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Texas lawmakers work through end of session as several key bills remain unresolved

Texas lawmakers are in the final stretch to get their priorities onto Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's desk.

TEXAS, USA — Monday is the last day for the 88th Texas Legislative session, but there's still a lot of work to do as time runs out.

Several of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's key priorities have not been passed, including reduced property taxes for homeowners, border security, and school choice. With no compromises in sight, a special session appears likely.

Two big items that did pass were Senate Bill 1933 and 1750. Those bills would remove the Harris County elections administrator position and transfer election duties to other county leaders. Senator Paul Bettencourt, who represents most of west Harris County, authored the bill.

"Between both bills, what they do is basically return the elections back to the elected officials that used to run elections in Harris County," Bettencourt said. "And this provides oversight if there's ever any future problems of the magnitude we saw in 2022 in Harris County."

Meanwhile, Harris County leaders said they plan to sue if Abbott signs the measure into law.

House Bill 3

A school safety bill to send more money for safety upgrades was also passed.

House Bill 3 requires "armed security" at every Texas school and will also provide mental health training for certain district employees. The bill passed by a final vote of 93-49.

House Bill 5

An economic incentives package that would help lure large companies to the Lone Star State is also headed to Abbott's desk.

According to the Texas Tribune, a compromise was reached more than 18 hours after the deadline as lawmakers then rushed to suspend the rules to send the bill to the governor.

Senate Bill 3

Abbott made cutting property taxes for homeowners a cornerstone of his reelection campaign. He pledged to use half of what's now the largest budget surplus in the state's history, $32.7 billion, for tax cuts.

That promise appears dead for now as lawmakers continue to toil over how to dole out the new tax cuts. There have also been ongoing disagreements about the state's cap on annual increases to a home's taxable value.

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