Tim in Dallas writes in with a late-night update on HB 3186, and a question that I think he was hoping was rhetorical:
From: Tim B
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 2:07 AM
To: dan michalski
Subject: woo WOO! HB 3186 made it through calendars!Placed on General State Calendar 05/09/2007
they havent released the calendar for the 9th yet, so i dont know where in
the agenda it is, but this does mean its going to get a vote on the floor,
right??
Indeed, Tim, this is a really good thing … but it may not be enough! Being on the general calendar is no guarantee that the House will get to it … and if they don\’t, then despite all hard work and good sense, it simply dies.
To be sure the bill gets heard on the floor, it needs to be on the Major State Calendar. Rep. Jose Menendez, Lavigne in Austin, and the lobbyists are actively trying to make that happen … but that\’s why pressure still matters today and tomorrow. In fact, if you happen to be a big-time Republican donor … now would be a really good time to get in touch voice-to-voice with your highest-ranking peeps and encourage them to make poker a priority.
Fingers crossed, buttons clicking, stomachs turning … it feels like we\’ve flopped a set only to be up against open-ended-straight and flush draws with two cards to come.
ED NOTE: Yes, I know there has been no Part 2 yet … it\’s coming, I swear … along with coverage of the PI-07.
UPDATE: We are second-to-last on tomorrow\’s calendar. Have a look at today\’s for a comparison. That means it will be really late if/when they get to us … so if you haven\’t already, don\’t forget to send some emails encouraging the reps not to let this opportunity to do what is right for poker Texas get away from them!