Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton says he has concerns about House Joint Resolution 1089 and the control it would give some lawmakers over a proposed state constitutional convention.
"This was written by the House of Representatives," Paxton said. "And in that vein, it would make the legislature the acting delegates in this convention, which would give the House better than a two-to-one margin of delegates."
As written, the decision to host the convention would go to a vote of the people before occurring, which raises another concern, Paxton says.
"The fact that the November ballot is getting busy because of things that we're trying to put in August or ended up in November," he said. "I don't think this is a good year to do that. With that, I lay the bill over."
HJR 1089 has been laid over, meaning it could come back next year.
The legislature is putting a slate of questions before the people.
Among the other legislature-proposed referendums are a vote to shift Medicaid expansion language from the constitution to state statute so lawmakers can better manage costs, and an effort to change the state's judicial selection process.
