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May 23, 2015      10:43 AM

Anti-union bill is dead

Chairman Cook will not schedule a vote in State Affairs; he says the Senate sent it to the House in badly flawed form and there is simply not enough time left in the session to do it right

Texas House lawmakers will not vote on a bill that would weaken organized labor in the state even more than it already is, Quorum Report learned Saturday morning.

Today is the last day for Senate bills to be considered by House committees. House State Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, told us at Buzz Central that he will not schedule a vote on SB 1968 because it is badly flawed and the Senate sent it to the lower chamber for consideration way too late in the game.

The bill would outlaw the practice of government workers being able to have their union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks.

“There are serious problems with this bill,” Cook said. “I have a problem with the teachers unions not being exempted,” he said and pointed out that police, fire, and EMS were exempt from the bill as it was drafted in the Senate.

By Scott Braddock