AUSTIN, Texas — A committee with the Texas House of Representatives has advanced the controversial elections bill, Senate Bill 1 (SB1), after a public hearing Monday. This comes after the House met quorum for the first time in over a month last week during the Legislature’s second special session.
According to The Texas Tribune, the bill heads to the chamber’s Calendars Committee, which is then expected to place it on an agenda so it can be taken up by the full House as soon as this week.
The majority of House Democrats left Texas for Washington, D.C., to break quorum and stop the passage of the GOP-backed election reform bills during the first special session in July. Election reform has not been discussed in the House since, as it cannot do business without a quorum present.
The Texas House met quorum on Aug. 19, after some Democrats returned to the Capitol.
SB1 is related to "election integrity and security." It would place new restrictions on voting that many of its opponents say would disproportionately suppress ballots from voters of color and disabled voters.
SB1 passed the Texas Senate on Aug. 12, after a 15-hour filibuster by Democratic Sen. Carol Alvarado. A different version of the bill, also known as SB1, passed the Senate during the first special session as well.
Gov. Greg Abbott called a second special session in July, immediately following the first. The Texas House ended the first and started the second special session without a quorum present.
In June, Texas House Democrats walked out of the chamber to block the passage of Senate Bill 7, an election reform bill. Abbott said the Legislature would discuss election reform sometime this year in a special session after SB7 failed to pass.
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