Texas State Senator Kel Seliger voted against SB 3, during Senate proceedings on Thursday.
Senate Bill 3, which has widely become known as the "school choice bill," was hotly debated in the Texas Senate. The bill, if passed into law, would create two separate programs subsidizing private school education and home school expenses, according to the Texas Tribune. The first program under the bill would create education saving accounts, while the second would create a tax credit scholarship program.
The bill, authored by Senator Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood), received the support of most Republicans in the Senate. The only Republican senators voting against the bill were Senators Seliger, Joan Huffman (Houston), and Robert Nichols (Jacksonville). Senator Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) was the only Democrat that voted in favor of the bill.
Seliger discussed his reasoning for voting against the bill on Twitter, saying, "This week I voted against SB 3. Many claim this vote is anti-school choice but listen to my statements for the real reason I voted against."
In the end, the bill passed the Texas Senate, by a margin of 18-13.
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