On Lubbock radio host Chad Hasty’s program, Abbott said that in addition to the planned fall special session to complete the redistricting process and appropriate American Rescue Plan Act funding — slated for September or October — another will be called before then to pass election integrity and bail reform legislation.
Both of those priority bills faltered at the last minute during the regular session.
The details of that impending additional session, whether its date or full scope of tasks, remain up in the air.
Abbott faced calls from state officials, including Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, to add a taxpayer-funded lobbying ban, big tech censorship legislation, and a bill requiring public school athletes to compete within their own biological sex to a special session directive.
Looking back on the most recent session, Abbott lauded the accomplishments, saying, “When you look at these landmark issues, it was a remarkable session.”
“All in all, you have to be amazed about what was passed and made it to my desk.”
Abbott, like many others, insists there is unfinished business.
About the failures, he added, “I’m not going to engage in ‘Monday morning quarterbacking,’ but I’ll treat this as halftime. We didn’t get this done in the first half, but we’ll get there in the second half.”
Outside of those two key issues, Abbott declined to specify what may find its way into his special session agenda — and specifically declined to comment when asked about inclusion of emergency powers reform that did not make it across the finish line.
There are over 1,000 bills left for the governor to consider that were passed by the legislature, on which his focus remains for the moment.
One such bill is constitutional carry, allowing Texans to concealed carry a sidearm without a permit. Abbott confirmed again that he will sign it but the date is to be determined.
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Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.
