redistricting

Some House Republicans feel that too much time is being spent debating abortion legislation during the special session and not enough time on roads.

The House first assigned a set of four abortion bills to a select committee on Monday, giving the bills a later start than their Senate companions, but despite that there are some who feel the bills have a fighting chance.

Following several out-of-town hearings on the subject of redistricting, the Senate committee is back in Austin hearing various plans for changing the state’s voting maps, which included a plan from Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, who said he borrowed his argument from Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

"It concludes by saying -- in essence -- that while the Voting Rights Act may not require the creation of a crossover district, the purposeful dismantling of a crossover district would raise serious questions under the 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution," Watson said.

The House and Senate redistricting committees have secured a legal team to help solve the challenges that exist with the issue of voting districts.

While the House committee has hit the road to hold public meetings in the Dallas area, the Senate committee held its last state capitol meeting before heading out to their own public meetings.

Sen. Kel Seleger, R-Amarillo, the Senate’s redistricting chairman, said the Senate will be using C. Robert Heath, who he said is one of the most experienced redistricting attorneys  in the United States.

In the first segment:

San Antonio Current writer Michael Barajas documented the events that led to the death of Thomas Taylor while he was in custody at the Bexar County Jail on August 21, 2012.  

A leading expert on government from the University of Texas at Austin's Office of Governmental Relations is weighing in on this summer’s special session and if the legislature can expect to see legislation beyond redistricting.

Barry McBee, UT-Austin’s vice chancellor of governmental relations, said there is still plenty of time for various discussions during this special session.

At the beginning of the special session, several lawmakers representing some of the districts caught up the redistricting fight requested that the hearings be taken on the road, so that those living in these voting districts had a chance to voice their concerns directly.

House Redistricting Chairman Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said the first of three field meetings will be in Dallas this Thursday, June 6. The next two meetings will be held on Monday, June 10 in San Antonio and Wednesday, June 12 in Houston.

The chairman of the House Redistricting Committee indicated they are willing to provide some flexibility in the development of new election maps for the state.  

Like his counterpart in the Senate Redistricting Committee, Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said he will entertain alternative voting maps during the special session.

In the first segment:

The newly proposed Crescent Hills Development in Comal County sits near the entrance to the cave of the largest colony of Mexican Freetail Bats, Bracken Bat Preserve, and over the recharge zone or the Edwards Aquifer.

There are concerns over what the impact this development will have on both. We speak with representatives of Bat Conservation International and the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance on their concerns. Repeated attempts at contacting the developer weren't responded to.

In the second segment:

During the last two weeks of the 2012 campaign, candidates make their final sell to voters, but in close races like that between Francisco Canseco and Pete Gallego there is a different kind of urgency. The Quorum Report's Harvey Kronberg talks about some of the interesting storylines he is watching as we approach Nov. 6, and we take a look at some other election issues from across the American Southwest.

City council voted to approve the convention center expansion and the new council district map, and also ruled to approve the payday loan ordinance championed by District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal.