Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today opened the door to the upcoming Special Session of the Texas Legislature by issuing a proclamation calling on lawmakers to reapprove several state boards, including the board that licenses physicians, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The proclamation opens the door to lawmakers to introduce bills that will be considered in the thirty day Special Session, which begins next week.
The bills must adhere to twenty topics Abbott issued in his 'call' for a Special Session last month. They include restricting transgender rights in public restrooms, limiting city and county tax increases, and coming up with a plan to fight Texas' maternal mortality rate, which is the highest in the country.
As soon as Abbott issued his proclamation, the bills started rolling in, and many of them are only slightly connected to the Governor's items.
For example...here are some of the bills which have already been introduced:
A bill that will prevent Regional Mobility Authorities from charging school buses highway tolls
Prohibiting homeowners associations from regulating or restricting religious displays
Preventing fraud in mail in ballots
Elect board members of appraisal districts
To allow school vouchers for private schools
To prevent school districts from enforcing 'discriminatory' bathroom policies which allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice.
A Constitutional Amendment to allow the Legislature to restrict the growth of property appraisals
Dipping into the state's 'rainy day fund' to pay for teacher pay raises
The Special Session, which begins July 18th, is set to last for thirty days, and the Governor can call additional Special Sessions at his discretion.
There have been rumblings that, in order to kill, specifically, laws restricting transgender restroom use, House Speaker Joe Straus may vote to simply adjourn the House, which is within his power.
There is also talk that we may see another example of the famous 'Killer B's,' with Democrats leaving the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to take action on the 'bathroom bill'