Are we headed for a special session?

Maybe. Who knows? We’ll find out soon enough.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday promised to make an announcement “later this week” on whether he will call a special session.

“I can tell you this, and that is when it gets to a special session, the time and the topics are solely up to the governor of the state of Texas, and we will be, if we have a special session, convening only on the topics that I choose at the time of my choosing,” Abbott told reporters after a bill-signing ceremony in Austin.

Monday is the last day of the regular session. Lawmakers still have not come to an agreement on property taxes and a “bathroom bill” that would regulate which restroom transgender Texans can use. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had named those issues priorities in the homestretch, and Patrick has pushed for a special session on them.

Asked how much pressure he felt from Patrick to call a special session, Abbott replied, “none.”

On Sunday, the House and Senate descended into finger-pointing over inaction on critical legislation needed to keep some state agencies from shuttering. Patrick has threatened to hold hostage the measure, known as a sunset safety net bill, if he does not get his way on property taxes and the bathroom issue.

“My biggest disappointment, of course, is the sunset bill did not pass,” Abbott said Monday. “This is something that is incredibly easy to achieve that members could’ve very easily gotten together and agreed upon but simply was not done.”

See this previous Trib story for some more of the details. Abbott’s gonna do what Abbott’s gonna do, and what he does will depend on what he thinks is best for himself. He’ll let us know what that is when he’s good and ready.

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2 Responses to Are we headed for a special session?

  1. General Grant says:

    The Sunset bill didn’t pass because of Dan Patrick. The most notable agency left hanging is the Texas Medical aboard. Patrick’s buddy Steve Hotze has been at war with the Medical Board for decades. I’m sure this is a complete coincidence.

  2. Joshua ben bullard says:

    Governor Abbott will NOT call a special session this year.repeat ,there is not going to be a special session this year.

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