On Tuesday Texas Governor Rick Perry issued a tersely worded statement blaming State Senator Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) for the failure of Sanctuary Cities legislation within SB 1 in the Called Session.
“As the special session appears to be winding down, I am disappointed the Legislature did not address sanctuary cities. Working with legislative leaders last weekend, we worked to include sanctuary city legislation in Senate Bill 1. Unfortunately, SB1 Conference Committee Chairman Robert Duncan ultimately refused to allow language related to the ban of sanctuary cities into the final version of Senate Bill 1. Because of this action, the special session will not provide our peace officers with the discretion they need to adequately keep Texans safe from those that would do them harm,” the Governor said.
Senator Duncan, for his part, has responded with “I am a joint author of SB 9, the sanctuary cities legislation that the Senate passed on June 15. This was comprehensive legislation that dealt with the issue of state and federal laws and prohibition of sanctuary cities. The primary purpose of SB 1 was to certify the budget and provide funding for our public schools.”
“Combining school finance issues in SB 1 with sanctuary cities issues would have placed both of these important measures in jeopardy,” Duncan said. “My Senate colleagues on the SB 1 Conference Committee and member of the Senate Republican caucus were clear about their desire to keep these two issues separate. I agreed and held firm on this position.”
So there you have it. Duncan supports the Sanctuary Cities bill but, as the Governor pointed out, is the one who kept it from passing on SB1 in the Special. How does that sound to you?
Robert Pratt is host of the top-rated Pratt on Texas radio program which can be heard at www.PrattonTexas.com Listen via your iPhone or Droid device with our RadioPup app.
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