Texas House Representative Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) raised a point of order that resulted in a temporary setback for the House Open Carry bill, HB-910. The point of order was sustained by the Speaker, Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) and the bill will be sent back to the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. The bill prohibiting local authorities from blocking fracking operations in their jurisdictions was sent back to committee on a similar point of order.
Martinez Fischer raised a point of order that there was a discrepancy in the Committee Report, according to Quorum Report’s Scott Braddock in a message to Breitbart Texas. Straus’ sustainment of the point of order means that the bill will be sent back to the committee in order to correct the language. The bill would then be eligible to move back to the House floor for reconsideration.
Breitbart Texas reported the passage of HB 910 in March. The bill passed the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee with bipartisan support in a vote of 7-2. The committee is chaired by Representative Larry Phillips (R-Sherman). He is also the bill’s author.
A similar point of order also struck down another House bill that was on the floor for a vote. That bill, HB 40, would prohibit local authorities from stopping fracking operations in their jurisdictions. The bill is designed to restrict local ordinances to surface operations such as traffic, noise, lights and reasonable setback requirements. This bill was approved in the House Natural Respurces Committee in a bipartisan vote of 10-1.
Both bills will be sent back to their respective committees and will likely be back to the House floor for reconsideration.
Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and on Facebook.
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