UPDATE: It’s over. Republicans have conceded that the vote was too late. More info
Texas senators are trying to determine whether the controversial abortion bill passed.
Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston) says that SB-5 was passed at 12:02 a.m. and any claim of its passage would not withstand legal scrutiny. “It’s pretty conclusive that it didn’t pass,” said Whitmire, as reported by the San Marcos Mercury.
Statesman.com out of Austin, Texas, reports that Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) told a crowd outside the Senate door that she did not believe that the vote was proper and predicted a court challenge. Davis told reporters that her effort to filibuster the bill was worth it even if the results were ambiguous at best and went on to note that “Constitutionally, we are not to take votes or have any other action after midnight.”
Of particular note are the following two screenshots taken from the Texas Legislature Online site. At 12:54 a.m. Wednesday morning the site showed SB-5 as having been passed on “6-26-13” or after the legislative deadline of midnight:
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And at 1:04 a.m. the listing was changed to sh0w the vote occurred before midnight:
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In the meantime, Democratic senators are insisting that the vote was held after the special session ended at midnight, invalidating passage. This may very well end up being a matter for the courts to decide before it is all over with – time will tell.
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