A Texas House bill clarifying whether splitting a school district must be approved by voters missed a critical deadline, giving it little chance of passing before lawmakers leave Austin.
Lawmakers on Thursday, May 15 were up against a midnight deadline to give preliminary approval to House bills. Nothing is truly dead until lawmakers adjourn for the last time, and proposals can always be revived through amendments, but the lack of action on the bill represents a major — and likely impassable — hurdle.
The debate dragged and then dashed (then at times slowed again) as midnight neared. The volume in the chamber and number of spectators in the House gallery grew as time on the clock dwindled. At midnight, lawmakers were about halfway through a 30 page list of bills. House Bill 5089 by Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican, was on page 29…