AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A small group of Texas House Republicans got in each other’s faces during a brief but intense exchange after the chamber passed a contentious property tax bill.
The House voted Monday to require local governments to hold elections if property taxes increase by 6 percent, letting voters possibly “rollback” such increases. The state Senate has already approved elections for property tax increases of at least 4 percent.
Afterward, about five Republicans gathered and exchanged words on the House floor, arguing the bill’s conservative merits.
The incident wasn’t as chaotic as the one in May, when a House floor scuffle followed an immigration protest. Then, a Republican lawmaker accused one Democrat of assaulting him and said he told another he would defend himself with a gun after that lawmaker allegedly threatened him.
It’s the second time this year that a fight broke out on the House floor during a protest over the “sanctuary cities” bill, which eventually became law.
This incident wasn’t as chaotic as the one in May, when a brawl broke out following an immigration protest. Tensions escalated when Representative Mike Rinaldi (R-Irving) told a lawmaker that he called ICE on the protesters.
Rinaldi later accused a Democrat of assault and allegedly threatened to shoot another lawmaker after that person allegedly threatened him.
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