Democrats' vote today could signal their willingness to torpedo HJRs for the remainder of the session, which ends June 2.