Senate suspends rules to consider House companions on abortion medication and police records

The Texas Senate on Sept. 2 voted to suspend its rules to permit a committee meeting upon recess to consider two House companion bills: House Bill 7, related to abortion medication, and House Bill 15, a companion to Senator King’s bill on police records. Senator Hughes made the motion and the secretary announced the result as 18 ayes and 9 nays, and the motion was adopted.

The motion prompted procedural questions on the floor. Senator Menendez asked which bills the suspension would cover; Senator Hughes replied that the motion was for referred business and that “2 House companions have come over on bills that the Senate has already had public hearings on — the Senate companions. So they are house bill 7 by Leach, house bill 15 by Hefner.” Senator Menendez sought clarification on the purpose of the suspension; Senator Hughes said the intent was “to have a meeting to vote the bills on, to the house if the votes are there, onto the senate.”

Senator Johnson raised a parliamentary inquiry asking, “What would be the consequence of this bill failing?” The presiding officer answered that the chair was not advised. No further debate on the substance of the bills is recorded in the transcript; the proceedings recorded only the procedural motion, the roll call and the adoption of the motion.

The action allows the Senate State Affairs Committee (meeting at the mover’s desk upon recess) to consider the referred House companions immediately upon recess. The transcript records no committee-level votes or final disposition of either bill during the floor exchange documented here. The roll-call result on the floor was announced as 18 ayes and 9 nays.