“The communication line, after I gave the order early in the evening, broke down,” he tells me. “And that will not happen the next time.”

He says the Department of Public Safety is prepared to evict protesters from committee rooms or from the gallery if they impede the legislative process.

Right now, it looks like the legislation will be on the floor of the Senate on Monday July 1, and might be heard in committee as early as Monday July 8. It will probably be voted on on the floor of the Senate by the end of the week of the eighth, though that vote could come later.

According to tea-party activist Katrina Pierson, Dewhurst has drawn criticism from some pro-life activists for the Senate’s failure to pass the legislation.

“They felt like it was weak leadership on his part,” Pierson says. “This should have been done, period. That’s why they’re going back again to get it done. SB5 will get passed.”