Who runs the Senate?
Jeff Wentworth is still unhappy about the failure of his constitutional amendment to authorize a short veto override session following the twenty-day period during which the governor decides whether to sign or veto legislation. (A third option allows the governor to let a bill become law without his signature.) Jason Embry’s story today raises by implication some serious issues about who should run the Senate — the lieutenant governor or the senators — and about whether the lieutenant governor should continue to be a powerful legislative officer. Here are the opening paragraphs:
Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, thinks that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst abused his authority in the recently completed legislative session, and he wants senators to change their rules in 2011 to prevent it from happening again.
To back up for a second, I wrote a story for the Statesman last week about the fact that most of the bills that Gov. Rick Perry vetoed this year received few dissenting votes as they moved through the Legislature. As part of that story, I talked to Wentworth, who unsuccessfully pushed a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to come back into a brief special session and override some of Perry’s vetoes.
Wentworth said that the measure had support from 26 of the 31 senators but Dewhurst would not recognize him to bring it up for a vote. And this part was not in that story — Wentworth said senators should change their rules in the next session to prevent that from happening again.
“If I have anything to say about it, we’re going to change the rules come January 2011,” Wentworth said. “We’re going to say, if you put a file in writing with the secretary of the Senate, 21 signatures that senators want to debate a bill, then the president of the Senate should recognize that senator the next day of the session.”
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I am very skeptical about efforts to change the time-honored procedures for doing business in the Senate. The Republicans did it this year with the special order for Voter ID, and it blew up the session. If Wentworth’s plan goes through, it will change the nature of the lieutenant governor’s office. The proposal grants 21 senators the ability to force the lieutenant governor to recognize one of their number to bring legislation to the floor. By denying the light gov the discretion of when and whether to recognize members, Wentworth would weaken the office and rob the legislative branch of a counterweight to the executive.
If one of the arguments against Wentworth’s proposal is that it ties the hands of the lieutenant governor, another argument is that his idea is doomed to failure. All the lieutenant governor has to do is to take a look at the list, pick out one or two members to lobby, get them to remove their names, and — poof! — there won’t be twenty-one signatures any more.
I think that there is an easy solution to the problem of the Legislature’s inability to override the governor’s vetoes: start sooner. Quit wasting time early in the session. Get legislation to the governor’s desk early enough that he has to take action while the session is still going on. The Legislature could do what Congress does. After the November elections, each house should caucus in December. The speaker and the lieutenant governor will have a month to meet with members and get their committee preferences. At the caucus, the presiding officer-apparent announces the appointments for the upcoming session. And the Legislature can began holding committee hearings in January. The accelerated schedule will get bills to the governor’s desk in a timely manner so that he has to take action before the session ends, giving the Legislature a chance to override his vetoes. (The only circumstance in which this idea doesn’t work is the 2009 scenario in which the presumed speaker is defeated for reelection and the committee-apointment process starts late.) It’s not necessary to weaken the office of lieutenant governor to get the desired result.
Tagged: david dewhurst, jeff wentworth, senate rules.
Rog says:
Apparently Dewhurst was asleep when Craddick failed to recognize a fellow legislator.
Just as Craddick was ousted for alienating a majority of House members, Dewhurst is close to be irrelevant for alienating Senate members.
Maybe he’s had something else on his mind lately, like getting married and running for the U.S. Senate.
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Anonymous says:
Amen, Paul. The Senate and House need to get working the first day of January, not wait until March. Five months is plenty of time (sorry Senator Patrick) if the Lege actually WORKS five months.
All the dog-and-pony memorial resolutions, gallery acknowledgements, convening late on Mondays, adjourning early during Jan-Feb weekdays, adjourning early on Thursdays, has got to stop. The good ol boy calendar is robbing Texans of the quality of sessions they deserve.
The legislators need to wake up and realize this isn’t the 1950s. We need a more serious work ethic. Most of the newer legislators get this.
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Texas Democrat says:
Wentworth’s plan will go NOWHERE and the Lieutenant Governor’s powers will stay as it is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Texas
Burka, Perry will WIN the primary and reelection to a 3rd full term next year due to the Religious Right who controls 99 percent of the Texas Republican Party, making him the 4th Texas governor to serve 3 terms and the first to serve 14 years for his 3rd full term conveying from January 18, 2011 to January 20, 2015.
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paulburka Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:14 am
A point of order has been raised that this comment violates the one-subject rule. The point is well taken and sustained.
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Andrew Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Texas Democrat needs to reread his Wiki article…
“By the rules of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor establishes all special and standing committees, appoints all chairpersons and members, and assigns all Senate legislation to the committee of his choice.”
All it takes is 16 members to change ANY rule. Add a dozen Ds to Wentworth. Now…are you going to tell us that Dewhurst hasn’t pissed off TWO Republicans this time?
I thought not.
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Pete Schweddy says:
Not to mention the Lt. Gov’s practice of sending bills to committees where he knows they will never get a hearing…
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texun Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I’m no fan our out amateur Lite Gov. but that tactic has been used by presiding officers in congresses and legislatures for centuries.
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Anonymous says:
“By denying the light gov the discretion of when and whether to recognize members, Wentworth would … rob the legislative branch of a counterweight to the executive.”
Please explain.
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paulburka Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
The lieutenant governor in Texas is essentially a one-man Calendars committee. He decides what legislation will reach the Senate floor by granting recognition to senators. This is what gives him the power that made Bullock and Hobby strong lieutenant governors. Dewhurst has no vision beyond personal ambition and therefore is not a strong lieutenant governor. If you take away the power of recognition and turn it over to 21 senators, lieutenant governor is an empty office.
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Anonymous Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I get how it reduces the power of the LiteGuv within the Legislative Branch. But how does it rob the Legislative Branch of a counterweight to the Executive? Doesn’t the Senate itself become the counterweight rather than having the counterweight centerd primarily in one person? And why would that be a bad thing?
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Bodhisattva says:
I’m not sure Wentworth’s idea will work. I think it should be the prerogative of the Lite Guv whether to recognize a member. In 2001, during his brief stint as Lieutenant Governor, Ratliff refused to recognize anyone on a gambling bill.
That said, the modern Texas Senate is like a bunch of sheep, and they let Dewhurst punk them all the time. It’s not like he has a vote or anything, or makes the rules they live by. Texas Senators: take lessons from the Bill Moores and the Ike Harrises of the past and grow a pair!
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Galveston Sage says:
The historical trend in most legislatures that have adopted a partisan style of operation is to reduce or eliminate the role of the Lt. Governor as a legislative director. It will eventually happen in Texas.
Bill Hobby had operated under the “Hobby Rule” in which if 19 Senators signed a request for a run with the bill, the author of the bill would be recognized. Dewhurst should have continued it.
A set of rules similar to what Wentworth is proposing were drafted over 30 years ago by Sen Oscar Mauzy of Dallas.
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Texas Democrat Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Galveston, but the Lieutenant Governor is the most POWERFUL officeholder here in Texas, which will likely continue regardless what Wentworth raises hell or not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Texas
Plus the governor’s powers are very WEAK.
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slick Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Funny, I always thought the ‘Hobby Rule’ was the courtesy granted to a lawyer to get another lawyer out of the drunk tank, no questions asked, as an ‘officer of the court’.
I was a staffer in the Senate when Bullock ran the show. You had to look him in the eyes and tell him you had the votes to suspend. If he didn’t trust you or he doubted your count, you’d have to show him a green slip with your 21 votes (plus a few extra for good measure) checked. He’d then likely let you on Intent at that point. That still didn’t mean you would be recognized — it was always his call, and he’d never let you forget it.
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slick says:
The core issue is a lack of trust between the LG and the Senate. Every LG in recent history has pushed the gray areas that exist between the rules and their goals, but the question is whether it pushes the tipping point of maintaining good relationships with the members. There’s no question that Dewhurst has been somewhat blind to taking care of these folks, keeping them in the fold. In this case, the remedy is not to change the rules, but to change the LG.
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Slow and Steady says:
Do we really want to make it EASIER for legislators to pass more bills (there’s some pretty bad stuff proposed every other year)? The slow pace kills a lot of bad bills – that’s a good thing from my perspective.
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Texas Democrat says:
Bill Hobby was the best Lieutenant Governor, we had here in Texas during his 18 years from January 16, 1973 to January 15, 1991
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hobby
I’m sure he’s the one that pushed the No Pass-No Play mess, which doomed then-Governor Mark White (D) in 1986.
Bob Bullock, was very BRUTAL to those who opposed him during his tenure as Lieutenant Governor.
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Texas Democrat says:
Burka, do you think State Rep. Helen Giddings (D-Dallas) has a chance to win the Dallas County Judge’s office in 2010 ?
http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=514488
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
June 30th, 2009 at 11:18 am
While I would just LOVE to be rid of Helen Giddings here in Austin, I shudder to think that Dallas County would be so foolish as to elect her as its County Judge. After all, this is the same woman who, while looking at a map of her legislative district upside down, was heard to exclaim: “This is not my district.” She is definitely a few bricks short of a load.
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Galveston Sage says:
The only thing that make the Lt. Governor strong are the Senate Rules and the statutory positions on the LBB and the Legislative Audit Committee. Take those away and the Lt. Governor will be left with no real power. The only constitutional duties of the Lt. Gov are to fill temporary vacancies in the Governor’s position and to assume office on the death, resignation, impeachment, or inability of the Governor to fill the office.
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Texas Democrat Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Galveston, leave the Texas Lieutenant Governor’s powers alone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Texas
I like to have the governor’s powers stay WEAK.
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Pat says:
Has Wentworth considered the fact that a change in the LG’s office would most likely fix this problem? Why doesn’t he buddy-up to Abbott? Burka, you should ask him about this; its relevant, and its a game-changer.
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paulburka Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:27 am
It’s not a problem. The system ought to continue to work the way it has always worked.
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whatareyousoscaredof? says:
I want to believe that 140 days of dinosaur costumes, cowboy hat theft, and goat barbeque debate are enough for any state. However, Dan Patrick is right. We do need a full-time legislature that receives real salaries and has time to actually grapple with the complexities of the twenty-first century.
Given that the lobby will never let that happen, Paul’s idea seems like a reasonable first step.
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Anonymous Reply:
June 30th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Real salaries, yes. Campaign finance reform, yes. Full-time legislature, thanks anyway.
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State Mental Hospital Head Shrink says:
My apologies to commenters and bloggers. We left the office door open and Texas Democrat snuck in and started using the computer again – making ridiculous and outrageous statements.
We’re so sorry and we’re trying to keep TD’s comments off Burka’s Blog – and Wikepedia.
But we’re a poor little understaffed and underbudgeted state mental institution. We do our best, but Texas Democrat is a frisky little mental patient and it keep four os us to keep up with its whereabouts sometimes.
But if we got more funding…
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Texas Democrat says:
Number 1, I’m NOT a mental patient.
Number 2, Wentworth is BITTER that Dewhurst ignored him and told him to get lost, so he better get used to seeing the lieutenant governor have more control for awhile whoever it is.
Number 3, the Speaker is also powerful as well in the Legislature, so his powers will not be taken away either.
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State Mental Hospital Head Shrink says:
So sorry Commenters…Texas Democrat snuck out again. It is a slippery little psychopath!
We’re turning Texas Democrat over to the care to a new psychiatrist on staff – a Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Dr. Lecter seems to have delicious results with our patients – although we rarely see them again once they are in his care…hmmm.
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Texas Democrat Reply:
July 1st, 2009 at 10:24 am
I’m not a mental patient, you don’t like me because I’m Latino of Argentine descent.
Nice to see Governor Perry calling the legislators back to work today.
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