The special session will address a laundry list of failed conservative priorities.
Austin, Texas – Today, Governor Greg Abbott called for a special session that will begin on July 18. After Texas Medical Board sunset legislation passes the Texas Senate, the governor called on the legislature to take up a number of conservative priorities that have failed to gain traction in the Texas Legislature.
State Representative Eddie Rodriguez issued the following statement regarding the call for a special session:
“The Texas Legislature wasted its time in the 85th Legislative Session on Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s misplaced, extreme policy priorities, and he remains behind the steering wheel.
“The items described by Governor Abbott in today’s announcement go even further than the lieutenant governor’s wish-list. Abbott conceded to Patrick’s threat and moved further to the right, apparently hoping to establish his radical Republican credentials over those of his political rival.
“But the governor’s announcement was sadly just political theatre. He used important issues like school finance and special education reform as shabby pretext for advancing an extreme conservative agenda over substantive policy that would benefit all Texans.
“The list of items the governor laid out is largely comprised of bills that we considered in the 85th Legislative Session but did not pass, despite overwhelming Republican majorities in both the Texas House and Senate. The reason the bills died while other misguided conservative priorities advanced is simple: even my Republican colleagues recognize that they make for terrible public policy.
“The governor needs to set politics aside and put the interests of everyday Texans first.”