AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has added two additional items to the agenda for the third special session of the 87th Texas Legislature.
In a message to the secretary of state Wednesday, Abbott laid out two additional items to be added to legislators' plate this special session that he said will "lower property taxes and keep Texans safe."
The first item aims to provide property-tax relief for Texans, but doesn't go into more detail.
The second item is also vague. It proposes a constitutional amendment that would give magistrates the ability to deny bail under some circumstances to people who are accused of certain violent, sexual or trafficking offenses.
With these two additional items, legislators are currently working through a total of five items, including redistricting maps based on the 2020 Census for the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, the State Board of Education and the U.S. House of Representatives.
The agenda includes these five other items, as stated in a release from the governor’s office:
- Legislation relating to the apportionment of the State of Texas into districts used to elect members of the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, the State Board of Education, and the United States House of Representatives.
- Legislation providing appropriations from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Pub. L. No. 117-2.
- Legislation identical to Senate Bill 29 as passed by the Texas Senate in the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, disallowing a student from competing in University Interscholastic League athletic competitions designated for the sex opposite to the student's sex at birth.
- Legislation regarding whether any state or local governmental entities in Texas can mandate that an individual receive a COVID-19 vaccine and, if so, what exemptions should apply to such mandate.
- Legislation similar to Senate Bill 474 as passed by the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, but that addresses the concerns expressed in the governor's veto statement.
This is the fourth time this year Texas lawmakers convened at the Capitol.
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