SENATE ERUPTS AS DEWHURST ATTEMPTS TO END DAVIS FILIBUSTER Dewhurst goes back on his word; tries to cut off filibuster without a vote of the Senate On what HK himself described as one of the “top ten” craziest nights at the capitol, Senate Democrats scrambled to take advantage of what look to some like a huge procedural blunder by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Around 10 p.m., Dewhurst sustained a third point of order against Davis – this one for straying off topic – and the Senate’s gallery exploded with shouts of “Let her speak” and “shame.” Some were escorted from the chamber. During a line of parliamentary inquiry earlier in the day, Dewhurst told Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, that if a third point of order on Davis’ filibuster was sustained, the Senate would then vote on whether to end her speech. After that, Dewhurst had said, a separate vote would be held on final passage of SB 5 as amended by the House. But, when a third point of order on Davis was actually sustained, Dewhurst tried to allow Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, to go ahead and move final passage of SB 5. Hegar’s voice was barely audible in the Senate over the chants of protesters. Though Dewhurst was hoping for a vote on SB 5 at that time, it did not happen. That’s when Watson jumped to his feet to seek to overrule the chair. That is a debatable motion, which Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, sought to table. Some observers said that Estes gave up the recognition when he sat down. The larger question just after 11p.m. was whether the Senate would vote on overruling Dewhurst when he said he himself could end the filibuster without a vote of the Senate.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 04:31:50 +0000
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