It remains unclear whether or not Gov. Abbott will call a second special session.
Austin, Texas – Tonight, the Texas House of Representatives adjourned sine die following a lengthy and contentious debate on school finance reform.
Eddie Rodriguez
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez issued the following statement regarding the special session:
“Like his tenure in office, Governor Greg Abbott’s first special session was bad for Texas.
“The only thing the Texas Legislature accomplished was passing the sunset legislation that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick killed during the regular session to force Abbott’s hand in the first place.
“What we saw tonight was an embarrassing example of the current state of Texas politics. Despite months of hard work by the House Committee on Public Education and a final product passed by a large bipartisan majority of the body, the Senate took every deliberative school finance reform bill we sent to them and returned them in the worst form possible.
“The special session does not leave Texas better than we found it. We’ve gone through this charade at a cost of over $1,000,000 to Texas taxpayers, and we must not make the mistake of coming back for a second.
“Gov. Abbott’s first-called special session was perfectly designed to flop and that’s exactly what happened. It’s time for the members of the legislature to return home to our constituents and give important issues we’ve put off for too long the serious consideration they deserve during the interim and beyond.”