Texas governor calls second special session for GOP's push to change election laws
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announced a new special legislative session to begin Aug. 7 at noon, the day after the current special session is set to expire, as Republicans continue their push to enact new election regulations following the 2020 elections.
Abbott's 17-item agenda includes a slate of bills including subjects like critical race theory, bail reform and education legislation that would ensure mask wearing and Covid-19 vaccinations are not mandatory. But the main item is elections legislation. Republicans have been pushing a bill for months that would roll back voting practices championed by blue counties during the pandemic, as well as adding restrictions on mail voting and putting new criminal penalties in place that would affect poll workers.
Texas state House Democrats broke quorum in July, during the first special session, over the proposals to restrict voting rights, denying Republicans the ability to pass the bill. The Democrats fled to Washington, D.C., to meet with a range of elected officials and garner support for laws with stronger protections.
Since they left, Abbott and other state Republicans have blasted the Democrats’ plan to run out the clock on the current session and voting legislation on the table. Abbott repeatedly said he would call “special session after special session” to continue discussing items on the legislature’s agenda.
Indeed, Democrats can't kill the Republican bill; they can only delay it. And the Texas Democrats in Washington have said that they won't be able to remain out of Texas forever, meaning that Republicans would eventually be able to get the quorum they need to pass the bill with their legislative majorities.
Abbott also added “legislation relating to legislative quorum requirements” to the list of items under consideration for the special session. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Republican leader of the state Senate, has previously requested that the quorum limit in the state legislature be moved down to a simple majority plus one — which would prevent a minority caucus from blocking legislation via quorum-breaking in the future.
