The Blast - April 22, 2025

24 days for the House to pass legislation that originated in the House
41 days until sine die

IN TODAY’S BLAST

• The blockade passes another test

• Nuclear fund bill achieves critical mass

• One abortion proposal pulled, another advances

• Al Green pushes back against congresswoman’s slur

THE BLOCKADE PASSES ANOTHER TEST

Today’s batch of joint resolutions got postponed in the Texas House as Democrats continue to flex their muscle.

The House has approved only two proposed constitutional amendments since April 1, the day the House first had a list of bills and joint resolutions to consider on the floor. Democrats have used their numbers to stall the other constitutional amendments — first as an attempt to extract concessions on the voucher program, and now to send a message to Republicans.

You get treated how you let yourself get treated, as one Democrat put it.

The minority caucus and the old leadership team had set aside their differences to put Speaker Dustin Burrows in power and avoid what they believed would be the end of Texas House bipartisanship. Democrats helped when leadership moved to stifle amendments to the House rules in January. Democrats helped block unsavory test votes, and they kept their fussing on budget night to a minimum.

Democrats’ leading priority this session was to shut down the voucher bill. Yet, for all the times they came to leadership’s aid, Burrows publicly endorsed the House plan, and Republicans shut down the once-bipartisan amendment that would have staked Senate Bill 2 on a public vote.

Sometimes people avoid tough conversations to make a relationship work, the Democrat continued. The caucus may be trying to have that conversation now.

“Today, Democrats are killing every constitutional amendment as punishment for Republicans advancing Republican policy,” posted Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a Republican from Arlington who is one of the longest-serving members of the anti-Burrows Republican faction. “The only correct response by leadership is to advance Republican priorities to the floor immediately. Anything less than that is acquiescence.”

As a caucus of 62 members, Democrats can deny the House the votes to approve constitutional amendments, which need two-thirds support to pass. With 150 total House members, Republicans need support from at least 12 Democrats to advance a constitutional amendment.

Democrats on the floor didn’t seem certain their blockade would hold today. But sure enough, the red slips were flying as Republicans postponed all five HJRs that were up for consideration.

“Democratic members of the Texas House may be in the minority, but we will use the tools we have to protect the independence of the House and ensure the voices of the millions of Texans we represent are heard and respected in this chamber,” the House Democratic Caucus said in a statement.

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NUCLEAR FUND BILL ACHIEVES CRITICAL MASS

The House gave its initial approval to House Bill 14, Rep. Cody Harris’ bill to establish an advanced nuclear development fund.

“Nuclear power provides the most reliable and energy-dense electricity available to mankind,” Harris said.

HB 14, which he called the Texas Nuclear Deployment Act, will make the state the “epicenter of a national nuclear renaissance,” he continued.

Progressive Rep. John Bryant of Dallas asked what happens with nuclear waste, which is stored on-site until the federal involvement whisks it away.

Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, said he supports expanding nuclear energy but that the state shouldn’t do so with a new government program. He disputed the fiscal note that says it will cost the state $4.1 million this coming biennium, putting the amount at nearly $1 billion — $750 million, as allocated by the House’s supplemental budget plan in House Bill 500.

Fellow anti-leadership Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, asked questions in a way that sounded like he supported the plan as a way to strengthen the state’s energy grid.

However, a record vote on the matter will have to wait till tomorrow.

ONE ABORTION PROPOSAL PULLED, ANOTHER ADVANCES

Legislation by Rep. Brent Money that would make abortion murder was removed from the hearing list for today’s House Criminal Justice Committee meeting, upsetting some in the anti-abortion world.

The Greenville Republican took to social media last night to say that Chair John Smithee, R-Amarillo, told him that the decision came from the speaker’s office while the speaker’s office told him it was Smithee’s decision.

“I don’t care who decided to do it, but granting this bill a hearing and then yanking it the night before is wrong,” Money said, apologizing to activists who’d planned to be in the Capitol less than 15 hours later.

Money picked up a joint author and 19 coauthors yesterday, most of whom were from the group of usual suspects. However, the list did include committee chairs Jay Dean, R-Longview, and Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, and Reps. Janie Lopez, R-San Benito and Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress.

The Texas Alliance for Life came out against the bill, with executive director Joe Pojman likening it to the “death penalty for women.”

Foundation to Abolish Abortion president Bradley Pierce criticized the Texas Alliance for Life in a competing statement in which he said his organization had been promised a hearing on the bill to talk about how “absolute immunity” for mothers has created a “loophole.”

“Texas House leadership, empowered by Pro-Life leaders, have covered their own ears and tried to shut the mouths of abolitionists who would speak up for the lives of our preborn neighbors,” Pierce said.

Over in the Senate, the State Affairs Committee voted to advanceSenate Bill 31, the Life of the Mother Act, which clarifies the exceptions to the state’s abortion ban.

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AL GREEN PUSHES BACK AGAINST CONGRESSWOMAN’S SLUR

U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, fired back on Tuesday after a Republican congresswoman used a racial slur against Green and said his cane might have a weapon inside. 

In an interview, published Friday, Rep. Diana Harshbarger. R-Tennessee, called Green “boy” — a word that has been historically used to disparage Black men. Harsbarger was talking about Green interrupting Trump’s joint address to Congress in March, when he was escorted out of the House chamber. 

“Al Green was over here with his cane, and I’m like: ‘Gosh dang it, boy!’” she said during the F.A.M.E. Ministries interview. 

Green told reporters during a Tuesday news conference that this incident was different than a “lay person,” calling him a name. Because the word was said by a sitting member of Congress and in an interview, Green said it was an attempt to pass the slur off as acceptable. 

“We cannot allow the normalization of these kinds of slurs,” Green said during a Houston news conference Tuesday. 

Harshbarger also questioned Green’s use of a cane, which he waved during Trump’s joint address, and said it might have included a hidden gun. 

 “That cane is a prop. I swear it’s not real,” Harshbarger said. 

Green responded by showing his canes to reporters and explaining why they help him balance and walk up stairs after two major surgeries. 

“This is a cane. That’s what it is,” Green said. “It’s lawful. I am ambulatory, but I do find that this is quite beneficial.” 

Harshbarger was not the only Republican member of Congress to insult Green’s cane this week. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, called Green’s cane a “pimp cane,” in an interview with Real America’s Voice. 

“The cane has never harmed anybody,” Green said. “The cane is something that is used to aid and assist.”

— Katharine Wilson

TX-18: Energy lobbyist and former Sylvester Turner campaign volunteer Zoe Cadore has entered the special election race.

• U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is putting his “Verdict” podcast on the radio. The one-hour weekend format debuted on Saturday and Sunday on more than 100 radio stations across the country.

• Gov. Greg Abbott held a phone call today with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with topics including the energy industry, liquified natural gas exports and trade between Texas and Mexico.

• U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was in Dallas today to continue his tour in support of extending the expiring components of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

• U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, will be in Houston for a series of events promoting his new children’s book.

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• Gov. Greg Abbott will sign the DOGE Bill, Senate Bill 14 tomorrow afternoon, flanked by the rest of the “Big Three” plus Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake. It will be the first bill signing of 2025.

• The Senate Local Government Committee heard testimony on and approved Senate Bill 23, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s plan to raise the homestead exemption to $200,000 for Texans 65 and older. The plan will save seniors $1.2 billion in property taxes, according to the bill’s fiscal note.

Committee highlights this week:

• The House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee will meet at 8 a.m. tomorrow to consider the film incentives program proposal (House Bill 4568) and five other measures.

• Rep. Brian Harrison will have his first bill of the session heard tomorrow. Harrison, a Midlothian Republican whose anti-leadership displays have distanced himself from even the House’s most conservative members, will lay out House Bill 872 before the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee when it meets at 8 a.m.

• The House State Affairs Committee will meet at 8 a.m. on Friday for a dense hearing to consider four bills:

  • House Bill 229 by Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Lakeway, codifying that there are only two sexes

  • House Bill 3990 by Rep. Hillary Hickland, R-Belton, limiting the flags flown at government buildings to the official U.S. flag, the Texas flag, or city or county flags

  • House Bill 5082 by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Allen, creating a civil penalty for local governments that fail to comply with state drug laws, including by adopting non-prosecution policies for marijuana possession and distribution

  • House Bill 5510 by Leach, cracking down on online abortion pill distributors and facilitating out-of-state travel for abortions

View the full list of upcoming committee notices here and here.

The House will convene at 10 a.m. tomorrow.
The Senate will convene at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

View the House and Senate floor calendars here and here.

• It was Seersucker Day in the Capitol, but the seersucker caucus’ numbers were a bit lacking today.

• Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, whipped out an extended, rambling Trump impression to haze freshman Rep. Hillary Hickland, R-Belton. “Is this bill a MAGA bill? Will it Make Austin Great Again? Will it Make Abilene Great Again? Will it Make Amarillo Great Again? Is it a MAGAlicious bill or not? Is it a MAGAlonia bill? Is it a mega MAGA bill?”

• Raymond also helped table an amendment by Rep. Andy Hopper, R-Decatur, to House Bill 805 by Rep. Sergio Muñoz, D-Mission, on analyzing how the Mexican grid impacts the Texas grid. Hopper’s amendment would have created a study to get all of Texas on the ERCOT grid. Raymond teased Hopper for removing a component of the statute that Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, had said was good. “I love you, you beat a good friend of mine, Lynn Stucky, but hey, you won, you’re the one that’s here. But this is not the way to go,” Raymond said.

Do you or someone in your office have a new job you’d like mentioned? Email us.

• Country artist and advocate Alexis Wilkins has joined Women for Gun Rights as director of strategic communications.

“Texas may study the impact of immigration again, but focus only on costs” by Alejandro Serrano of The Texas Tribune

“Fort Worth to pay $75K to study high-speed rail even as feds kill grant for program” by Jaime Moore-Carrillo of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Democratic leaders rebuke John Whitmire’s plans to appear at Dan Crenshaw fundraiser” by Abby Church of the Houston Chronicle

“Details emerge in stabbing of Denton County commissioner and husband, as tributes pour in” by Lilly Kersh and Hojun Choi of The Dallas Morning News

“In stunning moment, Yolanda Tinajero hugs the mass killer who took her brother’s life” by Robert Moore of El Paso Matters

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