SAN ANTONIO — Texas Republicans on Saturday mapped out which issues the state GOP should support ahead of the 2019 legislative session — a list that again included a version of the “bathroom bill” and “constitutional carry.”
Nearly 10,000 delegates and alternates at the state GOP convention here capped off their three-day gathering by taking votes on more than 300 proposed platform planks and a handful of legislative priorities after a few hours of relatively mild debate.
A few of those legislative priorities — which are meant to represent the party’s policy goals when the Texas Legislature convenes in January — carried over after they didn’t pass during the 2017 legislative session, including language to regulate which restrooms transgender Texans can use and a proposal to let Texans carry a handgun without a permit. The “bathroom bill” measure, which drew hours of testimony and debate during the 2017 legislative session, was not a focus of debate at the 2018 convention.
It wasn’t confirmed immediately after the convention adjourned Saturday evening whether delegates had voted to approve the party’s full 30-page platform. Among the platform’s 331 planks: a resolution censuring retiring state Rep. Byron Cook, a Corsicana Republican aligned with the more moderate wing of the party.
Ahead of the convention’s official Thursday kickoff, delegates spent a few days in committee shaping the party platform and legislative priorities. Delegates approved the party’s rules that morning with little drama.
