Texas Poker Bill Fails to Reach Floor- So Dies

Because of its position near the end of the list of bills for the day, supporters for Texas State bill HB 3186 to legalize and regulate forms of Texas Hold'em in its namesake state, had to watch as the bill was 'blinded out' of the legislative process, effectively killing the bill.

Mike Lavigne, treasurer of the Texas Poker Political Action Committee, a grassroots organization created to encourage legal, safe and accessible poker in Texas was on hand at the Austin State Capitol watching the clock tick down to midnight, when, according to the state legislature's rules, if the bill had not reached the floor for its second reading it would be dropped from further consideration.

The bill was filed by Representative Jose Menendez (D) of San Antonio (click here to read related article). It would have allowed up to four live or electronic poker tables at establishments meeting stringent requirements and task the Lottery Commission with overseeing it. It also would have permitted charitable poker, with supporters anticipating bigger and more successful regular charitable tournaments to benefit a variety of important Texas causes.

When it was apparent that the bill would not come up for discussion or vote, Menendez told a Dallas ESPN Radio broadcast, "I'm very disappointed. A lot of my colleagues are afraid that this voting for legalizing poker might hurt them in their next election. In particular, my Republican friends are the ones that are afraid of their primary voters."

There has been no announcement so far whether Menendez will attempt to reintroduce the poker bill.

A VALUABLE POKER LESSON

USA Poker fans continued their education how the political process works, as popular poker blog site Pokerati shared these valuable insights (reprinted verbatim from the Pokerati site):

"A Pokerati friend whose name may or may not rhyme with Rudy Giuliani writes in with some good reminders about how the political process works:

Condolences on your temporary setback, but don't give up. If the Texas legislature is anything like New York's (where I spent years as a staffer) then the following things are true (and if they sound facetious, they're not):

1) No major bill becomes a law in the first year that it is taken seriously. (unless it bears the name of a child who died a tragic death.) That could be due to a healthy prudence that insists on letting an idea ripen before turning it into a law; or it could be a cynical ploy to extract more campaign donations and/or raise the political stakes before delivering the goods. Most often, I think, it's just the rhythm of the institution. It takes a couple of years to see if the public support for the bill is serious enough to make it worth the confrontations that will be needed to get it passed.

2) No bill ever becomes a law just because it's obviously a good idea; somebody with the clout to push it through has to have a political motivation to do so.

3) When a bill has strong public support, and enough sponsors to ensure its passage, but somehow gets held up in the process and never makes it to a vote: that's when it gets interesting. Nine times out of ten, somebody loses money if this bill becomes a law, and that person (or industry group) has a lock on some powerful member who is able to hold up the process. The point of resistance needs to be identified and the sponsor of the bill has to be pushed into a confrontation with the powerful member. (Getting a law enacted is like giving a deep massage: you have to find the hidden resistance point and work it real hard, and if it isn't painful you're not working the right spot.)

Just some thoughts from a scarred veteran of many political wars. If you want to post this on your site, please don't post my name; I'm still active in state government and it might be awkward if this came up when my name is googled.

Anyway, keep at it; the second year is the most important one. As the crap dealers say when you buy in for the second time: Better luck, sir!"

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