The mornings Voter ID debate was marked by the absence of Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Senator Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) who will be chairing the hearing once the Committee of the Whole is called to order fielded tough questions all morning from Senate Democrats about Abbotts absence and the nature of his discussions with Abbott.
Responding to questions about not issuing a subpoena for the Attorney General Duncan responded that he has no authority to subpoena for the Committee of the Whole and that the office of Attorney General is an independent office. If Abbott desires to be here he can said Duncan.
Senate Democrats however pressed Duncan on the issue asking if Duncan specifically asked for Abbott not to attend as implied by this statement released last night by the Attorney Generals office:
Because the Office of the Attorney General would represent the state of Texas in legal matters that could arise from this legislation the chair (Duncan) decided it would be inappropriate for the Attorney General to be present as a witness in a legislative debate.
Abbotts presence is important to opponents of Voter ID because of the $1 million investigation his office performed on Voter ID that turned up scant results of voter fraud.
Senate Democrats brought opposition to Voter ID with different angles throughout the morning. Senators Van De Putte Ellis and Gallegos led the charge against the bill mentioning Abbott parliamentary procedures and the relative unimportance of Voter ID.
Sen. Van De Putte specifically aired complaints about the process for bringing witnesses and the Republican failure to address her memo requests telling the press later that its evident theyre not playing by fair rules.
Much more to come on this story as the Senate will hear from witnesses on both sides of the issue this afternoon.
The mornings Voter ID debate was marked by the absence of Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Senator Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) who will be chairing the hearing once the Committee of the Whole is called to order fielded tough questions all morning from Senate Democrats about Abbotts absence and the nature of his discussions with Abbott.
Responding to questions about not issuing a subpoena for the Attorney General Duncan responded that he has no authority to subpoena for the Committee of the Whole and that the office of Attorney General is an independent office. If Abbott desires to be here he can said Duncan.
Senate Democrats however pressed Duncan on the issue asking if Duncan specifically asked for Abbott not to attend as implied by this statement released last night by the Attorney Generals office:
Because the Office of the Attorney General would represent the state of Texas in legal matters that could arise from this legislation the chair (Duncan) decided it would be inappropriate for the Attorney General to be present as a witness in a legislative debate.
Abbotts presence is important to opponents of Voter ID because of the $1 million investigation his office performed on Voter ID that turned up scant results of voter fraud.
Senate Democrats brought opposition to Voter ID with different angles throughout the morning. Senators Van De Putte Ellis and Gallegos led the charge against the bill mentioning Abbott parliamentary procedures and the relative unimportance of Voter ID.
Sen. Van De Putte specifically aired complaints about the process for bringing witnesses and the Republican failure to address her memo requests telling the press later that its evident theyre not playing by fair rules.
Much more to come on this story as the Senate will hear from witnesses on both sides of the issue this afternoon.
