Governor Rick Perry visiting with Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff on the rostrum during today's session. The bill first came up on the Senate floor Monday, but Lucio left the bill pending without moving for final passage after unexpected opposition arose to his motion to debate the bill. Opposition continued today, with Senators Gonzalo Barrientos of Austin, David Bernsen of Beaumont, Steve Ogden of Bryan, Florence Shapiro of Plano and Carlos F. Truan of Corpus Christi voting against bringing the bill up for debate. CSSB 108 was finally passed on a voice vote. Lucio said the bill is intended to allow time for children of migrant families to get back home before the beginning of the school year.
Many migrant families travel out of state to work during summer months.
CSSB 108 will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration. If the bill becomes law, it would be effective on September 1, but would not apply to school districts until the 2002-2003 school year. Among the other bills passed by the Senate today were CSSB 624, authored by Lubbock Sen. Robert Duncan, and CSSB 1164 authored by Truan. CSSB 624 would void liability waivers signed by employees of companies that do not participate in the workers compensation system. Currently, employer participation in the workers compensation system is voluntary in Texas.