Both the Texas House and Texas Senate adjourned Thursday night, wrapping up their second special session of the summer a few days before the September 5th deadline. Lawmakers passed several bills that were priorities for Governor Greg Abbott.
"Thank you for your long hours and hard work for a regular and two specials," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told members of the Senate. "Landmark legislation has been passed this session, probably some of the most important legislation passed in the history of the Texas Senate.
The first special session was disrupted when many Democratic members of the Texas House left for Washington, D.C. to prevent the House from voting on Senate Bill 1. The bill sets out new guidelines for elections in Texas. Democrats have called it an effort at voter suppression, while Republicans classify it as an election security measure. Enough Democrats returned to Austin during the month of August for the House to resume work, and the bill passed the House and Senate earlier this week.
Just before they adjourned, lawmakers in both houses approved House Bill 5. It contains money to fund the Legislative branch. Governor Greg Abbott had vetoed that funding after lawmakers failed to pass his election security bill during the regular session. The bill includes "$315.9 million to restore Article 10 of the budget for the legislature and our legislative agencies," said State Senator Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound. Passage of the bill means lawmakers and their staffers will continue to receive their paychecks.
HB 5 also includes money for several other items that were originally part of separate spending bills. Lawmakers approved $90 million to increase capacity in the state's foster care system, $100 million in tax relief, $17.4 million for various cyber-security measures, and $701 million to provide a 13th check for retired Texas teachers.
"These are important priorities that became possible when the Comptroller updated our revenue estimate thanks to our strong economic recovery combined with the budget decisions that we made during the regular session," Sen. Nelson said.
Lawmakers will not get very much time off. The Governor is expected to call a third special session this fall to deal with redistricting. The Texas Senate Special Committee on Redistricting is already scheduled to meet on Tuesday, September 7th at 12:00 noon to begin advance work on the process of re-drawing district lines for U.S. Congress, the Texas House, Texas Senate and some other elected offices.
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