Bard spotting thread 02 July 2024

Bardfinn:

"IANAL IANYL ATINLA and I'm not Reddit's lawyer. This is just me, griping —

I read the Texas law, TXHB20, when it was proposed and when it was adopted.

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/872/billtext/html/HB00020F.htm

It has a section, Section 8, which I call the Hydra.

> Section 8. (a) … it is the intent of the legislature that every provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act, are severable from each other.

> (b) If any application of any provision in this Act to any

person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be

invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining applications of that

provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be severed

and may not be affected. All constitutionally valid applications

of this Act shall be severed from any applications that a court

finds to be invalid, leaving the valid applications in force,

because it is the legislature's intent and priority that the valid

applications be allowed to stand alone.

Etc, etc. it has many other clauses in that section all to the effect of "if a court leaves so much as an atom of this law in place, we intend to use it, now and in the future".

IMO it's the real payload of the bill, and it's a definitive signal that they will not give up on this power grab until it's entirely disallowed.

That's what that section says: They're not throwing in the towel on this. Ever."

Link: reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/1dtr46l/update_to_defending_the_open_internet_again_what/lbbo8ih/