The Senate elections omnibus bill #SB1 is being heard today in a House cmte. Chair @TrentAshbyTX said they'll be considering a cmte substitute where the language will be identical to the version of the elections bill (#HB3) from the previous special session. #txlege
Watch the House cmte hearing on the elections omnibus bill #SB1 live below. Chair Ashby says there are 79 witnesses registered to testify & he's giving a 40 min deadline for sponsor layout & Qs.
tlchouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph… #txlege
tlchouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph… #txlege
Vice-Chair @Senfronia4Texas (D-Houston) asks bill sponsor Andrew Murr (R-Junction) about whether he will amend or limit poll watcher provisions in #SB1.
Murr said he watched the 14-hour public testimony from July & said he is thinking about it. #txlege
Murr said he watched the 14-hour public testimony from July & said he is thinking about it. #txlege
Murr said he talked with colleagues about considering more poll watcher education & the Senate amndmnt to #SB1 that created a poll watcher manual. He's open to these changes happening on the floor instead of in cmte. #txlege
Here's some legislative intent on what "free movement" poll watcher provision in #SB1 means:
https://twitter.com/taygoldenstein/status/1429839556761866243#txlege
Murr tells Bucy that he foresees a floor amendment to fix the issue raised in this @TexasMonthly piece regarding a mismatch provision in the D/L # or SSN you registered w/ to what a voter puts on a mail ballot envelope under #SB1. #txlege texasmonthly.com/news-politics/…
Murr says no one should have a problem filling out a form if nothing fraudulent is happening re: new voting assistance form. #SB1 #txlege
.@VoteAnnJohnson asks if Murr has looked at the racial impact of the elections bill since the last extension. Murr says no. #SB1 #txlege
And now we're done with the 40 min. sponsor layout of #SB1 which was a lot of rapid-fire questions from Dem cmte members. Onto public testimony which is limited to 2 min each and includes those testifying virtually. #SB1 #txlege
The first witness, a veteran w/disability (paraplegic), is in favor of the bill but mentioned issues w/signature verification provision since she uses her mouth to sign ballots and her signature is never the same. She did appreciate the ballot cure provision. #SB1 #txlege
Chase Bearden w/@TxDisabilities testifying against House cmte sub for #SB1. Has suggestions to fix issues re: cure process (e.g. remote cure, adding mail ballot ID # mismatch to list of defects) and making VBM accessible to visually impaired w/out assistance. #txlege
Bearden says you get the most voter security when a voter fills out a ballot by themselves, so lawmakers should make voting more accessible. He wants voters w/disabilities to be able to use signature stamps w/out a witness. #txlege #SB1
Chair Ashby is trying to clarify @TxDisabilities' change from neutral to against #SB1. They're doing so b/c the House cmte substitute of SB 1 is the same as HB 3 as filed. Ashby says they haven't adopted the cmte sub yet, but Bearden maintains that they are still against. #txlege
Witness from @txadapt says disability community has been bringing the same suggestions for increasing access to vote for testimony on elections bills during the 87th #txlege for years & it had been ignored in the past.
Says disability vote is growing & #SB1 would hurt that.
Says disability vote is growing & #SB1 would hurt that.
The cmte hearing on the elections bill #SB1 breaks to go to floor session. We still have several witnesses to go when they return but not as many folks registered today in the House this session as they did w/earlier iterations of the bill in past sessions. #txlege
They're back to public testimony. #SB1 #txlege
https://twitter.com/CFloresNews/status/1429955994273071110
Chair Ashby mentions again that #SB1 as passed by Senate is before the cmte (even if the cmte sub they plan to adopt is identical to #HB3) so it's not out of order to testify on the Senate's ver. This is confusing for witnesses, who prepared for Senate v., not House v. #txlege
.@TXsecofstate's director of elections @bkingr is up now. @BucyForTexas is going through #SB1 and asking questions. #txlege
Bucy: How do you interpret the warning system for election judges when a poll watcher commits a violation of election code or penal code?
Ingram: I don't know the difference b/w provisions g) and h) in Sec. 4.01. #txlege #SB1
Ingram: I don't know the difference b/w provisions g) and h) in Sec. 4.01. #txlege #SB1
It's confusing when Chair Ashby says we've heard this bill before but then he reminds witnesses that the version of the bill before the cmte is the one passed by the Senate. #SB1 #txlege
Chair Ashby gives a 10 min/member time limit to ask Qs of the bill sponsor. Murr closes. No Qs from cmte members. The House committee substitute for elections omnibus #SB1 (identical to #HB3) is adopted & clears cmte by a vote of 9-5 along party lines. Onto calendars. #txlege
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