House Democrats Show GOP Leaders
They Weren't Bluffing with HJR Vote
Capitol Inside
April 24, 2025
Texas House Democrats are making good on a threat that the ruling Republicans failed to take seriously with a blockade on constitutional amendments as the price of a school vouchers bill that cleared the chamber on an almost exclusive party line vote last week.
GOP Speaker Dustin Burrows' team has postponed votes on the floor on a half-dozen joint resolutions including a proposal that they used on Wednesday to test the Democrats' sincerity and resolve on a promise they made to sandbag legislation that needs at least 100 votes if the Republicans approved the public subsidies for private education in Senate Bill 2.
The House gave House Joint Resolution 72 a preliminary nod on a second-reading vote that only required from a majority of the chamber's 150 members. But the constitutional revision that GOP State Rep. Candy Noble is sponsoring failed to get two-thirds support in a vote of 90-2 with 51 Democrats punching white lights on their desks to signify present but not voting on the measure.
House leaders responded by pulling HJR 72 from the calendar on Thursday and resetting it for a date on the floor on Monday. The Democrats had vowed before the school choice fight on the floor to prevent the House from passing constitutional amendments if the Republicans rejected an amendment to make the vouchers bill ultimate approval contingent on Texas voters support in a November election.
But Governor Greg Abbott warned House Republicans that he'd go after those who backed a statewide vote on vouchers regardless of the fate on dozens of proposed constitutional changes that hung in the balance.
The minority party members' maneuvering is putting parts of the GOP leaders' agenda in serious peril with
the roadblock that could kill joint resolutions on a wide range of subjects from property tax relief to dementia prevention that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick views as a major priority in 2025.
The House contains 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats. That means that GOP members must have at least a dozen Democrats voting with them to move constitutional amendments out of the House if the Republicans are united.
The proposed revisions to the Texas Constitution that House Republican leaders have removed from daily calendars so far include prohibitions on death taxes and levies on capital gains. One of the postponed joint resolutions would create exemptions for farmers from ad valorem taxes on equipment and animal feed. One would dedicate sales tax revenue to the state water fund while two focus on bail reform and bail for migrants who are charged here with crimes.
The Democrats in the House would support a substantial number of 208 joint resolutions that have been filed in the Legislature's lower chamber this year. Most if not all of the Democrats would have likely backed the Noble proposal in HJR 72, which would have created tax exemptions for property where people with intellectual or learning disabilities live as their primary residence.
But the Democrats know that they would find it hard to be taken seriously if they attempt to play hardball with threats they're not prepared to back up with actions. The first-term speaker and his lieutenants find themselves in a precarious position that could lead to disaster if one side or the other doesn't blink. Democrats as a consequence are in prime position to boost their sway if they're willing to strike a deal to release the stranglehold on constitutional amendments.
more to come ...
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