AUSTIN, Texas — The first special session ended Friday, and round two kicks of Saturday.
So what topics did Gov. Greg Abbott put on the call?
He wants lawmakers to pass bills on all the items from the first special session, including election reform and bail reform. He also added six new topics. Notably, he put COVID-19 and education on the agenda, with a mention to making bans on mask mandates law.
It's been 25 days since Texas House Democrats broke quorum and traveled to Washington, D.C., to prevent a vote on the controversial election reform bill. On Friday, they claimed victory in killing that bill.
"Yes, we've managed to run the clock out on the first special session but we are not naive to think we have won the war and our jobs are done because tomorrow we will face new challenges with a new battle,” said Rep. Nicole Collier.
The lawmakers also recognized that Friday is the 56th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act becoming law, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. They held a rally at the Texas Capitol Friday evening:
Some Democrat lawmakers still in Washington, D.C., joined the rally virtually.
"If there's anything we're missing, we're missing you in Texas," State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) said.
"We have real issues that we really need to be working on," State Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas) said. "Sadly enough, the Republicans have decided they don't care about the people. They started with this stupid voting bill."
State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Dripping Springs) added that the current Democrat walkout has been a "resounding success."
"We killed the voter suppression bill. We also are now seeing real movement in Congress towards passing meaningful protections for the freedom to vote," Zwiener said.
Gov. Abbott said he will continue to call special sessions until election reform is passed.
Also on Friday, Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Speaker Dade Phelan, Senate Finance Committee Chair Jane Nelson, and House Appropriations Chair Dr. Greg Bonnen announced an additional month of funding for the Texas Legislature ahead of the second session. The current budget will fund the legislature through Aug. 31.
"Texans should not have to pay for Legislators who quit their jobs and leave unfinished business," said Gov. Abbott. "Today, funding is being temporarily restored for Legislative staff that will be necessary to pass critical legislation on the call, including COVID-19 funding for healthcare, strategies for public school education during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing property tax relief, funding our retired teachers, protecting our foster children, and securing the border."
"As lieutenant governor of Texas and joint-chair of the Legislative Budget Board, I was never going to let the irresponsible runaway Democrats take paychecks and benefits away from our capitol staff who work hard every day for the people of Texas," said Lt. Gov. Patrick.
"As a former legislative staff member, I know firsthand the dedication of those who work for elected officials and our legislative agencies," said Speaker Phelan. "Chairman Greg Bonnen and I worked with Lt. Gov. Patrick, Chair Nelson, and the Texas House and Senate to extend funding for salaries and benefits for those individuals who devote significant time and energy in service of our great state. Every constituent in Texas deserves leaders who will fight for them in Austin and the Texas House will deliver real results for the people of Texas during the second special session."
"We care deeply about our staff, and this action will prevent any interruptions of their salaries or benefits during our deliberations," said Nelson. "This is a temporary extension, which can be made permanent if legislators will show up to work in the special session."
"The Texas House of Representatives, Speaker Phelan, and I care deeply for our legislative staffers who serve the State of Texas," said Dr. Bonnen. "With the help of Lt. Gov. Patrick, Chair Nelson, and our colleagues in the Senate, we identified a solution to address the needs of our staff who support us and our constituents year-round. However, commonsense Texans know that long-term fixes require that our absent colleagues get back to work so we can pass Article X of the budget to fully fund our staff and other legislative agencies."
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