Abbott calls second special session as first round ends with Democrats still out of state

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With the Texas House still frozen by Democrats’ absence from the state, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday called a second special session to begin less than two hours after the Legislature gaveled out the first overtime round.

The second session is set to consider virtually the same agenda that stalled in the first, with redistricting and disaster response at the top of the governor’s priorities. As in the first session, Abbott called on lawmakers to also tackle stricter regulations on consumable hemp products, property tax relief and eliminating the STAAR test, along with a host of socially conservative measures.

“Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,” Abbott said in a statement. “We will not back down from this fight. That’s why I am calling them back today to finish the job. I will continue to use all necessary tools to ensure Texas delivers results for Texans.”

Most Democrats had not yet returned to Austin on Friday, again denying the House the quorum needed to conduct business on the first day of the second session.

After gaveling in the second special session, Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said he expected a quorum to be restored Monday, and for the House to complete Abbott's agenda, "and even some more," by Labor Day weekend. He said the House would move quickly next week to advance the governor's priorities, including "a strong pro-life bill" and legislation to "protect women's spaces," a reference to the so-called "bathroom bill" that would require people to only use restrooms in government buildings and schools that match their sex assigned at birth.

During the first special session, the Texas Senate approved legislation cracking down on the manufacturing and distribution of abortion pills, similar to a proposal that stalled in a House committee during the regular session.

Immediately after the Senate adjourned Friday, the upper chamber's State Affairs Committee began consideration of eight bills, including the abortion pill measure, the bathroom bill, a ban on THC products and a prohibition on cities using public funds to hire lobbyists. The Senate passed all of those bills during the first special session.

At the same time, the House moved Friday to reissue civil arrest warrants for absent Democrats, with Burrows directing state law enforcement to bring to the Capitol any missing Democrats found within state lines. He added that absent members would be responsible for any state costs incurred by the walkout.

“Those who have refused to make quorum, I'm sure you're missing home," Burrows said from the dais Friday. "Do not think you have permission to return to Texas and enjoy a peaceful weekend before finally showing up to work."

Democrats indicated that they were likely to return soon, saying in a Thursday statement that they would come back to the state after the first special session adjourned and California introduced a new congressional map designed to offset the GOP gains built into Texas’ draft map. Texas senators, meanwhile, moved quickly to advance the map again during the second special session, scheduling a Sunday committee hearing that would lay the groundwork for the full chamber to pass the new district lines next week.

“Democrats fought back ferociously and took the fight to Trump across America," Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said Thursday. “We will return to the House floor and to the courthouse with a clear message: the fight to protect voting rights has only just begun.”

Democrats presented their walkout as a success for sinking the first special session and prompting blue states across the country to consider retaliatory redistricting. And they lambasted Abbott for continuing to pursue the unusual mid-decade redistricting plan, arguing that Republicans were prioritizing the effort to pad the GOP’s slim majority in the U.S. House — as demanded by President Donald Trump — over victims of the July 4 floods.

The governor, who controls the agenda for overtime legislative sessions, again directed lawmakers to take up legislation on flood warning systems, emergency communications, natural disaster preparation and relief funding for impacted areas. He added a new item — "legislation to ensure and enhance youth camp safety" — after lawmakers filed a number of bills during the first special session that touched on camper disaster drills, improving camp emergency plans and providing life jackets in cabins, among other measures. The victims of the July 4 floods included 27 campers and counselors at storied Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River.

On Friday, Democrats continued to call on Abbott to send the remaining $70 million in the state’s disaster fund to areas of the Hill Country and beyond affected by the floods.

"It is time that leadership stop playing politics and start actually working for the people of Texas," Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, said during a news conference Friday morning. Johnson later announced she would return to Texas "to continue the fight — from the floor of the House."

Abbott’s office has said that the $70 million total, in addition to the $150 million set to go into that fund Sept. 1, must be stretched across the next two years, adding that only the Legislature may appropriate new funds for disaster relief.

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