Leadership tensions, potential special session loom as Texas legislative session hits uncertain end
Texas Tribune
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From left, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan.
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The 2021 Texas legislative session is heading into its final weekend fraught with uncertainty and tension between the two chambers that could lead to a special session.
After three of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priorities effectively died Tuesday night in the House, the Senate presiding officer called for a special session to pass them, jolting the final several days of a session that was already on track to be the most conservative in recent memory. The last day of the session is Monday, and procedural deadlines have been increasingly cutting off opportunities to hash out key issues.
Elzie Ford lost power in his freezing home for nearly a week during February's catastrophic blackouts in Texas. By the time the 68-year-old widower was
The Lege This Week: Bitterness and Brinkmanship
Amid the theatrics that consumed the final full week of session, lawmakers still haven’t finalized much of their already-lackluster winter storm response.
The Texas State Capitol Building during the 87th Legislative Session at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. Matthew Busch
Amid the theatrics that consumed the final full week of session, lawmakers still haven’t finalized much of their already-lackluster winter storm response.
The Texas State Capitol Building during the 87th Legislative Session at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. Matthew Busch
Texas Observer Staff
May 28, 2021, 9:25 am CST
Welcome to the 87th Legislative Session. Since the last session came to a close in June 2019, Texas has been hit by an unrestrained pandemic and a crippling economic crisis and now the fallout from deadly blackouts. Under unprecedented circumstances, lawmakers are faced with a number of urgent challenges. The