AUSTIN, Texas — Lawmakers in Austin won’t be going home for at least the next 30 days after Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session to address property taxes and border security.
Abbott’s proclamation for the special legislative session was signed at 9 p.m. on Monday. While special sessions are nothing new In Texas, UTSA political scientist Jon Taylor admits he was surprised by the timing of the announcement.
“The only surprise was one, how quick it was and two, when he said there was going to be multiple special sessions. I don’t think I ever recall seeing a governor say that before,” Taylor said.
Abbott praised several bills he plans on soon signing into law: from ending COVID-era restrictions and mandates to prosecuting certain fentanyl deaths as murder to enhancing school safety.
Taylor pointed to one of the highly divisive bills that originally was worded to target specific members of the LGBTQ community.
“We’ve seen obviously a push to engage in certain kinds of socially conservative issues that are really read meats such as drag shows,” Taylor said.
Lawmakers will tackle property taxes “by reducing the school district maximum compressed tax rate in order to provide lasting property tax relief for Texas taxpayers,” according to a press release from Abbott’s office.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spoke during a policy forum Tuesday morning, reflecting on the 88th Texas Legislature while also looking ahead to the special session. He stressed there's been an absence of cooperation and communication as it relates to the Texas House's leadership passing certain bills.
“I want to talk about property taxes,” Patrick said. “Homeowners in this state deserve real property tax cuts and that’s a combination of compression and homestead exemptions.”
The other major item Austin politicians are tasked with is border security with a focus on “enhancing the penalties for certain criminal conduct involving the smuggling of persons or the operation of a stash house,’ according to the governor’s office.
“Dealing with human trafficking among other things, but this is a governor that’s spent already $4.5 to $5 billion on border security and this will end up being most likely highlighting his differences not just with the democrats of the state but with President Biden.”
On Tuesday, Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez sent a letter to Abbott and Patrick, demanding the special session also include action on gun safety. Gutierrez has been a prominent advocate of Uvalde families impacted by the Robb Elementary shooting where 19 children and two teachers died May 24, 2022. Efforts to raise the age to buy assault-style rifles from 18 to 21 failed in this year’s legislative session.
“The Uvalde families carried the memory of their lost children to the Capitol seeking solutions to end gun violence in Texas,” Gutierrez said. “They were ignored. To our collective shame, this Legislature failed to take any meaningful steps to impede the flow of dangerous weapons in this State. Texans are demanding that we do something. We must act now. There is no more important issue facing this Legislature than ending the gun violence epidemic in Texas.”