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By Jared Woodfill, Chairman, Harris County Republican Party

Imagine a heavy weight boxer going into the final round of a championship fight refusing to throw a punch.  Picture a Super Bowl where the team that is ahead goes into the final quarter and chooses to play without a quarterback.  Few have seen a winning basketball team opt to finish the game with four instead of five players.  Each of these scenarios is foolish and would contribute to defeat.   A  fighter, football or basketball team that expects to be successful would not voluntarily create a situation that may ultimately lead to their defeat.   Unfortunately, these sports scenarios can be likened  to the course Republican senators have chosen to follow since taking the majority.   Many may be wondering what I’m talking about.  Most Texans are not familiar with a procedural  rule adopted by the Texas Senate at the beginning of every legislative session.  It has many names; some call it the blocker bill, others refer to it as the Rosebush bill.  Some just call it stupid.  

What is the Blocker Bill?

The Blocker Bill is a procedural rule that is put in place at the beginning of each legislative session.  The rules adopted by the senate at the beginning of each session require bills to be taken up in the order they come out of committee.  The rules further require a 2/3 vote of those present and voting for any bill to be heard out of order.  Interestingly, the rules are adopted by a simple majority.  The Chairman of the Senate Administration Committee then files a meaningless bill, the Rosebush or Blocker Bill, which is not intended to reach the floor but forces a two-thirds vote for any additional bill considered.  Thereafter, any legislation to be considered by the senate has to be heard out of order, requiring a 2/3 majority or 20 of 31 votes.   What this means is that a minority of eleven senators can block any legislation.  The device was first used in 1879 when Democrats ran Texas.  For over a hundred years it was a question of whether a Democrat supermajority would prevail over a Democrat minority.  In Texas, we currently have 19 Republican Senators.  The Blocker Bill requires the votes of 21 to get any legislation considered and then passed.    Therefore, in order to get legislation passed, Republican senators must garner the support of some of their Democratic colleagues.  Effectively, this means one of two things happen; Republicans have to water down conservative legislation to pass a bill or the minority dictates the agenda for the majority.  If the people wanted the minority to govern, they would have given them the majority.  Instead, the Blocker Bill is the quickest way for the majority to become the minority, failing to pass legislation they campaigned on.     If our founding fathers or the people wanted a supermajority, they could have put a supermajority into the document.  

What Legislation has been Killed by the Blocker Bill?i

Among legislation killed by the Blocker Bill were the Photo Identification  bill in 2007 and in 2003 a bill calling for a reduction in the appraisal cap.  Additionally, legislation that would have prohibited the use of fraudulent marriages to circumvent US immigration, passed in the House and died in the Senate.    

Will they Listen to the Base

The Harris County Republican Party and the Republican Party of Texas have both adopted resolutions calling for the end of the Blocker Bill.  One resolution states, “Progress at relieving the excessive burdens of over-taxation, overspending , and liberal court rulings, has been blocked by a small minority of senators unfairly and unreasonably derailing bills designed to alleviate these and many other chronic problems of our great State of Texas.”  A recent resolution adopted by the HCRP and the RPT states the following: 

Whereas, Republican voters worked very hard over many years to win a majority in the Texas Senate;

Whereas, Republican voters are frustrated that Democrats, who are in the minority, can block critical conservative legislation with just 11 votes; 

Whereas, the Republican Party of Texas 2008 Party Platform says on page eleven, “Rosebush–Blocker Rule – We oppose the Rosebush-Blocker Rule in the Texas Senate,” which is the will of the grassroots Republicans as embodied by 2008 State Republican Party Convention; and, now therefore be it 

Resolved, that the SREC strongly urges that the Texas Senate take whatever steps are necessary to pass conservative legislation over the opposition of the Democrat minority, including consideration of discontinuing the use of the Rosebush-Blocker bill/rule, if necessary; and, be it 

Resolved, that if outright elimination of the Rosebush-Blocker bill/rule does not appear to be able to be passed by the Texas Senate in its initial caucuses and meetings, that the SREC strongly urges that the Texas Senate, at the very least, change the Rosebush-Blocker bill/rule by reducing the 2/3rds requirement to 60%, which is an equivalent percentage to the 60% cloture rule in the United States Senate; and, be it further 

Resolved, that this resolution be immediately forwarded to all Texas State Senators, and that RPT HQ’s disseminate it via e-mail and the RPT website; and, be it further 

Resolved, that the SREC encourages all Texas Republicans to contact their state senator to urge them to end or at least, modify this rule as described above, so the will of the majority can finally be represented in the Texas Senate. 

Will our Republican Senators listen?

Action Item

Many of you may be wondering:  What can I do?  I cannot overemphasize the power of a phone call, an email, or a letter to each of our Republican Senators urging them to vote against the “Blocker Bill.”     Below please find the phone numbers, physical addresses and email addresses for our Republican Senators.  Also, please click here for a sample letter and fact sheet when writing or calling.  Thank you for making this a priority.  We must act quickly.  The vote will occur on Tuesday, January 13, 2009.