Texas House set to vote, approve controversial Republican redistricting plan

CBS News

a day ago

The Texas House of Representatives will gavel back into session at 10 a.m. Wednesday with the controversial proposal to redraw congressional maps up for a vote.
Currently House Bill 4, the redistricting legislation, is the only item on the lawmakers' agenda.
The Republican majority has worked quickly to push the measure through the House, after Democrats broke quorum and left the state for two weeks, stalling all action in the house and killing the first special session.
Gov. Greg Abbott called a second special session hours after the first one was adjourned on Friday, and the Democrats who left the state returned to the House chamber at noon on Monday. That evening, HB 4 cleared the House committee on redistricting by a vote of 12-8, along party lines.
The bill needs to pass two more votes from the entire House before advancing; the final vote could happen on Wednesday as well.
The redistricting bill has also passed from the Texas Senate's committee on redistricting, and is on the agenda for the full Senate on Thursday.
When the House reconvenes, most Democratic members will be free of police escorts that have been with them since Monday afternoon.
In an attempt to ensure that Democrats do not try to break quorum again, Republican House leaders would only allow the members who left the state to exit the House chamber if they agreed to a DPS escort.
While most Democrats agreed, state Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth refused. She was locked in the House chamber for a time and eventually also allowed to go to her Capitol office. On Monday, Collier asked a state court to allow her to leave, alleging she's facing "illegal restraint by the government." The court has not yet acted on the filing.
Some other Democrats joined Collier on Tuesday, ripping up their signed agreements for the DPS escort and staying the night.
It is not yet clear whether Speaker Dustin Burrows will impose DPS escorts on Democrats at the end of Wednesday's session.
Republican state leaders are moving fast on the special session, aiming to pass all of Abbott's priority items and adjourn before the Labor Day weekend.
That leaves only 10 days to pass redistricting and a slew of other bills, including funding for disaster relief in the wake of last month's deadly Hill Country floods, property tax relief and further restrictions on abortion.
Those measures are all expected to pass due to overwhelming Republican support. Some items will be bipartisan.
One item on Abbott's list could run into some difficulty: Regulating cannabis products derived from hemp. During the regular session, the Legislature passed a total ban on any products containing THC.
Opponents argued that if the bill became law, it would force thousands of people out of their jobs and cause billions of dollars in economic losses for the state from what has become a booming industry. They also argue it would harm veterans and others who use THC instead of opioids to treat chronic pain, forcing them to buy from drug dealers to get the same relief.
Abbott vetoed the total ban, calling for stricter regulation instead.
The Senate has already passed another version of their total ban of THC. The House version, HB 6, only prohibits the sale of any consumable hemp-derived products to people under 21. HB 6 has not yet been through committee.