Wrap Up of the Third Called Special Session
The Third Special Called Session of the 87th Legislature adjourned Sine Die on October 18, 2021. While there are rumors of a possible fourth special session in January, a statement by the Lieutenant Governor indicated that lawmakers will not be back for the rest of 2021, and a statement by the Speaker also indicated that the 87th Legislature might finally be done for the year. Initially, a fourth special session looked imminent over redistricting the Congressional maps. However, the outside influence of various candidates running for office encouraged lawmakers in the legislative branch to complete the work to avoid another special session where the executive branch might continue to add additional items to the call.
Items on the Call for the 3rd Special Session
On September 7, Governor Abbott called a third special session to begin on September 20. The Governor then added items to the call on four different occasions. The items on the call are paraphrased for brevity, but may be found in their entirety at the Legislative Reference Library.
- Redistricting (9/7/21)
- Appropriating funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (9/7/21)
- Trans children playing sports in public school (9/7/21)
- Regulating vaccine mandates by state and local governments (9/7/21)
- Unlawful restraint of a dog (9/7/21)
- Property tax reductions (9/22/21)
- Prohibiting bail in certain cases (9/22/21)
- Increasing criminal penalties for illegal voting (9/30/21)
- Prohibiting vaccine mandates by any entity including private employers (10/11/21)
- Higher education funding (10/15/21)
Passed
Redistricting: HB 1, SB 4, SB 7, and SB 6
Every decade, the spectre of redistricting looms over a legislative session as political futures are advanced, maintained, or ended. Legislators pick their voters and draw districts so that approximately 95 percent of the seats in the Texas Legislature effectively are decided in the party primary. Relatively, the maps for the State Board of Education are the least controversial and SB 7 passed. Normally, the House and the Senate draw their own maps and then defer to the other chamber when the bill arrives. In rather dramatic fashion, however, the doors to both chambers were opened so that each chamber could see the other one pass HB 1 and SB 4 simultaneously. Finally, the prospect of avoiding a fourth special session motivated lawmakers to pass SB 6—the Congressional maps.
Budgetary Items: SB 8, SB 52, SB 1, and SJR 2
The American Rescue Plan Act provided additional federal funds to the states due to COVID-19 much like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act after the economic crisis of 2008. SB 52 used a portion of the funds to underwrite $3.3 billion in bonds for capital projects at institutions of higher education. SB 8 added $7 billion to the Texas Unemployment Compensation Fund; $2.4 billion to the Department of State Health Services for expenses related to COVID-19; and $500 million for broadband infrastructure. SB8 also spread hundreds of millions across various state agencies for a variety of purposes. Finally, SB 1 and SJR 2 increased the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000, which will provide a reduction in property taxes for those fortunate enough to own homes. This compromise between the House and Senate happened quickly in a matter of hours, and it is unclear how it would be paid for assuming voters approve it. In 2015, when the Legislature raised it from $15,000 to $25,000, it cost the state $1.5 billion to reimburse school districts for the lost revenue.
Trans children in school sports: HB 25
HB 25 will require school children to compete on the sports team that corresponds to the gender assigned at the time of the child’s birth. In practicality, a child identifying as transgender will be forced out of sports or made to reveal private medical information. Previous versions of the bill distinguished between gender identities and infants born intersex. However, the version finally passed makes no such distinction and ignores a biological fact known since antiquity. There are no know incidents of cisgender girls being disadvantaged by competing alongside transgender girls in Texas. On which team a transgender athlete should compete is a question for medical science, and there were no known problems with the existing UIL policy.
Unlawful restraint of a dog: SB 5
SB 5 makes it a misdemeanor if a dog is restrained outside and various conditions such as shelter and potable water are not met.
Failed
Bail
In the 2nd Special Session, the Legislature passed SB 6 which reworked how bail is set in criminal cases in Texas. SJR 1 was a second attempt to amend the Texas Constitution to deny the right to bail to certain defendants. SJR 1 failed in the 3rd Special Session as similar legislation did in the 2nd Special Session.
Elections
The forces of voter suppression were not satisfied after the passage of SB 1 in the Second Special Session. In SB 1, the Legislature substantially reworked two criminal offenses. The reworking increased the number of offenses prosecutors and the Attorney General could use to pursue criminal charges against a person, but reduced the penalties from felonies to misdemeanors. SB 1 was reviewed by lawyers for the House, the Senate, the Attorney General’s Office, and Governor’s Office. In the Third Special Session, the forces of voter suppression rewrote history. They claimed that the Legislature reduced penalties for voter fraud. Additionally, the former President of the United States called on Texas to conduct an Arizona-style audit of the 2020 election. The Governor responded in a matter of hours announcing that an audit of four counties was already underway by the Secretary of State, and added increasing criminal penalties for voter fraud to the call. The Senate passed SB 10, which would have increased those criminal penalties, and passed SB 47, which would have audited the 2020 election despite audits not being on the call. The House, however, did not cave to the political pressure despite threats from the former President of the United States to primary the Speaker of the House. SB 10 died in committee without a hearing, and SB 47 was not referred to a committee since it was outside the call.
Vaccine Mandates
In the waning days of the 3rd Special Session, the Governor announced an executive order prohibiting any entity, including churches and other private employers, from having employment policies that require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID. The Governor also added prohibiting those employment practices to the call of the 3rd Special Session. The House and Senate both held hearings on HB 155 and SB 51. Both bills were strongly opposed by a broad coalition of businesses in the state. Neither bill advanced out of committee. However, efforts are underway to pressure the Governor to have a Fourth Special Session.