Will the twothirds rule crumble?

The twothirds rule in the Texas Senate may get its toughest workout yet next year, as Democrats try to stem an anticipated flood of bad legislation from a very conservative, very Republican House. But, first, the rule may have to survive a fight for its own survival.

For those of you who are uninitiated in the strange and mysterious ways of the Texas Legislature, the twothirds rule prohibits any bill from being considered on the Senate floor without the consent of twothirds of the members present. That means only 11 senators can block any piece of legislation.

Despite the huge Republican gains in the House, the Senate membership didn’t change on Election Day. Republicans kept their 1912 majority, but those 12 Democratic senators are enough to put up a stop sign.

No, the 12 Democrats aren’t going to stop the inevitability of a very conservative legislative session. But if they pick their targets carefully and have a little luck they may be able to have an impact on a handful of issues, such as how much of the Rainy Day Fund to spend in order to stem some of the budgetbleeding. They may even be able to block private school vouchers, if the House ideologues are shortsighted enough (and they may be) to waste what limited tax dollars we have on that bad idea.

At least one very conservative state senator, Dan Patrick of Houston, is worried enough about pieces of the rightwing express being shot down by the Senate minority that he is lobbying – once again – to either scrub the twothirds rule or replace it with a lower obstacle, such as a 60 percent requirement, which the Republicans have enough senators to cover.

It is important to note that the twothirds rule is not set out in the state constitution or laws. It is part of the Senate rules, which can be changed each session with the approval of only 16 senators, a simple majority.

During the years of Democratic dominance, senators loved the twothirds rule because it enhanced the political power of each senator. Many Republican senators came to like it as well, as Patrick discovered when, as a freshman senator in 2007, he proposed abolishing the rule and watched his proposal receive only one vote – his.

But the rule has been slowly cracking under the strain of increased partisanship. In 2003, Senate Republicans bypassed the rule to pass a partisan congressional redistricting plan. And, last session, they bypassed the rule to allow the Senate majority to pass a voter photo ID bill, which Democrats managed to kill in the House.

You can bet that House Democrats won’t kill a voter ID bill this session, and you can bet that Senate Republicans will bypass the twothirds rule to pass it again.

In an interview with KUT radio’s Ben Philpott, Patrick said he already has lined up six or seven votes to lower the twothirds rule to 60 percent for all legislation. Patrick can’t stand the prospect of the Senate – where he fancies himself a rightwing leader – “wasting” any part of this golden ideological opportunity.

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