We’ll probably know something by the end of the day today, but beyond that who knows.
Gov. Greg Abbott seemed to get everything he wanted out of the Texas Legislature this year.
“Without a doubt, this is the best session I’ve ever had,” Abbott said during an interview with me last week.
After all, he finally got the private school vouchers and the bail reform he has long advocated for through the Legislature. And more property tax cuts passed are on their way — the issue he forced lawmakers into two special sessions over back in 2023.
But that doesn’t mean he’s ruled out calling legislators back to Austin to tackle more issue, depending on when he is asked.
When I talked to him on June 11, he said he didn’t see any need for a special session.
But two days later during a speech in Houston for the Harris County Republican Party’s Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner, Abbott hinted a special session may be needed because the Legislature didn’t pass a ban on cities, counties and school districts hiring lobbyists with taxpayer money to represent them at the Capitol.
“All I can say is we may not be done yet,” Abbott said, raising an issue that has struggled to gain traction in the Texas House for several sessions now.
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The taxpayer lobbying ban and redistricting are two potential reasons for a special. Plus, if Abbott were to veto Senate Bill 3, which would ban THC products in Texas starting in September, he could call lawmakers in to tailor the bill more narrowly. That issue has divided the GOP with THC users and retailers flooding Abbott’s office with demands that he veto SB 3.
Once more, with feeling: Greg Abbott will do what Greg Abbott thinks is best for Greg Abbott. There are no other considerations. He’s gonna do what he’s gonna do, and he’ll tell us when he’s ready to tell us. I personally think he likes being the center of attention every now and then. Not too often – he famously disappears when the Lege is in session, only popping up at the end to mumble something about vetoes – but once in awhile, when it suits him. Some people, you wonder what’s going on inside their heads, what makes them tick, why they do what they do. Greg Abbott’s interior monologue is I believe somewhere between a Denny’s menu and an episode of “Matlock”, the original edition. There’s nothing particularly interesting about it.
As to external factors, I don’t think anything is pointing clearly in one direction or the other. On redistricting, the Republican Congressional caucus sounds lukewarm for the most part, probably because they recognize that any attempt to stretch the map out could put some number of them at risk going forward. On the THC ban, in addition to poking Dan Patrick it’s not clear to me that there’s sufficient Republican support in the Senate to do an allow-but-restrict bill. They had that option in the regular session, and rejected it twice. There may well be an overall majority in the Senate for that approach, but a majority that is mostly Democrats will not be acceptable to Dan Patrick, so it may as well not exist. As for the bam on local governments paying for lobbyists, I mean they’re going to need to have something to do in 2027. I don’t see that being a big enough issue to make Republican legislators willing to spend a couple more weeks in Austin.
Again, though, this is about what Greg Abbott wants. Today is the deadline for signing or vetoing bills, so either SB3 becomes law (with or without Abbott’s autograph) or it gets canned. If he does veto it, then maybe that is the pretext for a special session. Or maybe not. Who the hell knows? Maybe by the end of the day today we’ll know something.