The special session of the Texas Legislature has come and gone, for one chamber at least. Now the House Speaker, Lieutenant Governor and Governor are duking it out on social media.
Lawmakers started the special session on Tuesday that was called for by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to address property taxes and border security, specifically migrant smuggling.
Almost immediately, it looked like House Speaker Dade Phelan and members of the Texas house wanted to get things done fast.
The House passed a bill that would redirect $12.3 billion in budget surplus to lower property taxes. They also passed a measure that would increase the minimum sentence for someone convicted of smuggling people illegally across the US border through Texas to at least 10 years in prison, under state law.
The House then adjourned.
Also Tuesday, the Texas Senate passed SB 1, a bill that would lower property tax rates and expand the homestead exemption. The current homestead exemption allows homeowners to deduct $40,000 from their home value before paying school district taxes.
Then the senate adjourned uintil Friday.
But now if senators don't decide to change course and support the House bill, because the house has already adjourned, Governor Abbott would need another special session to get both sides back to the table.
On twitter, all sides were lobbing jabs at each other overnight. Governor Abbott says he supports the house measure and that he's prepared to call special session after special session until lawmakers pass the best property tax relief bill for Texans.
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