May 8, 2021      4:16 PM

SB: Retribution

It’s not a shock that petty vindictiveness is part of the legislative process, but Dean Craddick’s behavior on Saturday can serve as a reminder that it eventually catches up to you

Around 1am Friday, while Texas House members sped through bills and the fate of the omnibus election legislation hung in the balance, one word was being muttered on and off the floor as rumors started to swirl that Public Education Committee Chairman Harold Dutton would revive a measure targeting transgender youth in sports: “Retribution.”

As you read first in Quorum Report, Dutton was planning to again hold a vote in committee on SB29, which critics have decried as unnecessary targeting of a misunderstood minority. The bill had failed earlier in the committee. What became clear later Friday was that Dutton was doing it because Rep. Alma Allen, one of his fellow Houston Democrats and a member of Public Ed, had successfully taken down Dutton’s HISD takeover bill on the floor with a point of order.

By the time Saturday’s Local and Consent Calendar rolled around, Chair Dutton was sort of joking in an exchange with Rep. Erin Zwiener "I have a sheet here with all the Democrat bills on it and I was gonna knock em off." Apparently some Democrats had been planning to knock off some of his bills, too.

Under the radar, similar retribution was playing out on the House floor.

By Scott Braddock

Copyright May 08, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved