USA - Texas. A House Committee voted 5-2 to send HB 3846 to the full House. The legislation would keep secret the names of the drugs supplyers

The House Government Transparency and Operation Committee voted 5-2 to send House Bill 3846 to the full House for consideration. The legislation would keep secret the names and addresses of manufacturers and suppliers of the drugs the state uses to execute death row inmates. The measure, which Rep. John Smithee (R) filed shortly before the March 13 bill-filing deadline, is expected to pass easily in the 150-member chamber because Republicans outnumber Democrats almost 2-1. Next week, the Senate is also expected to approve a similar bill that state Sen. Joan Huffman, (R), filed shortly before the bill-filing deadline. There is a sense of urgency to pass the proposed legislation because it is a bill the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — a former House member and state senator — and Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the agency in charge of state executions, asked Smithee to carry. In early April, American Pharmacists Association adopted a policy of not supplying pentobarbital to Texas and seven other states that use it for the death penalty. Adding to the sense of urgency, the Department of Criminal Justice said at the end of March that the agency had only enough dosages for its April executions. If the bill passes with at least a two-thirds vote in each chamber, it would become law immediately. Otherwise, it would become effective Sept. 1.