AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ State lawmakers have adjourned their 140 day legislative session _ but they could be headed back to work soon.
Monday concluded a session that began in January. Lawmakers are barred from passing most legislation the final day so it’s mostly reserved for group photos and hugs goodbye. Protesters briefly interrupted the House session to decry Texas’ new anti-sanctuary cities law.
Republican Speaker Joe Straus adjourned the House shortly after 1 p.m. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick adjourned the Senate about an hour later.
Lawmakers may not be gone long. The next regular session isn’t until 2019, but Gov. Greg Abbott hasn’t said yet if call lawmakers back this summer to address some agency oversight bills. Some Republicans want to keep working to address a so-called “bathroom bill” and property taxes.
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Governor signs ride-sharing legislation
From Governor Abbott’s office:
Governor Greg Abbott today signed House Bill 100 (HB 100), which will end a patchwork of local regulations on ride-sharing companies in Texas and expands transportation options. This law will override local provisions and provide regulatory certainty, creating a consistent framework across the state for popular ride-hailing companies, while still enforcing important customer safety standards.
“Texas has longtime been the home for innovation and economic growth, but a patchwork quilt of compliance complexities are forcing businesses out of the Lone Star State,” said Governor Abbott.
“My goal as Governor is to remove the barriers of government to encourage competition, and empower consumers to choose. This bill increases economic liberty while still ensuring customer safety, and I thank Representative Chris Paddie for his work on this legislation.”
Important safety standards included in HB 100:
• Drivers must undergo annual criminal background check.
• Drivers must provide all necessary information to the consumer before each ride.
• Drivers must provide electronic receipts to passengers.
• There is a zero-tolerance intoxication standard for drivers will be strictly enforced.
This bill is effective immediately.
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Texas lawmakers calls for law enforcement to the Capitol to enforce federal immigration laws
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The Latest on a protest at the Texas state Capitol over a new law that compels local police to enforce federal immigration law (all times
local):
2:35 p.m.
A Republican Texas state lawmaker accused of threatening gun violence during an immigration protest on the House floor says his life was threatened, not the other way around.
Rep. Matt Rinaldi of Irving said in a statement on Facebook that he “called ICE on several illegal immigrants” Monday based on signs protesters were waving reading, “I am illegal and here to stay.”
Rinaldi says his Democratic colleagues were encouraging protesters “to disobey law enforcement” and that when he mentioned calling federal authorities he was “physically assaulted” by one Democrat.
Rinaldi says another Democrat claimed he would “get” him on his way to his car.
Rinaldi says he responded saying he “would shoot him” in self-defense. He added that he is currently under state trooper protection.
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1:30 p.m.
A group of Democratic lawmakers is accusing a Republican colleague of threatening to “put a bullet in the head” of someone on the Texas House floor, as a raucous immigration protest unfolded in a public gallery.
At a news conference Monday, the Democrats said Republican state Rep. Matt Rinaldi made the threat toward Rep. Poncho Nevarez, a Democrat from the border town of Eagle Pass.
Rinaldi left the House floor and wasn’t available for comment.
But several Democratic lawmakers said he’d bragged about “calling ICE” on protesters who interrupted a House floor session to protest Texas’ new anti-sanctuary cities law.
That led to a near-scuffle with Democratic Rep. Cesar Blanco. But the Democratic lawmakers said the comments about gun play came during a second altercation moments later.
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11:45 a.m.
Hundreds of protesters removed from the public gallery of the Texas House after their demonstration opposing a tough new immigration law are continuing to chant and cheer in the rotunda of the state Capitol.
Even after police peacefully cleared the public gallery Monday, though, tensions simmered. One Democratic lawmaker said he was enraged when a Republican joked that he was going to call federal authorities to deport the protests.
Protesters, meanwhile, reassembled inside the ground floor rotunda.
Leroy Pena of Dallas, a Lipan Apache Indian, held a sign reading: “Governor Abbott, show me your papers. I am a 15th generation Texan.”
Opponents call Texas’ anti-sanctuary cities law a “show your papers” law since it empowers police to inquire about peoples’ immigration status during routine interactions such as traffic stops.
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11:15 a.m.
State troopers have cleared the Texas House’s public gallery of protesters and lawmakers are resuming work on the floor.
A raucous protest involving several hundred chanting and cheering demonstrators, some of whom blew whistles, began about 40 minutes into Monday’s final floor session. House leadership asked state troopers to clear the public gallery that rings the floor above the chamber and suspended the session.
Police fanned out and led small groups of protesters out into the hallway. The process took about 20 minutes, and protesters continued to chant their opposition to Texas’ new anti-“sanctuary cities” law throughout.
Once all the protesters were gone, the House gaveled back in and lawmakers went back to largely ceremonial final-day duties.
Texas’ tough new measure compels local police to enforce federal immigration law.
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11 a.m.
Hundreds of protesters wearing red “lucha” or “fight” T-shirts and chanting their opposition to Texas’ tough new anti-“sanctuary cities” law have forced the Texas House to interrupt its floor session.
About 40 minutes into the proceedings on the final day of the legislative session Monday, protesters began cheering and chanting from the gallery: “Here to stay!” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho SB4 has got to go!”
Some waved banners reading “See you in court!”
The House leadership stopped the session and asked state troopers to clear the gallery. The demonstration continued for several minutes as officers led people out of the chamber peacefully in small groups.
Texas recently approved SB 4, which compels local police to enforce federal immigration law. Opponents have filed lawsuits.
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10:20 a.m.
Immigrants from Arizona and elsewhere are urging grassroots resistance against Texas’ recently passed crackdown on “sanctuary cities.”
The Texas law is similar to a 2010 Arizona law that lets police inquire about a person’s immigration status even during routine interactions such as traffic stops.
But as the group joins with local activists, their effort is coming too late for a small portion of foreign-born Texans who have already begun evacuating the state.
While their ranks are still too small to measure, a larger exodus _ as has already happened in Arizona _ could seriously impact Texas. The state has more than 1 million immigrants illegally in the country.
Although the visiting activists are urging resistance, some immigrants are abandoning Texas for more liberal states, where they feel safer from deportation.
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Another Texas Democrat launches a state Senate filibuster
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ A Texas Democrat has staged another state Senate floor filibuster _ but don’t expect it to generate as much attention as Sen. Wendy Davis’ marathon speech four years ago.
San Antonio Democratic Sen. Jose Menendez began speaking shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday. At midnight, a key deadline passed and he killed a bill that makes it harder for some cities to annex surrounding territory.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Donna Campbell, a Republican from nearby New Braunfels, donned pink tennis shoes when she learned of Menendez’s plan. But she was urging passage.
In 2013, Davis wore pink tennis shoes and talked for 11-plus hours in the Senate. She delayed tough abortion restrictions that later passed in special session.
Davis left the Senate and lost a gubernatorial run in 2014.
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Texas approves banning drones over stadiums, prisons
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Texas lawmakers have given final approval to a ban on drones over sports stadiums and correctional facilities.
A measure making it a crime to fly unmanned aircraft over sports arenas holding at least 30,000 people, jails or prisons passed the Legislature on Sunday night. The final version of the bill also prohibits drones over immigrant detention centers.
Starting Sep. 1, operating a drone intentionally over such a facility will be punishable by up to six months in jail.
The regulation is designed to protect the public from weapons that drones could possibly carry, and to prevent drones from sneaking drugs or contraband to inmates.
But opponents say the federal _ not state _ government is charged with overseeing airspace, and worry the bill could stifle the booming drone industry.
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Legislature OKs anonymous reporting for sex assault victims
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The Texas Legislature has approved requiring Texas public and private universities to create anonymous online reporting tools for sexual assault victims.
The bill by Austin Democratic Sen. Kirk Watson was given final approval by the Senate on Sunday night 31-0. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed, vetoed or become law automatically.
Watson got his undergraduate and law degrees from Baylor University. It’s been rocked by a sexual assault scandal that ousted football coach Art Briles and school president Ken Starr.
It is one of a trio of top bills Watson has promoted this session meant to curb campus sexual assault.
More than a dozen women have sued Baylor over the last year alleging that the Baptist school long ignored or mishandled their claims of assault.
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Texas OKs police interaction instruction for high schoolers
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The Texas Legislature has voted to require all public high schools to provide instruction on how to best interact with law enforcement in traffic stops and other situations.
The bill by Democratic Sens. Royce West of Dallas and John Whitmire of Houston is in response to a series of violent encounters between police and the public that made national news.
The sponsors want to teach students what’s expected of them when interacting with police. It also requires drivers’ education courses to include information on how to act during traffic stops.
Also mandated would be instruction for police officers on their responsibilities during an encounter.
The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott, who can sign or veto it. If he takes no action, it becomes law automatically.
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Texas OKs upping combative board of ed’s textbook veto power
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The Texas Legislature has approved giving the state’s often-combative Board of Education broader veto power over textbooks used across the state.
A bill passed in its final form by the state House 78-62 on Sunday lets the board’s 15 elected members reject textbook content deemed not “suitable for the subject and grade level.” It now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott who can sign or veto it, or allow it to automatically become law.
Critics worry the proposal weakens limits in place since 1995, which only allow the board to seek edits to textbooks for factual errors or to better align with Texas curriculum.
Even with those, board ideological battles over textbooks have long made national headlines.
Texas’ textbook market is large enough to affect textbook content in other states.
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Texas approves bill to allow guns near school in parked cars
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Texas lawmakers have voted to allow handgun permit holders to have guns in their parked cars outside schools.
The Senate gave final approval to the measure Saturday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott for his consideration. The vote came a day after Abbott signed into law a sharp decrease in fees paid to obtain a handgun license.
The bill allowing guns in parked cars at schools is aimed at teachers and school workers who want to keep their weapons in their vehicles without violating state law. Opponents worry it raises the potential for danger if a car is burglarized on school property.