AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Protesters decrying proposed Texas legislation compelling local police to enforce federal immigration law continue to stage a sit-in at a state building.
More than 100 people marched Monday to the state Capitol, then to the Texas Department of Insurance building, many wearing T-shirts denouncing the proposal against “sanctuary cities.”
They sat in the lobby and vowed to remain until Republican Gov. Greg Abbott rejects the bill, which hasn’t yet cleared the state Legislature.
They spent more than six hours demonstrating and chanting in English and Spanish. Some locked arms to block building entrances.
Police asked protesters to leave after 5 p.m., as the building was closing. Most peacefully complied, although about 20 remained.
Abbott wasn’t present. The governor has staff in the building, but his formal office is located nearby in the Capitol.
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CASTRO WON’T CHALLENGE CRUZ
Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro says he won’t run for the U.S. Senate in 2018 after spending months considering a run against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
The Democrat’s announcement Monday helps clear the Democratic primary field for his fellow Texas congressman, Beto O’Rourke, who has already launched a Senate campaign. Cruz is coming off a failed run for president and will be seeking re-election for the first time.
The 42-year-old Castro is a rising Democratic star along with his twin brother, Julian, who was the nation’s housing secretary under President Barack Obama.
Joaquin Castro says he decided that focusing on his duties in the U.S. House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committee is what’s best now.
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EASING GRADUATION STANDARDS
The Texas Senate has voted to extend a 2015 law designed to help high school seniors graduate on time despite failing standardized tests needed to earn a diploma.
Amarillo Republican Sen. Kel Seliger’s bill passed 28-3 on Monday and now heads to the Texas House.
It continues until September 2019 a program offering an alternative graduation plan for seniors who failed to pass up to two statewide exams in algebra I, biology, English I and II and U.S. history.
The law established individual educational committees to determine whether a student could graduate instead based on other factors, like passing all necessary classes with acceptable attendance and grades.
The program was set to expire, but its approval before the legislative session ends May 29 may help qualifying students graduate this spring.
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HOUSTON PENSIONS FIX
The Texas Senate has approved a bill potentially cutting billions in future costs from Houston’s cash-strapped police and firefighter pension plans.
Republican Sen. Joan Huffman’s proposal was approved Monday 23-5. She said it wasn’t perfect but still “critical” to America’s fourth largest city’s future.
Plagued by investments that didn’t meet high return expectations set previously, Houston faces about $8 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Mayor Sylvester Turner has warned of up to 2,200 layoffs.
Huffman’s plan is similar to one backed by Turner. It would provide $1 billion in payments from bond proceeds to be divided among the police and firefighter pensions while lowering the plans’ future investment yield targets.
The bill didn’t include a conservative-backed effort to change both funds from guaranteed pension payments to 401(k)-style “defined contribution” plans.
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ABORTION COMPLICATIONS REPORTING
The state Senate has voted to require medical clinics to report complications from abortions performed in Texas, and have the health department produce an annual report compiling that data.
Sen. Donna Campbell’s bill was approved 22-9 on Monday. It needs a final, largely formulaic vote, likely coming Tuesday, before heading to the Texas House.
Campbell, a Republican from New Braunfels, said state health codes require clinics, hospitals and other facilities to report complications from surgeries and major medical procedures. But she said there’s no such requirement for abortions.
The proposal drew lengthy questions from Democrats, who said abortion was among the safest medical procedures performed.
They argued that tracking complications was more about religious and ideological objections to abortion than sound medicine, but Campbell said more information would be beneficial.
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ON DECK
The House reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday and has a couple of ethics bill on its lengthy calendar. The Senate heads back into session at 11 a.m.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Texans want a senator who will stand up for their families, not stand down to Donald Trump,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro in Monday’s statement saying he didn’t plan to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz next year.
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