Rick Perry’s threatens special session of Texas Legislature, opens the door for easy passage of "Sanctuary Cities" and tampering with Health Care. Rules are easy during that session but he may harm his Presidential Aspirations

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Time is running short for lots of legislation in Texas - If Perry wants to be president, he better be prudent -

The Texas Tribune -
A Sine Die Strategy? -
by Emily Ramshaw, Julian Aguilar and Thanh Tan -
May 30, 2011 -


A Sine Die Strategy?


Some excerpts :

If there is a special session for SB 1811, will lawmakers revise school finance numbers in a way that changes any outcomes — or will they just go into overtime and get the same results?

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But Perry’s office has threatened that a special session for SB 1811, starting as soon as tomorrow, could open the door for anything, including the only one of his emergency items that hasn’t passed: sanctuary cities. There are also cries from his allies at the Texas Public Policy Foundation for him to add the health care compact — Texas’ request of Washington to take control of Medicaid and Medicare — to the call.

But whether the governor has true presidential aspirations could play into what makes a call. Sources close to the governor say he’s more likely to narrow his scope for a special session for SB 1811 and finish it out within days, as opposed to dragging it out with high-drama measures.

If the call does include sanctuary cities, Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, the only Senate Democrat to vote for the budget, said all bets are off: "During a special session the governor is the one that controls the agenda and different rules apply, the two-thirds rule does not apply, so it will be very simple to pass any kind of legislation that the governor wants or that the Republicans want," he said.

There are also questions over whether the health care compact could be a political liability long-term, as voters across the country gather at town hall meetings to decry GOP efforts in Washington to overhaul Medicare, the federal health care program for the elderly.

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