AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Senate on Monday approved key modifications to the state’s strictest-in-the-nation voter ID law, incorporating some changes ordered after federal courts previously found it discriminatory.
The bill doesn’t ease requirements about which seven forms of picture identifications people are allowed to show when casting ballots - gun licenses remain acceptable, but college IDs aren’t. Federal courts have found that the law disproportionately affects poor and minority voters, and ordered a workaround for November’s presidential election that let Texans without required ID vote by signing an affidavit.
Sponsored by Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, the bill instead makes permanent much of the court-ordered workaround while also creating a criminal penalty of up to 10 years in prison for deliberately lying on such affidavits.
A recent Associated Press analysis of roughly 13,500 affidavits submitted in Texas’ largest counties found at least 500 instances in which voters were allowed to get around the law by signing an affidavit and never showing a photo ID - despite indicating that they possessed one. Most of those cases tended to reflect confusion about - or people deliberately voicing objections to - the voter ID law, though, rather than attempted fraud.
The proposal passed 21 to 10 and now needs only a ceremonial final vote before heading to the state House, which, like the Texas Senate, is Republican-controlled.
The bill drew stiff objections from Democrats, including Sen. Jose Rodriguez of El Paso, who noted that it doesn’t fully follow the court-ordered fixes. He also worried that the proposal could prosecute people who mistakenly sign unnecessary affidavits while adding “another level of intimidation,” that may further stigmatize voters casting ballots because they lack proper ID.
Huffman countered that her bill strikes a balance between combating voter fraud and following the court-ordered “roadmap” to an improved voter ID law.
She said it aims “to follow all constitutional direction that Texas received from the federal courts to achieve a bill that is fair to all who want to vote, yet retains the integrity of the vote.”
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GUN LICENSE FEES
The Texas Senate has approved a sharp reduction in handgun gun license fees.
Jacksonville Republican Sen. Robert Nichols originally sought to scrap the full $140 fee for first-time licenses and the $70 charge for 5-year license renewals. But doing so would have cost Texas more than $55 million in the next two-year state budget cycle.
Senate lawmakers instead endorsed reducing the first-time and renewal fees to $40 each, approving the measure on a 26-5 vote. That would cost the state about $15 million annually.
Gun advocates say Texas’ current fees are among America’s highest, and senators said classes in Houston and elsewhere have begun offering instruction needed to obtain Florida gun licenses. That’s because that state has lower fees, and Texas has a reciprocal agreement recognizing gun permits issued there.
The gun license fee reduction now goes to the House for consideration.
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JUDGE SERCURITY
A bill providing extra security for judges and other court officials is headed to the full Texas Senate.
Laredo Democratic Sen. Judith Zaffirini’s proposal is named for state District Judge Julie Kocurek, who was shot and wounded outside her Austin home in 2015. One of the men charged in the attack had a hearing scheduled in Kocurek’s court and faced imprisonment.
Kocurek and her son recalled the shooting in terrifying detail Monday for members of the State Affairs Committee. They later unanimously approved Zaffirini’s bill to the full chamber.
It provides extra funding for courthouse security and enhanced security training for judges, while letting the Department of Public Safety provide personal security to judges receiving threats.
The bill also creates a state director assisting judges and county officials with security.
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SANCTUARY CITIES
Travis County, which has come under fire over so-called “sanctuary city” policies, says rules about immigration enforcement are being followed despite new tough talk from the Trump administration.
Travis County Sarah Eckhardt fired back Monday after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said compliance with immigration laws will be required for cities to receive some Justice Department grants. She says Travis County is already in compliance and called the warning “thin cloaking for political retribution.”
President Trump had said during the campaign that he would “defund” sanctuary cities by taking away funding. But legal precedent suggests that would have been difficult to do.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has blocked Travis County from some state grants after the newly elected sheriff announced her jails would no longer honor all immigration detainers.
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ABORTION INSURANCE COVERAGE
The Texas Senate has passed a bill prohibiting coverage of abortion by some health insurance plans in Texas - despite similar efforts stalling previously.
Monday’s 21-10 vote sends Friendswood Republican Sen. Larry Taylor’s bill to the state House. It came as activists in the Senate gallery shouted “abortion is healthy care” and briefly unrolled a protest banner before being escorted out.
The proposal bars health insurance plans offered through the Obama administration’s health care law from covering the cost of abortions unless policyholders purchase supplemental coverage.
Texas never established health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, but state policies are offered via federal exchanges. Twenty-five states already restrict abortion coverage in plans purchased through exchanges.
A bill by Taylor doing the same thing stalled in the Legislature last session.
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ON DECK
The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the state’s next two-year budget on Tuesday. House lawmakers are set to consider a bill that would extend the life of the state Railroad Commission - which regulates oil and gas.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Fifteen million dollars is real money” - Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, explaining why he opposed the bill lowering Texas’ handgun gun license fees even after modifications reducing its financial impact.
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