 The bill failed to pass in the first session, and was refiled in a second session, in which the bill was defeated 62–79, after 50 amendments were added without discussion or debate.Late in 2005, to maximize the impact of a bipartisan education plan, Perry asked his former rival in the race for lieutenant governor, John Sharp—a former Texas State Comptroller and a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives—to head an education task force charged with preparing a bipartisan education plan.Sharp accepted Perry's offer and removed himself as a potential candidate for governor in 2006.