Mike Ward
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Two hot-button political issues that were sunk by the Texas Senate in dramatic late-night action — the so-called airport groping ban and the sanctuary cities bill — sparked new controversy Wednesday amid a growing argument over who was to blame.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, amped up his public beef with fellow Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, whom he blamed for the death of his airport bill, by questioning whether Dewhurst should be elected to higher office.
The public spat marked a rare breach in Senate protocol. Senators rarely criticize their presiding officer, and the presiding officer almost never lobbies against a senator’s bill after it is brought up for debate.
House Bill 1937, which would make it a state crime for security screeners to intrusively grope the people they are screening at airports or other public buildings, was withdrawn from debate late Tuesday by Patrick, who accused Dewhurst of lobbying against its passage on the Senate floor.
Patrick also said federal officials had improperly lobbied against the bill, including sending legislative leaders a letter that declared the proposed law illegal. He has said the bill is aimed at guarding people from improper touching by federal Transportation Security Administration screeners, who recently launched more stringent patdowns at airports to guard against terrorists.
Full article here
No comments:
Post a Comment