AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott will convene a special session of the Texas Legislature starting July 8, he announced Tuesday, making good on his promise to bring lawmakers back to the Capitol this year.
Abbott will release agenda items prior to the special session, his office said.
The announcement is unsurprising, coming just weeks after Abbott promised to include priority items that weren't passed in the regular session. Thus far, he's listed only two of those issues: changes to election law and to the bail system.
Democrats successfully blocked Senate Bill 7 in the regular session, a comprehensive measure that GOP leaders said was needed to bolster flagging confidence in election results.
Abbott moved quickly to deflate the Democratic victory, announcing that efforts to improve "election integrity" will return when he calls a special session.
The governor also made bail reform a priority for the Legislature, but the bill died after Democrats' broke quorum for the elections bill.
House Bill 20 would have denied personal bonds, which do not require cash, for those charged with violent or sexual crimes and those charged with a felony while free on bond. It also would have required judges to be informed about a defendant's criminal history, and take that information into account, before setting bail.
But many Democrats were happy to see HB 20 blocked, arguing that it would criminalize poverty by allowing freedom only for those who could afford a money bond.
Abbott dropped another hint last week when he signed into law House Bill 3979, which limits how race can be discussed in Texas classrooms. The governor called the bill a "strong move to abolish critical race theory in Texas" but added that more needs to be done.
"The issue will be added to a special session agenda," he said at the time.
Supporters say critical race theory seeks an honest exploration of how racism shaped America, but many conservatives see it as a divisive effort to drive a wedge between people of color and white Americans.
Texas lawmakers already were set to come back to the Capitol later this year for redistricting, which was postponed by data delays from the U.S. Census Bureau. Abbott has said he foresees a second special session to handle the redrawing of district boundaries for the Texas House and Senate, U.S. House and State Board of Education.
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