The legislative process has been called something akin to watching sausage being made. In Austin last night, it was very old and molded meat as the ingredient. The story was reported by the San Antonio Express News:
"AUSTIN — Windstorm insurance reform legislation suddenly got voted out of a House committee Wednesday after Gov. Rick Perry threatened to call a special session on June 2 if the bill does not pass.
Both inland and coastal lawmakers expressed concerns about the bill they voted on, but said they needed to get something to a House/Senate conference committee if there is any hope of reaching a compromise to avoid a special session.
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, complained that he was being forced to vote on a 51-page bill that he had not read. He said the House has had the entire session to work on a compromise and now was being presented a “false choice” of voting on an unseen bill or having it die in the Legislature’s closing crunch.
“The House is on fire! Let’s vote it out,” Martinez Fischer said.
“I don’t care what you do. If you want to vote it down, vote it down,” replied House Insurance Committee Chairman John Smithee, R-Amarillo.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, joined Martinez Fischer in voting against the bill, saying she had not had a chance to read it.
“I’m not trying to slow the process down, but don’t I have a right to read this stuff?” Thompson asked.
Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, urged his members to vote for the bill just to keep it moving and not let it die, noting there are many things in it that still bother him."
I have no idea why anybody would call this insurance "reform." How would they know if they did not read it?
Please read my last post from last night, What TWIA Policyholders Need to Do Now to Stop the Bad Legislation, and join me calling, writing, and visiting with Texas elected leaders to stop or modify a bad law as it is currently worded.
