Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, who has never been beloved by conservatives, is being called out on the House floor for allegedly trying to 'bury' the controversial bathroom bill, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
In a tense exchange on the floor of the House, State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), who is a member of the Texas Freedom Caucus, the conservative group in the House, called out Straus for lying about whether the bill, called S.B. 6, has been referred to committee.
"Is the chair aware that on March 23, the Speaker told a CBS reporter that the bill has already been referred to the House State Affairs Committee," Tinderholt asked.
"I don't recall that," Straus replied, adding, 'there are a lot of Senate bills that haven't been referred yet.'
"A satirical bill has been referred, but a bill that is very important to many in this chamber has not," Tinderholt shot back, referring to State Rep. Jessica Farrar's bill outlawing male masturbation as a way to criticize measures pushed by Republicans designed to limit women's right to birth control and abortion.
Straus later said Tinderholt's continued grilling about S.B. 6 "Is not a proper parliamentary inquiry, thank you."
Conservatives in the House have long feuded with Straus, who many consider insufficiently conservative, especially since social conservative Dan Patrick took over control of the Senate and began pushing conservative measures like the Bathroom Bill, and a bill that would set up a school voucher program. That bill was killed in the House last week.
Conservatives have tried to unseat Straus as Speaker, and have tried to primary him in his Alamo Heights House district, to no avail.
The Bathroom Bill, which Straus is widely considered to be ready to bury in the House, would restrict the use of public restroom and school locker rooms to the gender on the individual's birth certificate.
The feeling is that when S.B. 6, which has already passed the Senate, is referred to the House State Affairs Committee, it will be allowed to die there.