Perry had voiced his concern that two Republican senators would not be present for a planned vote on the bill last month. Ellis has said he would have had the votes to pass the bill had Perry not interfered. Saturday, Perry met privately with about eight lawmakers to try and work out a compromise on the bill that has pitted Democrats and Republicans against each other for several years. The bill as drafted strengthens penalties for crimes motivated by hate against a person's race, religion, color, disability, sexual preference, age, gender, national origin or ancestry. The state already has a hate crimes law, but it does not list specific groups and prosecutors have said it is too vague to enforce.
Republicans say the bill unfairly eliminates people from being covered under the law.
An amendment by Shapiro would strike out the groups and target the motive of the crime. The session ends May 28. It's unclear if Republicans would accept the compromise. Ellis said that of the 45 other states that have hate crimes measures, Texas is the only state that does not list specific groups. Ellis was one vote shy of being able to bring the bill up for debate until Sen. Tom Haywood, R-Wichita Falls, on Friday said he would vote to bring the bill up for debate.