Earlier I reported that the pet protective order bill (HB 853) passed and I assumed that it would proceed to the Governor.
Today, the house refused to concur with the amendment the Senate attached to the bill. So far, only the House has appointed conference committee members. The Senate will also appoint five members, and they will reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
Because the lengthy Voter ID stall in the House killed so many bills, most House bills that did pass the Senate gained several amendments. In this case, Senator Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) added a short amendment (formerly SB 843) expanding the definition of dating violence to include an act by an individual against another individual who is in a dating relationship with a perpetrator's victim. This gives the third party standing to obtain his or her own protective order.
Uresti's bill, SB 843, passed the Senate unanimously but did not get scheduled for a vote in the House. No one testified against it in either the House or Senate, and district attorney and police groups widely supported it.
Conference committees have until midnight Saturday to agree on amendments, assuming there are no rule changes to extend the deadline.
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