MOVING FROM GENERAL CALENDAR TO 'MAJOR' CALENDAR??

[CWOOD]

Is there a proceedure for moving a bill from General Caledar (ie.SB730) to Major Calendar?

If so, how is it done and who could get it done?

Thanks

[CWOOD]

I just looked at the House Calendar for Saturday, 5-23-09.

There are seven items for consideration on the MAJOR Clender.

There are twenty-eight items for consideration on the General Calendar. For what it is worth, SB730 is the FIRST ITEM on the General Calendar list.

Here is the link:

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81 ... 090523.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dewayneward]

what's this one about (its on the general calender a few down from the parking lot bill)???:

Bill: SB 729
Legislative Session: 81(R) Council Document: 81R 3150 SJM-F Add to Bill List | Add to Alert List



Last Action: 05/23/2009 H Placed on General State Calendar

Caption Version: House Committee Report
Caption Text: Relating to creating a defense to prosecution for the offense of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a license holder on the premises of certain businesses.

Author: Hegar

Sponsor: Ritter

Subjects: Weapons (I0887)
CONCEALED HANDGUNS (S0241)
SIGNS (S0235)


Companion: HB 2664 by Ritter, Identical


Senate Committee: Criminal Justice
Status: Out of committee
Vote: Ayes=6 Nays=0 Present Not Voting=0 Absent=1

House Committee: Public Safety
Status: Out of committee
Vote: Ayes=5 Nays=0 Present Not Voting=0 Absent=4

[Coogan]

From the 2009 Status Report link at the top of the forum:

Bill No.: SB729
Author: (Hegar, A+)
Caption Relating to creating a defense to prosecution for the offense of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a license holder on the premises of certain businesses.
Description: This bill would establish a defense for a CHL charged with entering a 51% location that had not posted a 51% sign. This is a very good bill.
Companion:
Position on bill Support this bill.
Status: Passed the Senate, scheduled for public hearing in the House Public Safety Committee.
Legislative History: Legislative History
Final Disposition:

[CWOOD]

SB729 is a very good bill which makes it a defense to prosecution if a CHL carries into a 51% establishment and there is no proper posting of the 51% sign. It hasn't gotten to recognition of SB730 (parking lot) or SB1164 (campus carry), but it would help if someone happend into the wrong place.

Defense to prosecution means that you might still be arrested if you were detected, but at trial it could prevent conviction. On the other hand, if an officer KNOWS that it is a defense to prosecution and knows that the sign was not properly posted, it might deter an arrest. Either way it is a better situation than currently exists since there is no real penalty for businesses who do not post the 51% sign as required.

[T3hK1w1]

So, given that there are 7 items in front of it, how likely is it that the Senate will clear the Major calendar and get to SB730 on Saturday? Any guesses?

[Douva]

I kept checking on the streaming video from the House and couldn't figure out why they were still on the Local and Consent calendar, which is usually knocked out in the first hour or so of each day.

Then I got a call from a friend who's down at the Capitol doing some lobbying. He told me what's going on. Here is the Associated Press report, for those of you who haven't heard.

Democrats use 'chubbing' stalling strategy

By KELLEY SHANNON Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press

May 22, 2009, 1:11PM

AUSTIN, Texas — Talkative House Democrats used stalling tactics Friday to prevent passage of a voter identification bill they oppose that's scheduled for debate this weekend.

Democrats — who'd warned they would put up a fight to stop the voter ID measure — began talking at length on non-controversial legislation to use up the clock. The Legislature adjourns June 1, and a number of bill passage deadlines are arriving in the next few days.

The Senate already passed a Republican-pushed bill requiring voters to show a photo ID or two non-photo ID alternatives when they cast a ballot. Democrats say that would prevent people without those forms of identification from voting and suppress turnout. If Democrats are going to stop the legislation, it will have to be in the House, where the chamber is almost evenly divided by party.

Veteran Rep. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock, said Democratic opponents of the voter ID bill were trying to pressure fellow lawmakers to negotiate the legislation, in turn threatening scores of unrelated bills. The delay tactic, using the rules to eat up time, is known as "chubbing."

"In lieu of the filibuster, the House chubs," Jones said. "It keeps a lot of bills from being considered, which puts a lot of pressure on the members who have bills they want to pass."

The House gaveled into session 30 minutes late Friday. Then, after the usual prayer, pledge and welcoming remarks, legislators started in on a long "local and consent" agenda. It's supposed to be a non-controversial agenda of bills that usually breezes along.

But Democrats made it clear they planned to ask lots of questions on those bills and use up all the time permitted — 10 minutes per bill — to slow down the House's work pace.

One Democratic lawmaker during his questioning about a proposed municipal utility district in Waller County brought up a House leadership scandal from the 1970s. Another, questioning a Republican doctor representatives on his legislation, asked about the best remedies for nasal congestion.

Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, raised a technical point to try to prevent the whole local and consent agenda from being considered so that the House could return to major pending bills, like changes to the top 10 percent college admissions law and, potentially, voter ID, slated for Saturday. He later temporarily withdrew that technical challenge.

"Hopefully we can get back to the people's business and see less chubbing," Miller pleaded, to no avail.

Republicans huddled to talk strategy at the back of the House chamber and in an adjoining conference room, where former Speaker Tom Craddick joined them. The Republicans told news reporters to leave the room.

Rep. Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, R-Mauriceville, said Republicans were taking a wait-and-see approach, for now.

Speaker Pro Tempore Craig Eiland, a Galveston Democrat, presided over the House early Friday instead of Republican Speaker Joe Straus, as is usually done for a local bill agenda. Eiland reminded lawmakers they had a full three minutes to explain their bills if they wanted to take all the available time.

At one point during the morning stalling, Democratic Rep. Mike Villarreal of San Antonio asked Eiland with a smile: "Mr. Speaker, are we going to break for lunch?"

Lawmakers were told there would be no formal lunch break; there was complimentary shrimp waiting for them in the recently remodeled legislators' lounge.

___

Associated Press writers Jay Root and Jackie Stone contributed to this report.

[T3hK1w1]

They are still on the Local and Consent Calendar. I'm ready to dump the entire Texas Legislature in the middle of the Sahara, myself. (With the possible exception of Wentworth and maybe a couple of others.)
In any nongov't job, the whole lot would've been fired months ago for nonproductivity.

[srothstein]

So, given that there are 7 items in front of it, how likely is it that the Senate will clear the Major calendar and get to SB730 on Saturday? Any guesses?

Given that one of the items is the Voter ID bill that the Democrats are trying to stall to avoid getting to, I think it is a good bet that the general calendar is dead.

[srothstein]

Edit: What the heck are they talking about? Aircraft carriers and landing airplanes on them in Texas? Who cares?!

That is the whole point. They are wasting time talking about things no one cares about as a stalling tactic to try to avoid debating a bill they know they will lose. The Democrats do not want to get to the Voter ID bill so they are taking the maximum time on each of the normally not discussed bills on the consent calendar.

[CWOOD]

It is called "chubbing".

For example, house rules state that when a member puts a bill before the House for consideration, members can have at least 10 to ask questions on the bill and the member sponsoring the bill can take up to 3 minutes in laying out the bill. That means that those wanting to stall can require the House to spend at least 10 minutes on each reading of the bill and it the bill's sponsor is on the same side they can kill at least 13 minutes on each bill...even on Local and Consent Calendar bills which normally zip through so fast you cannot understand the words said over them. What they do not finish tonight they will carry over to foul up Saturday's calendar as well. As was said, it may be the death of the entire General Calendar, of which SB730 and SB729 were formerly early prospects for consderation tomorrow.

It also sets up the most boring, inane and embarrassingly stupid comments from the floor as they try to fill the full 10 minutes stalling a bill with which they might actually agree. Reference "aircraft carriers" in an "air carrier" bill dealing with TxDOT.

[austin-tatious]

I'm trying to understand how this works.

I am looking at the calendar for today, which has a heading
******** MAJOR STATE CALENDAR ********
SENATE BILLS
SECOND READING
and SB 730 is number 8 on the list. The first bill on the list is SB 362, the voter ID bill. Does this mean we succeeded in getting SB 730 moved off the General Calendar to the Major Calendar. When did that happen?

Does this mean they will get to it?

Is there then one more reading and then floor debate and vote on these bills?

[lrb111]

I see this calendar for Saturday (today) http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81 ... 090523.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There is a second heading before SB 730, "General calendar". That would make it first on the general calendar, it appears.
Are we looking at the same thing? I'd rather go with your view.

[TrueFlog]

LRB is correct. There are seven items on the Major Calendar. After that comes the General Calendar, of which SB730 is the first item. Regrettably, nothing has been changed regarding the scheduling of SB730.