Austin (WBAP/KLIF) – A top priority of Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan won preliminary approval Monday. House Bill 3 limes the governor and local governments in pandemic.
By a vote of 92-45 the GOP-led chamber voted to curtail the governor’s power during a pandemic, and also puts limits on state and local governments’ power to close businesses and issue mask mandates.
Final approval is needed before the bill heads to the Senate.
During the over year long public health crisis Gov Abbott rejected calls to convene a special session to handle the state’s response, and for the most part single-handedly directed the state’s response.
According to the bill’s author, Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock, “We must now take what we have learned in dealing with the pandemic and set a different framework for future pandemic.” Burrows told House members as he laid out the legislation. “As a baseline, you will not government your way out of it.”
Texas House gives initial approval to @Burrows4TX’s HB3– a @DadePhelan priority which creates legislative roadmap for future pandemics. Bill needs to be read 1 more time to be passed out of the House and over to the Senate. #txlegehttps://t.co/IVjoXK3gqg
— Wes Rapaport (@wesrap) May 11, 2021
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