Public hearing scheduled for SB 354

[baldeagle]

The Senate campus carry bill is scheduled for a public hearing on 3/22/2011 before the Criminal Justice committed beginning at 1:30 PM. If you can attend and speak in favor of the bill, please do so. If not, please send your comments to the committee.

[Jasonw560]

It should get through the hearing with no problem, like the House Bill did. 4 of the 7 committee members have their names down as co-authors of this bill.

[hirundo82]

4 of the 7 committee members have their names down as co-authors of this bill.

I only count 3 of the 7 as cosponsors--Carona, Hegar, Patrick.

I know Hinojosa is usually pro-CHL but he's not signed on. Ellis will almost certainly be opposed. I don't know about Whitmire or Huffman.

[Jasonw560]

Ellis is #4.

[Jasonw560]

Dang it. Read it wrong again. You're right, only 3. I have to stop doing that.

The wild card here will probably be Hinojosa.

There also might not be as much anti- testimony, with classes being back in session. Of course, these are the kind of students who could skip class.

I will be watching with interest on Tuesday.

[hirundo82]

Ellis is #4.

I'm in Ellis's district so I'm familiar with him; there's no way he would ever vote for this.

Hinojosa voted for the campus carry bill (SB1164) when it passed the whole senate last session, so hopefully we have his support again.

The full Senate vote last session (from here) was as below. It's encouraging that Ellis was the only one that voted no, although it was pretty obvious that it wasn't going to make it through the House in time so that may have affected some of their votes (hearings were more than a month later last time).

CSSB 1164 as again amended was finally passed by the following
vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11.
Yeas: Carona, Deuell, Eltife, Estes, Fraser, Harris, Hegar, Hinojosa, Huffman,
Jackson, Lucio, Nelson, Nichols, Patrick, Seliger, Shapiro, Uresti, Wentworth,
Whitmire, Williams.
Nays: Averitt, Davis, Duncan, Ellis, Gallegos, Ogden, Shapleigh, Van de Putte,
Watson, West, Zaffirini.

[Ameer]

What's the priority level for this now that HB 750 passed out of committee? Is this expected to have as much turnout as the HB 750 hearing? Should we send comments to the members individually or is there an address or fax for the whole committee?

[G26ster]

Here's an alert sent today by the NRA calling for people to testify for the bill, in person if they can, for the Senate hearing:

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=6441" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RPB]

HB 750 –(out of committee, to be calendared) Would remove the law prohibiting licensed concealed carry at Texas colleges and would prohibit Public colleges from creating administrative policies restricting licensed concealed carry. PRIVATE colleges would be allowed to create such administrative policies only after consulting with students, faculty, and staff.

SB 354 – is a senate bill filed by Senator Jeff Wentworth and is virtually identical to HB 750.

Link to SB354
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLook ... Bill=SB354" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Text
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/ ... 00354I.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Link to Senate Video when it happens
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/bin/live.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senat ... 0/c590.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Senate Committee on Criminal Justice

Committee contacts
Chair
The Honorable John Whitmire
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0115

District Address
803 Yale Street
Houston, Texas 77007
(713) 864-8701
(713) 864-5287 (fax)


Vice Chair
The Honorable Joan Huffman
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0117

District Address
129 Circle Way, Suite 101
Lake Jackson, Texas 77566
(979) 480-0994
(979) 480-9122 (Fax)

District Address
6217 Edloe
Houston, Texas 77005
(713) 662-3821
(713) 682-3842 (Fax)


The Honorable John Carona
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0116
Fax: (512) 463-3135

District Address
8080 N. Central Expy.
Suite 1440, LB 44
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 378-5751
FAX: (214) 378-5739


The Honorable Rodney G. Ellis
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0113
(512) 463-0006 (fax)

District Address
440 Louisiana, Suite 575
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 236-0306
(713) 236-0604 (fax)

District Address
2440 Texas Parkway, Suite 110
Missouri City, Texas 77489
(281) 261-2360
(281) 261-4726 (fax)

District Address
10613 Bellaire Blvd., Bldg. A, Suite 126B
Houston, TX 77072
(281) 564-2228
(281) 564-0999 (fax)


The Honorable Glenn Hegar
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0118
(512) 475-3736 (Fax)

District Address
P.O. Box 1008
Katy, Texas 77492
(281) 391-8883
(281) 391-8818 Fax


The Honorable Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0120
(512) 463-0229 Fax

District address
612 Nolana
Suite 410B
Mcallen, Texas 78504
(956) 972-1841
(956) 664-0602 Fax

District address
2820 S.p.I.D., Suite 291
Corpus Christi, TX 78415
(361) 225-1200
(361) 225-3576
(361) 225-0119 Fax


The Honorable Dan Patrick
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0107
(512) 463-8810 (Fax)

District address
11451 Katy Freeway, Suite 209
Houston, Texas 77079
(713) 464-0282
(713) 461-0108 (Fax)

[Douva]

Whitmire, the committee chairman, has said that he supports the bill, but he's not a coauthor.

Ellis is firmly opposed.

Huffman and Hinojosa both supported last year but are undecided this time around.

It doesn't matter that HB 750 passed the house committee; we still have to get past the Senate committee, so the priority is just as high as before.

[RPB]

I e-mailed Ellis asking him to stop passing out free guns on campuses to vehicle burglars who will use them in crimes .... how can he say he wants to continue ...

Yeah, I know, but ...

[RPB]

Bumping up for ease in finding committee people contact info. (forgot where I put it)

Whitmire, the committee chairman, has said that he supports the bill, but he's not a coauthor.

Ellis is firmly opposed.

Huffman and Hinojosa both supported last year but are undecided this time around.

It doesn't matter that HB 750 passed the house committee; we still have to get past the Senate committee, so the priority is just as high as before.

Whitmire will be voting for it.

Hegar is in favor (she said it before I got my name out)

Patrick signed onto it, so he supports it
Corona is for it according to his staff I talked to.

Ellis I left my name address and number and asked that he vote for it ... to prevent me getting yet another gun stolen from my car on campus where we must store them ....his assistant wrote it all down, will "pass it on". (against it so far)

Hinojosa took my info, and position and a reason or 2, but was non-committal

Huffmann took my info, and position and a reason or 2, but was non-committal



John Whitmire (D) - Chair - (512) 463-0115
Glenn Hegar (R) - (512) 463-0118
John J. Carona (R) - (512) 463-0116
Dan Patrick (R) - (512) 463-0107
Above support it

Below need calling the most:
Joan Huffman (R) - Vice Chair - (512) 463-0117

Rodney Ellis (D) - (512) 463-0113

Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D) - (512) 463-0120


================

Side note: Interesting that these are mostly "Houston Metro Area/Lake Jackson/Corpus +Dallas" people...
Bill White buddies? Hope not.