Gov. Abbott Sets July 8th For Special Legislative Session

Gov. Abbott has finally set a date for the anticipated special session, and that’s only a couple of weeks away: July 8th. The session will focus on passing the voting restrictions bill.

The Republican Governor had pledged to call for a special session after Democratic lawmakers staged an 11th-hour walkout last month, delaying the GOP’s effort to overhaul the state’s election systems and delaying other G.O.P. legislative priorities.

Abbott’s office did not specify which other topics would be on the special session agenda, but stated in an advisory that such items “will be announced prior to the convening of the special session.” 

Although one topic that we can expect to be on the agenda is critical race theory, it was only last week that the governor stated that he wanted state lawmakers to further target the issue in the forthcoming special session.

Democrats and other social advocacy groups have called for issues related to the expansions of healthcare and fixing the power grid to be added to the session, but knowing Abbott there’s little to no chance of those topics appearing on the agenda.