AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Lawmakers gaveled in a special session of the Texas Legislature at the Capitol on Thursday, with familiar battle lines already being drawn over the session's agenda.
While Thursday's sessions were brief by comparison to what will be seen in the next 30 days, lawmakers will have plenty to work on after Gov. Greg Abbott listed 11 items for the first of what is expected to be at least two special sessions.
Among the top priorities for Abbott and fellow Republicans is election integrity and other reforms - the same issue that derailed the regular session in its waning moments in May, after House Democrats staged a walkout to break quorum.
The newly-filed Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3 are the new versions of Republicans' election reforms, which look to further tighten vote-by-mail rules across the state, ban drive-thru voting and 24-hour voting, prohibit the sending of unsolicited mail-in ballot applications, and enhancing protections for poll watchers.
The two bills have some differences in early voting requirements, particularly in the population threshold that requires counties to provide 12 hours of early voting in the final week of early voting in state elections.
Both bills have pulled back on an earlier effort to limit Sunday early voting hours, something Democrats called an attack on Black church members and so-called "souls to the polls" efforts.
Inside and outside the Capitol on Thursday, Democrats and protesters alike vowed to continue their efforts to oppose the Republican-backed election legislation, along with some of the other priorities on the session's agenda.
"We’re going to continue to fight, we’re going to make sure that Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, and the far-right conservatives do not disenfranchise Black and brown folks," said Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City).
House Democrats say they aren't ruling out any means to fight the bill making its way through the lower chamber. "Every option is on the table. We are going to use every parliamentary means in front of us to combat this," said Rep. Armando Walle (D-Houston) after the House adjourned Thursday.