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Sent my emails to Rep and Senator to support HB's 421 and 560.

It took one full month to get a reply, but this is what I got (which to me sounds a bit like a non-answer I think):

Thank you so much for sharing your position with our office regarding House Bill (HB) 560. This issue is very important to Representative Huberty and he appreciates your voice and advocacy.

Over the past three sessions, Rep. Huberty has supported and sponsored a number of bills which protect Second Amendment rights for the citizens of Texas. He filed his own bill last session to protect the right of citizens to open-carry, and for the third session in a row, he has filed a bill to allow school board members to bring their concealed firearms to board meetings. Your position regarding HB 560 has been recorded and Rep. Huberty will have it on file as he continues to support legislative opportunities which protect the rights of our citizens.

If you'd like to follow the progress of HB 560 on your own please feel free to visit the Texas Legislative Online website here and explore any other bills that are coming up during the session.

Thanks again for reaching out and helping to make Texas the great state that it is! Please don't hesitate to contact us again!


Best Regards,

Jillian Pflederer
Legislative Intern
Representative Dan Huberty
(512) 463-0520

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

Russell wrote:Honest question - how can a Senator provide support for a house bill? I am going to call my senator today and want to know what it is I can actually ask her to do to provide support.

There are two ways. If a Senate companion bill is filed, they can sign onto it and/or support it. If no companion is filed, then they can support it when it comes to the Senate. Asking them for support now shows him/her that the bill has wide support and increases the chance of a companion bill being filed.

Chas.

As this is just my second legislative session to watch here I have to ask - is it better then to have a filed companion bill instead of the Senate just supporting the House bill when it comes to the Senate? Or with a companion bill does that risk the same form of problems that we saw last session with the House and Senate bills needing to go through reconciliation because of minor wording differences?

Glockster wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

Russell wrote:Honest question - how can a Senator provide support for a house bill? I am going to call my senator today and want to know what it is I can actually ask her to do to provide support.

There are two ways. If a Senate companion bill is filed, they can sign onto it and/or support it. If no companion is filed, then they can support it when it comes to the Senate. Asking them for support now shows him/her that the bill has wide support and increases the chance of a companion bill being filed.

Chas.

As this is just my second legislative session to watch here I have to ask - is it better then to have a filed companion bill instead of the Senate just supporting the House bill when it comes to the Senate? Or with a companion bill does that risk the same form of problems that we saw last session with the House and Senate bills needing to go through reconciliation because of minor wording differences?

From what I can gather, having a companion bill gives better odds that the bill will make it through the process as it signals that there is support for it in both the House and Senate. Having a large number of co-authors also greatly increases the chances. The deal with companion bills is that only ONE of them will pass. It doesn't matter if they have identical language when they come out of committee and votes are cast on the floor in each chamber, one bill has to go through BOTH chambers and pass unchanged from the time it leaves the first to the time it is approved by the second for it to go to the Governor's desk.

If there are changes in the second chamber it visits, it goes back to the originating chamber and those changes are either approved and the bill goes to the governor, or it goes into conference committee. If the members of the committee can come to an agreement, the conference committee report then has to be approved by both chambers. If it is approved then it goes to the desk of the governor, if one chamber disapproves, bill dies.

Lots of opportunities here for a bill to die.

If you like flow charts or want a better description, you can see it here: http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/docs/legref/gtli.pdf#page=7

So that things don't get lost in the shuffle, I decided to wait until the new legislature convenes before sending out my emails requesting support for HB560. I fired off emails this morning to my legislators: Rep Mary Ann Perez (probably wishful thinking that she'll support the bill in any form) & Sen Larry Taylor (likely to support if a companion bill is filed or HB560 makes it out of the House), Rep Springer, and Speaker Strauss. At this point, I don't expect anything other than standard form letter responses. But I think that the importance of this bill can't be stressed enough. Now that the legislature is in session, I'll be paying close attention & be ready for any calls-to-action.

Does this affect foreign trade zones?

Many cowardly employers with a port access quickly declared FTZ status to keep LTC folks from even leaving it in their car thus depriving them of protection for the drive to work.

Rep Bonnen expressed his support for HB560, I haven't reviewed a reply from my Senator yet.

This is incredible! I just sent my Senator and Representative emails and I'm hopeful that they will happily back this bill.

I have emailed my rep twice, no response yet. I am beginning to think whether or not the email on the legislative website is right. I have emailed a few Senators hoping to gain their support as well. I always get a, "Thank you for contacting us we will get back to you when we can," spill. Nothing from Stickland

Keep in mind the House and Senate are adjourned until Monday, January 23. Our 140 day session once every 2 years has been shortened to effectively 126 days this biennium due to the inauguration in Washington DC this week. Keep that in mind when they run out of time to discuss important legislation.

Papa_Tiger wrote:Keep in mind the House and Senate are adjourned until Monday, January 23. Our 140 day session once every 2 years has been shortened to effectively 126 days this biennium due to the inauguration in Washington DC this week. Keep that in mind when they run out of time to discuss important legislation.

I emailed my rep back when this thread first started. That's good information to know though. Thanks.

Papa_Tiger wrote:Lots of opportunities here for a bill to die.

I fervently hope this bill passes, but in general, the fewer bills that pass, the better, so the more opportunities for a bill to die, the better.

KLB wrote:

Papa_Tiger wrote:Lots of opportunities here for a bill to die.

I fervently hope this bill passes, but in general, the fewer bills that pass, the better, so the more opportunities for a bill to die, the better.

If we were starting from scratch, with no laws on the books at all, then I would agree with you completely. But unfortunately, there is much work needed to undo the restrictive laws that we have today.

Not quite the answer I was hoping for.

Dear Mr. Allen:

Thank you for reaching out to our office about House Bill 560. We have documented your concerns and will take them into consideration if it comes up in the House.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out.

The Office of the Honorable Jonathan Stickland
Texas House of Representatives, HD 92
P.O. Box 2910, Room E1.402
Austin, TX 78768
512-463-0522

vjallen75 wrote:Not quite the answer I was hoping for.

Dear Mr. Allen:

Thank you for reaching out to our office about House Bill 560. We have documented your concerns and will take them into consideration if it comes up in the House.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out.

The Office of the Honorable Jonathan Stickland
Texas House of Representatives, HD 92
P.O. Box 2910, Room E1.402
Austin, TX 78768
512-463-0522

I can't imagine Stickland would oppose HB560, but I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to amend HB375's language into it.

Chas.