Texas Tribune by Julian Aguilar
A homeland security bill that was a major factor in whether the state’s sanctuary cities legislation — one of Gov. Rick Perry's emergency items — would be signed into law failed to get placed on a House calendar for this week.
Sunday was the deadline to set bills. Even though the House Calendars committee met, once in a formal meeting and later during its annual committee dinner, no action was taken on SB 9.
The bill, by state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, is an omnibus homeland security bill that would, among other things, require all law enforcement agencies to adopt Secure Communities, institute stronger penalties for a laundry list of felonies codify proof-of-citizenship requirements for driver's licenses and state-issued IDs. It would also establish an automatic license-plate reader pilot program for vehicles used by DPS officers. The House last week added measures that included language on southbound checkpoints, E-Verify, states' rights and new laws involving the distribution of seized assets.
Last week, Williams, frustrated that SB 9 was languishing in a House committee after passing the Senate 26 to 5, turned the tables on the House: He accepted a committee substitute for HB 12, the sanctuary cities bill, which essentially gutted the immigration-related language and replaced it with his SB 9. The Senate bill made it out of the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security on Friday, however, and Williams subsequently made a motion to accept HB 12 with the sanctuary cities language intact during a later committee meeting. It was placed on today’s Senate intent calendar, which means it can see floor action anytime before Wednesday’s deadline for the upper chamber to consider House bills.
When asked what was next and if Williams had any procedural maneuvers in mind to revive SB 9, his office declined to comment.
With eight days remaining in the session, all eyes are on the 31-member Senate. The 12 Democrats can block HB 12 from reaching the floor for debate if the Senate follows tradition and requires two-thirds of the body needs to agree to get a bill to the floor. They have already distributed a letter to their colleagues urging a vote against the measure.
“We have concerns about racially profiling our citizens under the guise of cracking down on so-called 'sanctuary cities,' the letter said. "There is a tremendous risk that such legislation would inadvertently target legal citizens of Texas, solely because they fall within a certain ethnic demographic.”
One Democratic senator, José Rodríguez of El Paso, went further in explaining his opposition to the bill at a Monday morning press conference. “HB 12, in my view, is driven by fear — fear of the growing political and socio economic influence of Latinos on this community,” he said.