Bill filing for 2021 Texas session begins with legislation on abortion, police stops & redistricting

[TexasTowelie]

by Cassandra Pollock and Sami Sparber, Texas Tribune


The 87th Texas Legislature won’t gavel in until January, but state lawmakers on Monday got their first chance to file legislation for what’s expected to be a particularly tough 140-day stretch at the Capitol next year.

By mid-afternoon Monday, the first day to pre-file legislation, more than 530 bills had already been filed in the House and Senate. Thousands of bills are expected to be filed throughout the legislative session, though only a fraction of them will make it through both chambers and end up on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

State leaders have already said they expect the upcoming session to be the toughest state lawmakers have seen in years. The state is forecasting billions of dollars in shortfalls to the state budget, which the coronavirus pandemic has fueled. On top of that, lawmakers are set to undergo the once-in-a-decade process of redrawing the state’s political maps.

House Redistricting Committee Chair Phil King, a Weatherford Republican, filed legislation Monday morning related to the composition of House districts and State Board of Education districts with House Bill 63 and 64, respectively. Later Monday, King filed a bill related to congressional districts.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/09/texas-bill-filing-legislative-session/

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/09/texas-bill-filing-legislative-session/

[redstatebluegirl]

1. Lots of people here on DU who think this was a big win forget about the redistricting.

They won enough state houses to absolutely gerrymander the house districts to hell and back. They will make sure they gerrymander to win the house back in 22 and for another 8 years after that.

We worry so much about the top of the ticket, we need to worry more about states.

[bluecollar2]

2. Is it even possible at this point to gerrymander the state of Texas

Any more than it has been through the last two cycles?

At this point all they have left is gerrymandering the RGV and in the cities they'll have to draw lines down the hallways of people's houses...

Oh wait...never mind...