Any bill not debated on the floor in the Texas House is now unlikely to be placed on the House calendar and will not be considered this term. The Chron reports that this includes some controversial items, like casino gambling:
Casino gambling: All bets are off. Texas hold ’em had to fold ’em. Hands-free cell phones in cars has crashed. And guns on campus bit the bullet as the first major legislative deadline started killing bills.
All were pieces of House legislation that had to be debated by midnight Thursday or lose hope of passage in this year’s legislative session under House rules. They were among dozens of bills that the House would never reach before the witching hour in a 28-page calendar.
The campus gun bill was among some of the most controversial measures this year, a move that would have allowed licensed handgun owners to tote their weapons at universities and colleges. Seventeen states have tried it. All have failed. Only 11 U.S. universities allow handguns on campus.
“What do you get when you put bread in an oven? Toast,” said Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, sponsor of the handgun bill.
Some of the bills, like a ban on trans fats in restaurants, might get a second life since they have passed the Senate and could still be heard in the House But for the gambling bills, cell phones and handguns, the 81st Legislature is all but over.
