Abbott asks House, Senate to form special committees to study school violence, Perry appointed

Stopping short of calling the Legislature back to Austin for a special session, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday asked House and Senate leaders to form special committees to study school safety and mass violence. District 28 state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, was appointed to one of those committees.

The committees, Abbott said, should focus on five topics — school safety, mental health, social media, police training and firearm safety — to make recommendations for action by the Legislature and governor's office designed to prevent future school shootings.

"As Texans mourn the tragedy that occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde last week, we as a State must reassess the twin issues of school safety and mass violence," Abbott said in letters to House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the state Senate.

Late Wednesday, Patrick released a list of members he appointed to the so-called Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans, which includes Perry and 10 other state senators.

"I thank Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for his continued trust in my ability to serve on committees dealing with the hard issues of today's times we are living. Unfortunately, this is all too familiar, having served on a previous safety panel," Perry said in an emailed statement Thursday. "The committee is comprised of members that will leave no stone unturned to better understand what went wrong. Clearly, well-established protocols were not followed that should have prevented the shooter from being in the building. I wish I could say with certainty that it will never happen again, but this is not the world we live in."

Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, will chair the committee. Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, will serve as co-vice chairs. Other members of the senate committee are Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston; Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury; Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels; Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Tyler; Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas;

and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.

"The committee members … represent a cross section of school districts and communities of all sizes across the state," Patrick said in a statement. He added he expects the House and Senate committees to meet on June 23 or shortly after.

Democrats have been pushing Abbott to call a special session devoted to finding solutions to gun violence, particularly in schools, while Abbott and other GOP leaders have adopted a more measured approach, saying it makes sense to wait until the Texas Rangers and federal investigators complete probes into the Uvalde shooting and the police response to it.

"Not enough," state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, said on Twitter, adding that while the Legislature should meet to discuss solutions, no action can be taken if lawmakers are not in session.

"Anyone can call for a committee," said Beto O'Rourke, Abbott's Democratic opponent in the November election. "Only a governor can call a special session. Do your job."

The Legislature's regular session begins in January, and Texas school students begin returning to classes in August.

Mike Collier, Patrick's Democratic opponent in the November election, said lawmakers must be allowed to act before classes resume.

"We don't need more letters, committees or roundtables — our children need action," Collier said. "Anything less than a special session is an insult to every parent who has lost a child to gun violence."

But state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano — who has called for a special session, but only after investigations into the Uvalde school shooting yield results — endorsed Abbott's action Wednesday.

"This is absolutely the right step," Leach said on Twitter. "Legislative committees should be convened to discuss and deliberate on these issues in public and to make recommendations to the entire" Legislature.

Abbott also directed the Texas School Safety Center, a Texas State University program that serves as a clearinghouse for school security information, to review safety procedures at public schools.

The center also should conduct campus safety inspections, including "unannounced, random intruder detection audits on school districts," Abbott said.

A progress report is due at the Legislature by Oct. 1.

There are more than 1,000 school districts and 9,000 campuses in Texas.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Abbott asks House and Senate to form special committees to study school violence