Abbott, Davis spar over equal pay bill, law firm
The candidates for Texas governor sparred over two separate issues Tuesday, with Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis insisting her opponent won’t commit to solidifying gender pay equality into state law and Republican state Attorney General Greg Abbott firing back that Davis’ law firm might have profited from her work in the Legislature.
Davis co-sponsored a bill last year ensuring that Texas law mirrored gender wage protections from the 2009 federal Lilly Ledbetter Act. The Texas measure passed with bipartisan support, but outgoing Gov. Rick Perry vetoed it, saying federal statues made state law on the subject repetitive.
Davis rejects that argument, saying it would have allowed women more flexibility to sue in state courts and avoid lengthier and costlier federal discrimination cases. Abbott, meanwhile, says separate state statutes already prohibit gender discrimination, and he has refused to say if he’d veto a similar state Ledbetter Act as governor.
“Greg Abbott is all about keeping Texas in the past,” Davis said Tuesday during a media conference call.
More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/abbott-davis-spar-over-equal-pay-bill-law-firm/nd97R/ .