At the end of a Thursday press gaggle in Fort Worth, Gov. Greg Abbott made clear he was none too pleased with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s attempt to publicly pressure him into ordering the Texas Legislature to work overtime through June to force through red-meat, right-wing legislation that died in the Texas House.
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
sine die – the final day of the regular session of Texas’ 87th Legislature.
Many expected the focus of this session to rest heavily on issues that dominated 2020 like the pandemic, and police reform in the wake of racial justice movements triggered in part by the murder of George Floyd. Texans also expected big moves to fix the electric grid after February’s devastating winter storms and power outages.
But once lawmakers finalized the state’s budget, they moved toward more “red meat” items that appealed to a more conservative base of voters, says James Barragán, political reporter for The Texas Tribune.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blasted the House on the Senate floor for not passing three conservative-led bills, blaming the chamber for taking time off during the session.
By failing to hear a critical bill before a Senate deadline to pass certain legislation, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick may force lawmakers to come back for a special legislative session this summer.
Only Gov. Greg Abbott can call a special session, but by neglecting to pass a bill that extends the life of state agencies, Patrick essentially signed a death warrant for the regulating agency for Texas law enforcement. That is, unless Abbott is able to find a creative way to push back the agency’s abolition date on his own or calls lawmakers back to fix it.
If they get Patrick’s blessing, legislators could also tweak another bill this week to allow for the agency’s survival.