More Capitol Rumblings
Gov. Rick Perry calls second special session on heels of historic filibuster
Just hours after Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth), led a 10-hour filibuster to kill a restrictive abortion bill, Gov. Rick Perry announced the Texas Legislature would reconvene in a second special session. Although Senate Bill 5 is officially dead, the substance of the legislation can live on with a new name. And it looks like that's Perry's plan.
Among the items on the agenda for the special session beginning July 1? Legislation relating to the regulation of abortion procedures, providers and facilities; transportation infrastructure projects; and sentencing options for capital felonies committed by 17-year-olds.
In a statement, Perry vowed to continue fighting the vocal pro-choice movement.
We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do.
Thousands of protestors filled the Capitol on June 25, and many are crediting the raucous crowd with disrupting a last-minute vote attempt in the Senate. Conflicting reports on the bill's status surfaced around midnight. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst didn't clear the air until around 3 am, when he announced the vote had taken place after the midnight deadline and was invalid.