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July 09, 2005
A Fine Example of Republican Moral High Ground
When is an agreement not an agreement? Apparently when one of the parties to the agreement is a Republican. From the Austin-American Statemsan:
When Rep. Dawnna Dukes left for a family trip to France last Thursday, she entrusted her vote on a major piece of tax legislation to one of the highest-ranking Republicans in the Texas House.
But things didn't quite work out as she had planned. And with the Austin Democrat out of the country and unable to vote, the GOP-backed proposal passed by a single vote.
Dukes, knowing that she was likely to miss the vote on a proposal to cut billions of dollars in school property taxes while raising billions with broader sales taxes, made an agreement with Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, that Pitts would register "present not voting" on the tax bill. Since Dukes would have voted "no" and Pitts would have voted "yes" if both had been present, a decision by Pitts not to vote would have had the same net effect — the two members would have canceled each other out...
...For several decades, House rules have allowed lawmakers to pair their votes to neutralize absences, although House Parliamentarian Denise Davis said either side can break the agreement at any time.
The deal was documented using this standard form:
The bill in question was HB3. The tax bill that further redistributes the tax burden to those that can least afford it.
Rep. Pitts felt badly about reneging on the agreement:
"I felt bad about this," Pitts said. "But this is something that I understand is done all the time, that people change their minds, that the other person that's out of town changes their mind." He said he was not pressured by anyone else to vote for the plan, and House Speaker Tom Craddick's office said it played no role in Pitts' decision.
To be fair, he did notify Dawnna Dukes of his change of heart:
He said one of his aides called Dukes' office on Tuesday and said he would have to vote for the tax proposal.
But by the time the news reached Rep. Dukes, it was too late to do anything about it:
Dukes said she did not learn of Pitts' change of heart until her staff e-mailed her Wednesday evening — too late for her to return ahead of schedule.
This was not the final word on HB3, just a step in the process.
The Senate takes up its version of the tax measure Sunday, and if it passes, a conference committee from the chambers then must work out the differences. Both chambers must vote on that measure before it can go to the governor.
"The HB 3 discussion is far from over," Dukes said. "God willing, I will be in attendance to cast a vote on HB 3."
Posted by Lyn Wall at July 9, 2005 08:19 AM | Permalink
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Comments
Ah, a fine example of that Republican moral value known as reneging. "I felt bad," sure, what ever. "But this is something that I understand is done all the time, that people change their minds..." Of course that doesn't make it right Mr. Pitts, but of course the Good Old Pal majority is always right.
Mr. Pitts is correct when it comes to legislating in Texas. There were plenty of examples of people changing their minds this pass session on priority items named by Perry, but did not get accomplished. Now other items are being discussed in the special session other than education, which the session is supposed to specifically address.
I all I have to say is that I am making a promise to vote Democrat in November and in 2006, and that's something I won't go back on.
Posted by: Marc Olivier at July 9, 2005 10:37 AM
Moral of the story: never trust a Bush Republican.
Posted by: jon boyd at July 9, 2005 04:34 PM