GOP senator agrees to block redistricting bill

GOP senator agrees to block redistricting bill
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN -- A key Republican senator joined Democrats Monday in vowing to block any congressional redistricting bill from coming up for Senate debate, but Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he may counter that by changing the Senate's standard operating procedures.

Sen. Bill Ratliff, R-Mt. Pleasant, joined 10 Democrats in promising to block Senate floor debate on any congressional redistricting bill. Ratliff said he believes any plan would harm rural Texas and force some Republican senators to vote for the party against the interests and desires of their constituents.

"I don't believe even a good product of this process justifies the pain, the blood, the sweat, the tears that are going to be necessary in the Senate to get there," Ratliff said.

The dramatic turn of events threatened to doom Gov. Rick Perry's $1.7 million, 30-day special session on congressional redistricting. State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, Monday estimated the Legislature already has spent $800,000 in the session.
"In complex legislation, the road is rarely smooth and straight. What we may be looking at is a bump in the road," said Dewhurst.

As Dewhurst, Ratliff and others discussed the future of the bill, the Senate Jurisprudence Committee resumed a redistricting hearing that continued until almost 9 p.m. Monday. That committee must vote out a redistricting bill before floor debate even becomes an issue.

Perry called the special session at the urging of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.
DeLay argues that Republicans should hold 19-22 seats in the state's congressional delegation to reflect statewide voting trends that gave Republicans control of state government. Democrats now hold a 17-15 majority in the state congressional delegation.

Ratliff's turn from redistricting fence-sitter to Democratic ally brought into play one of the state Senate's cornerstone rules of procedure.

Senate rules enhance the power of individual senators by giving a minority the power to block debate on bills.
The regular order of business in the Senate is established by the order that bills come out of committee. Typically, senators pass an inconsequential "blocker" bill out of committee first, then don't vote on it.

That means any other bill can only be debated if it is taken up out of order, requiring a two-thirds vote to suspend rules. So 21 senators must vote for debate if all 31 members are present, and 11 senators can halt legislation by refusing to suspend the regular order of business.

Dewhurst last month told the Houston Chronicle editorial board he was "inclined" to keep that strong Senate tradition.
But Monday Dewhurst declared that the tradition may go out the window because of Ratliff's decision. Dewhurst implied that Ratliff had reneged on a promise to vote to debate a "fair plan."
"If we find that some of our members have changed their minds, it's incumbent that we look at all of our options," Dewhurst said.
"We may conclude there is no further step involved in this special session," he said. "It would be imprudent of me not to look at all of our options."

The sponsor of the blocker bill is Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, who also is the sponsor of the redistricting bill. Harris and Republican sponsors of two other bills that were on the Senate calendar Monday could be recognized by Dewhurst on the Senate floor and then withdraw their legislation to clear the way for a redistricting debate.

But in other action Monday, a government reorganization bill sponsored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, received approval from the Government Organization Committee and joined the other bills on the regular order of business. Ellis is among those Democrats who signed the letter.

If Ellis refused to withdraw his bill, it would become a blocker and force the two-thirds rule.

Ratliff said the only Democratic senators who did not sign the letter were Sens. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria, and Frank Madla, D-San Antonio.

Ratliff said it would set a terrible precedent to run over the two-thirds rule.

"It is a serious mistake, because if that should happen, the Texas Legislature will slide down that slope of a completely partisan operation on both sides," Ratliff said.

The Texas Republican Party noted in a news release that the two-thirds rule did not apply in a 1992 special session on state Senate redistricting. A Democratic plan for state Senate redistricting passed 18-12 on a partisan vote. If a blocker had been in place, Republican senators could have halted debate on the bill.

Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, chairman of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee, which is hearing the redistricting legislation, said he is concerned about losing the two-thirds rule.
"That's been a strong tradition in the Senate, and it certainly would be significant if we did something that did not follow that," Duncan said.

Ratliff said he believes any redistricting plan that increases Republican representation in Congress will harm rural voters.
Ratliff also said there are other Republican senators who are being pressured to vote for a redistricting bill that their constituents oppose.

"There are many members of the Senate who feel they are going to have to fall on a sword to do this, and they are going to suffer for it from their own constituents."

Duncan as well as Sens. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, Kip Averitt, R-Waco, and Todd Staples, R-Palestine, have received constituent opposition to a redistricting plan passed by the Texas House last week. All have indicated they would like to vote for a Republican redistricting plan if their local problems can be solved.
The House redistricting map dilutes the power of the congressional districts that coincide with their state senate districts. In each case, the congressional district is held by a Democrat.

Fraser said it will be difficult to pass a Republican statewide redistricting plan that would be well received in his district. He said that is likely in the other districts as well. "There are numerous members that have concerns that would have to be resolved before a plan can get passed out of the Senate," Fraser said.

If those problems are not resolved, Dewhurst might not have even a simple majority to pass a bill in the Senate.
Dewhurst said he believes the problems can be overcome.
"We've bent over backwards, at least in our drafting so far, to address the concerns our senators, Democrat and Republican, have on redistricting," he said.

 

The new districts are so fair that DeLay can't even get all the Republicans to vote for it. If Perry calls a second special session, I will be VERY upset.

 

This seems to be a main tactic of the GOP. If someone doesn't toe the line, ruin their careers, brand them as traitors, and then the rest of the cattle will know what they do with defectors.

This is what I hate about politics today, it is either us or them, black or white, left or right. It doesn't matter what is good for America anymore, it is only what is good for the people in the top power positions for the Dems and Reps.

But who cares about America anyway?

andymoon raises his hand

 

New leader takes redistricting reins
Senator who had led effort withdraws 2 proposals, quits
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN -- The Republican state senator sponsoring congressional redistricting created new legislative turmoil Wednesday by withdrawing and turning the map-making process over to a Republican colleague.

That new sponsor will present a proposed congressional district map that 13 other Republican senators have been drafting. They withheld its public unveiling, saying they needed to work out some problems.

The sudden change in redistricting leadership was the latest twist in a week of surprises in the Senate, which is meeting in special session to consider redrawing U.S. House districts. The state House approved a redistricting map last week.

On Monday, Sen. Bill Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, stunned his colleagues by joining 10 Democrats pledging to block any redistricting bill from coming to the Senate floor for debate. Sen. Frank Madla, D-San Antonio, joined that group Wednesday.
The drama continued Wednesday at the Senate Jurisprudence Committee.

Minutes before the committee meeting began, redistricting sponsor Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, described to reporters two proposed maps for redrawing congressional district boundaries. Then he withdrew the maps almost as soon as the meeting started.

Harris said he was turning all map-drawing over to Sen. Todd Staples, R-Palestine, who is sponsoring a map drafted by Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, and 12 other GOP senators.
"At this point, I am out of the map-drawing business, and Sen. Staples now has the privilege," Harris said as he walked out of the committee meeting.

"I don't know if he wants that," committee Chairman Robert Duncan said to Harris.

"Well, he's got it," Harris replied.

Staples later said, "I shouldn't have sat next to Senator Harris today."

In his pre-meeting discussion with reporters, Harris said he planned to unveil two alternative maps that had been drawn by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's staff and blessed as legally defensible by Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Harris said he liked the map for his home territory because it "takes Martin Frost out." U.S. Rep. Frost, D-Dallas, is leader of the state's Democratic delegation and has spearheaded the party's opposition to redistricting. Harris said he wanted to see Frost defeated because "he's been a pain."

Harris said the major difference in his two proposed maps was in South Texas.

Harris described his maps as the "attorney general's maps," because "these are the two he feels like are totally defensible, not only with the Justice Department but with the courts."
Any changes in Texas congressional district boundaries are subject to U.S. Justice Department review under the Voting Rights Act, and a likely challenge in federal court.

When Harris abruptly withdrew the maps later, he said he had learned of a "computer glitch."

"Those two maps will not stand up, and both maps will have to be adjusted," Harris said.

Harris' sudden reversal and the involvement of the attorney general's office immediately led Democrats to claim that the process is being unfairly stacked against them.

The Houston Chronicle reported last week that Abbott has hired Houston lawyer Andy Taylor at $400 an hour to defend any redistricting map produced by the current special session.
Taylor also is an attorney of record for Texans for a Republican Majority, a political organization founded by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

DeLay is a major driving force behind redrawing congressional district boundaries to take up to seven seats away from Democrats. The Democrats now hold a 17-15 majority in the state's congressional delegation.

"Why in the world are we allowing Tom DeLay's lawyer to draw the redistricting map for the state of Texas?" said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.

Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said Abbott may be the state's lawyer, "but if he's being counseled by somebody that's working for the Republican Party, then I have a problem with that."
Dewhurst spokesman David Beckwith said neither Taylor nor Abbott had anything to do with drawing the maps Harris was supposed to sponsor.

Beckwith said the maps were drawn by Dewhurst aides Bob Davis and Rob Johnson and that Abbott and two of his aides reviewed the maps Tuesday for potential Voting Rights Act problems.

"Andy Taylor, as far as I know, had nothing to do with the drawing of those maps," Beckwith said. "As far as I know, he hasn't even seen them."

Abbott issued a statement distancing himself from the controversy.

"The Office of the Attorney General is not -- and has not been -- in the map-drawing business," Abbott said. "Any statement or suggestion to the contrary is simply untrue."

Abbott said he will advise senators on the legality of maps they are drawing, "but my office has not and will not assume the Legislature's role of congressional map-drawer."

Shapiro, one of the 13 Republicans -- none on the Jurisprudence Committee -- who drew the map Staples is sponsoring, said it likely would result in election of 18 Republicans and 11 Democrats to the U.S. House, with three districts as toss-ups. They now are held by Democratic U.S. Reps. Max Sandlin of Marshall, Jim Turner of Crockett and Lloyd Doggett of Austin. She said Frost likely would lose re-election.

She did not release a copy of the map, but her description indicated it would preserve re-election chances for Democratic U.S. Reps. Charles Stenholm of Abilene, Chet Edwards of Waco and Ralph Hall of Rockwall.

All three had been targets for defeat in the map passed last week by the state House, which senators have rejected.
"Ralph Hall does an excellent job," Shapiro said.

Shapiro said she started negotiating with other Republican senators last Friday after she "saw a map" that could serve as a starting point.

"Each of them gave me different things they wanted to change on the map," Shapiro said.

 

And now a Republican senator has decided to stop drawing maps. It is good to see that some Republicans do have a conscience after all. Bravo, Mr. Harris, you don't have to be DeLay's yes-man!

 

Not really, IMO. Breaking a quorum is a parliamentary procedure, no change in rules necessary. Modifying the rules (by redistricting more than once in a decade or by removing the blocker bill requirement) mid-stream is just cheating. I guess the "message to the children" is that if you can't win, cheat, change the rules, and do whatever it takes to push your agenda to the top.

 

OK, so on that one, they are not breaking a rule, just a tradition. So, since redistricting once a decade is only a "tradition," once the Dems have the majority, they can redraw them again?

This is us vs. them, left vs. right, black vs. white politics at its worst. The Republicans are dealing themselves some SERIOUSLY bad karma that they are going to have to repay someday, and that day is fast approaching for many voters.

 

So, using your analogy, it would be OK for the Dems to "buzz them under the chin" by redrawing the lines AGAIN once they have a majority in 2 or 4 years?

Besides, you didn't address the rule breaking the the Lt. Gov said he would do to try to get the redistricting to the floor (suspending Senate rules on the blocker bill).

I guess the message to the kids is "if you can't win within the rules and traditions, lawyer them to death by nitpicking what is a rule, what is a law, and what is just a stupid tradition."

There is a reason that traditions are followed and that is so that the legislature does not have to spell out in the LAW how things will be handled. They follow tradition as a courtesy to both sides and the Reps just can't handle the tradition anymore so they are going to try to end run it, courtesy be damned.