Governor Gregg Abbott called 2 special sessions earlier this summer.  The sessions immediately followed the regular 89^th legislative session marked by partisan conflict and a successful quorum break by House Democrats during the first called special session.

The first special session began on July 21 and concluded August 15. House Democrats left the state to deny a quorum, specifically to block passage of a mid decade redistricting plan drawn to add 5 additional Republican leaning Congressional seats.  Because of this action, the session ended without passage of any significant legislation including the new redistricting plan.

The second special session began on August 15^th and concluded September 4^th.  The second special session included items unfinished from the first and some additional items like responding to the Central Texas floods.

The redistricting issue that sent the Democrats walking, was of course front and center and one of the first items addressed.  Lawmakers passed new congressional maps designed to potentially favor 5 new seats for the upcoming midterm elections.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STARR) test was eliminated and replaced with 3 shorter tests given throughout the school year.

Following the deadly July 4^th floods, the legislature passed a variety of camp safety bills, mandating new emergency plans and prohibiting cabins in floodplains. 

Additional anti-abortion bills also passed prohibiting abortion-inducing drugs and allowing people to sue providers.  An additional bill passed prohibiting cities from funding out-of-state abortion travel. 

A bill restricting access to bathrooms and other facilities based on the sex assigned at birth was passed and signed by the Governor.  Some version of this bill has been attempted for at least the past 10 years. 

Despite being a priority, a comprehensive bill regulating consumable hemp and THC products failed to pass.  Following the session, Governor Abbott issued an executive order setting an age restriction of 21 for such products.  This issue continues to be a point of contention between the Governor and the Lt. Governor who wants an outright ban on THC.  No doubt there will be more to come on this issue.

Legislation was also passed to impose penalties on lawmakers who intentionally break quorum to block legislation.  Only time will tell if this “discourages” quorum breaking in the future.

Since the conclusion of the 2^nd special session, the Governor has mentioned he might call yet another.  There are several issues, THC being one of them, that were not addressed to his satisfaction.  Everyone seemed ready to be out of Austin at the conclusion of this most recent session, but he can call them back at any time. There have already been a smattering of retirement announcements and those running for different office.  No doubt, there will be more.  This is an election season with all Texas House seats up for election and ½ of the Texas Senate, and all statewide office holders.  Will be an expensive campaign season and one thing for certain the legislature will look different in January 2027 than it does now, for better for worse.

The first called special session saw over 450 bills and resolutions filed.  Many of those bills are variations on a theme between flood warnings and prevention, regulation/banning THC products, and redistricting.  These 3 subjects represent the lion’s share of what was filed.

The House and Senate met on Friday, the 15^th to Sine Die the first special session for the Governor to immediately call the next Special Session. A new Special Session requires that bills be filed once again so they “kind of” have to start from scratch but only in the sense that bills filed during one Special Session don’t carry over to the next and must once again go through the process from introduction, referral, hearing etc.     

Most of the Democratic house members returned to Austin on Monday, August 18th, ending a two-week walkout denying a quorum. The purpose being to stymie a mid-term redistricting map that adds 5 new Republican seats.  This at the direct request of the White House, apparently fearing a typical midterm incumbent blowback and potential loss of an already razor thin majority in the US House.  Both Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton have spent considerable time in front of cameras threatening retribution with lawsuits, potential loss of members’ House seats, arrest etc.  Senator Cornyn even requested help from the FBI.  Not sure what they would do given no laws have been broken.  The only offense that these House members have committed being a civil offense.  Quorum requirements are common in almost all organized decision-making bodies.  It is a fundamental component of parliamentary procedure.  Per Robert’s Rules of Order: “The minimum number of members who must be present at the meeting of a deliberative assembly for business to be validly transacted is the quorum of the assembly.  The requirement of a quorum is protection against totally unrepresentative action in the name of the body by an unduly small number of persons.” Robert’s Rules of Order 12^th edition.  You may not agree with the reasons behind the quorum break, but it is allowed within normal parliamentary rules.

There were 3 public hearings in the larger metro areas of the state on the redistricting request from the White House.  The President said he wanted 5 new Republican dominated seats in Texas and the legislature is attempting to oblige him.  The public hearings were “contentious” that maybe an understated description but needless to say well attended by interested constituents.  One of the interesting aspects of the public hearings was that there were no maps available for either the committee members or the public to review.  Maps have since been produced which do indeed create 5 new Republican dominated districts.  Now whether or not these new seats will actually produce 5 additional Republican congressional members is another matter.  The census data used to create these new seats is 5 years old.  There are always lawsuits during redistricting, expect lawsuits if and when any of these maps/new districts are adopted.  The courts will step in and well, I am sure everything will work out wonderfully, well-laid plans and all.

While we thought water issues were completed (at least for a while) during the regular legislative session, that appears not to be the case.  On July 15^th Chairman Harris had a meeting of the House Natural Resources committee to listen to citizen concerns regarding the possible removal of significant amounts of groundwater from East Texas aquifers.  The hearing lasted over 11 hours with most witnesses coming from Henderson, Anderson and Houston counties.  In attendance on the committee were all current members of House Natural Resources, 8 other House members not on the committee, Senator Nichols and Senator Perry.  The majority of the testimony consisted of concerns expressed by these residents that potential export projects were going to possibly remove significant amounts of (their) ground water and either force them to lower their pumps or even drill new wells (or run out of water completely).

In response to this hearing, several bills were introduced in both the House and Senate proposing dramatic changes to current ground water law, GCDs and potentially the rule of capture.  In summary, the bills appear to increase centralized regulator authority over groundwater and inter-district transfers.  Give GCDs immunity and impose constraints that could reduce the feasibility or legal certainty of large ground water withdrawals and exports.  As of today, the bills have not been referred or added to the Call of the session.  It is probably a safe assumption they will be introduced again, either during this upcoming Special Session and/or certainly during the 2027 Regular Session.

The Senate has once again passed a complete ban on THC products.  Readers might recall that the Governor vetoed a similar bill less than 1 month ago.  The House has yet to have a hearing on the THC issue but I am sure will take it up one day next week.  What the House might do is anyone’s guess.  The grassroots efforts that influenced the Governor’s action have not suddenly diminished in the last 2 weeks so I assume those who feel strongly about this subject will continue to spend their time making sure House members know how they feel. 

And, oh yes, if you did not read all of the previous paragraph, the Governor vetoed a bill that banned THC.  He has specifically outlined his thoughts as to where he thinks the efforts should be directed toward.

And, if you did not read the last 2 paragraphs, he is against a complete ban and vetoed the last time that a bill crossed his desk that stipulated a complete ban.  

Throw in some abortion-related bills, flood control, banning municipalities from hiring lobbyists and who knows what else might be on the next call.  One thing we can probably count on, there will be some new Congressional maps, and there will be lawsuits challenging those maps.  Of that I am certain.

Kyle

The Governor announced the items on the agenda for the upcoming Special Session.  Not only is the Governor the only official who can call a Special Session, he also decides what is on the agenda. While the members can file any bill they wish (and many do) only those items included on the Special Session call can be advanced.  The Governor’s Special Session call includes the following issues:

Flood Warning Systems, Flood Emergency Communications, Relief Funding for Hill Country Floods, Natural Disaster Preparation & Recovery, Eliminate STAAR test, Cut property taxes, Protect children from THC, Regulate Hemp-derived products, Protect unborn children, Ban Taxpayer funded lobbying, Protect Human trafficking victims, Police Personnel Records, Protect Women’s spaces, AG election powers, Redistricting (Congressional), Title theft & Deed fraud, Water project incentives, State Judicial Department.

The first few items dealing with flood and disaster relief are in response to the dramatic flooding and loss of life during the recent July 4^th flooding in the Hill Country.  Many of the remaining issues are either issues that failed during the regular session for some reason or were vetoed by the Governor because of some flaw that was found in the language that was passed.  This is certainly one of the more ambitious Special Session agendas of which I am aware.  A Special Session lasts 30 days, if these items are not addressed to the Governor’s satisfaction, he can call them back for another 30 days and can do this as many times as he wants. 

The stats from the regular session are in and as follows: Of the 9,240 bills and resolutions filed, 1,355 (15%) were sent to the Governor.  The Governor vetoed 28 bills (several of which are on the Special Session Call) and allowed 24 bills to become law without his signature and signed the rest. While this task is daunting, keep in mind that his staff tracked most of these bills throughout the session and actually had input on many of the bigger ticket items, so it is not like they are seeing these bills for the first time.  Still, it is a lot to consider.  And none larger than SB 3 which ended up being a complete ban on THC products and one of which the Governor chose to veto.  It is on the list for the Special Session.

If you ever want to question whether or not grassroots efforts can make a difference look no further than the Governor’s response on the passage of SB 3 and his decision to veto.  Industry members assembled significant support after the bill’s passage and delivered over 5,000 letters and 120k signatures on a petition asking for the Governor to veto the legislation.  He did, now it is back on the agenda.

Another issue the Governor wants additional work on is property taxes. Despite passage of the increase in the homestead exemption, he seeks additional reform.  What that looks like remains to be seen. Property taxes are a significant source of revenue for local governments and a major portion of public school funding, so not easily replaced.  Everyone wants a better system, but options are limited.  30 days is not long to tackle an issue years in the making.    All Special Sessions are unique, the ticking clock, the limit on the issues to be discussed and decided, the upcoming campaign season (several members are already running for open or soon to be open seats) all this impacts what can and cannot be accomplished.  The clock may favor those who don’t want something to pass, but the Governor has the ability to call them back again and again.  He has done it before and he lives here so Special Sessions don’t hamper his business or home life.  All these factors come into play.  The fun starts on Monday July 21^st.

The 89^th legislative session ended on Monday June 2^nd.  Despite some last-minute wrangling dealing with an increase in judge’s salaries (which is also tied to legislator’s pensions) both the House and the Senate finished mid afternoon. 

No mention of the need for a special session.

At least not today.

It seems that many of the priorities listed by the Governor and Lt. Governor at the beginning of the session were addressed in some manner.  If it was not addressed, perhaps not important enough to keep them here, at least not right now. 

Now the ball is in the Governor’s court.  With over 1,000 bills to consider, he will usually take his time and not make a final decision on each bill (or at least not announce a final decision) until the deadline or close to it.  The Governor has until June 22^nd to either sign, veto or allow to become law each bill that passed both Houses.  While that task is daunting, keep in mind that his staff has tracked most of these bills throughout the session and actually had input on many of the bigger ticket items, so it is not like they are seeing these bills for the first time.  Still, it is a lot to consider. And none larger than SB 3, which ended up being a complete ban on THC products.

Since the agriculture hemp law passed in 2019, a significant industry has developed around the cultivation, processing and sale of hemp-based products.  Some reports put the economic impact in Texas at around $8 Billion annually.  Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (and the Texas Senate) passed out legislation early in the session that completely bans hemp-based products containing THC and the House followed suit claiming that the industry lacks meaningful regulation and targets children.  Industry members have assembled significant support since the bill’s passage delivering over 5,000 letters and 120k signatures on a petition asking for the Governor to veto the legislation.  To date the Governor has not given any indication which way he is leaning.  You can bet there is some polling going on.  To be continued…

Both chambers sought and found additional relief on ever increasing property taxes.  While the measures passed must still be decided by the voters, increases in the homestead exemption will be on the ballot this November.  Increasing that exemption to 140k for all homeowners and 200k exemption for those over 65 will be among the constitutional propositions that will be decided this fall.  Expect passage of both. 

Another important, much discussed item this session was a significant commitment to the future water needs of the state.  The Governor even included water as an emergency item at the beginning of the session.  SB 7 and the constitutional amendment HJR 7 seek to dedicate $1 Billion each fiscal year (beginning in 2027) to the new water fund at the Texas Water Development Board.  This fund will be used for new water projects, water transportation infrastructure, flood control, development of some surface water projects, etc.  While this also must go before the voters this November, expect significant voter education money to be spent encouraging support between now and then.  This is the most significant water legislation since 1997.  Most would agree this focus is long overdue.

The Texas Desalination Association continued to support efforts to address Texas’ long term water needs.  After setting the groundwork last session with the creation of the “New Water” fund, leadership in the House, Senate and the Governor’s office decided to make a serious commitment to the development of “New Water”.  SB 7 and HJR 7 received unanimous support in both the House and the Senate (does not happen very often) signaling that everyone agrees we have a water problem that must be addressed.

The proposed revenue dedication begins in 2027 and will continue for 20 years.  These funds will be used for water supply projects and fixing failing systems.  In addition, the budget just approved included over $2.6 billion toward Texas’ water infrastructure needs.  These historic appropriations include matching funds to maximize Texas’ receipt of federal water infrastructure funds and $2.5 billion for water infrastructure projects and programs. 

This does not solve the Texas water crisis, but it helps.  As important as the actual dedication of funds, it is equally important that our elected officials remain focused on addressing this issue.  Perhaps those of us in the “water world” can help our decision makers keep that focus going forward.  That, and help meet the needs of our fast-growing state by developing the projects needed to answer this call.

As of today, there are 20 days remaining in this current regular legislative session.  The pace, as usual this time of year both speeds up dramatically and slows down at times to a standstill.  The first of many deadlines came about on May 12^th and then continue every few days.  These deadlines, first coming into being in the 1990s during Speaker Pete Laney’s tenure restrict the number of bills that can continue to be considered in the House.  This process also forces the Senate to adhere to a series of deadlines as well although their system is not quite so rigid considering their ability to regularly suspend all necessary rules. 

The big-ticket item (the budget) and the only bill that must be passed is currently in conference committee where the differences in the House and Senate versions will be hammered out.  This will probably be finished sometime toward the end of next week, but there is plenty of time, kind of.  June 2^nd is a hard finish.

The Lt. Governor said earlier this session that his 2 priorities, bail reform and banning THC would need to be addressed or he would force a Special Session.  (Note- only the Governor can call a Special Session)  It is assumed that he would accomplish this by not passing the budget till those goals are reached.  Not passing the budget in the time allotted would indeed probably force the Governor to call a Special Session.  The House version of the THC bill does not ban the substance but instead seeks to regulate and restrict access, so that bill seems to be heading to a conference committee.  The bail reform effort also seems to be headed to conference at this time with the House and Senate versions very different.  Only time will tell if the final changes within these bills are enough to meet the Lt. Governor’s goals.

The first of several deadlines began Monday, May 12^th, which was the final day that House committees can report House Bills and House Joint Resolutions.  This deadline is somewhat meaningless because Tuesday May 13^th is the day that the last House daily calendar featuring House Bills must be distributed.  At a minimum, it takes at least a week for a House bill that has passed out of committee to actually reach the Calendars committee to be considered for a calendar so any bills that are voted out on the 12^th have no chance to be considered for a calendar.  In reality, you needed to be out of a House committee about 2 weeks ago to have a reasonable chance of being considered for a calendar.

The next 2 big days on the House deadline calendar are Thursday and Friday the 15^th and 16^th.  Thursday is the final day to hear all House bills on 2^nd reading and Friday is the final day to hear all House bills on 3^rd reading.  Typically, both days’ floor action ends at midnight.  A great deal of “chubbing” occurs on these 2 days.  Chubbing being the slang for talking bills to death.  Some of this discussion is warranted, some not.  This is a great chance for payback, deserved or not. 

The next 2 big days are Saturday, May 24^th and Sunday, May 25^th.  The 24^th is the last day for House committees to report out Senate bills and the 25^th is the final calendar to be printed with Senate bills that have successfully passed out of committee.  Again, see paragraph above.  If your Senate bill is not out of the House committee at least a week before the 25^th deadline you are probably out of luck.  The mechanics of the process of moving a bill that has been successfully passed out of committee to get it considered in the Calendars committee is a multi-step paper process that changes many hands.

Also tedious.

Tuesday the 27^th is the final day for the House to consider Senate Bills on 2^nd reading and Wednesday the 28^th is the final day for the House to consider all Senate bills on 3^rd reading.  The 28^th is also the final day for the Senate to consider all bills on 2^nd and 3^rd reading.  Midnight on the 28^th your bill passes or dies.  After that date all that is left is agreement and/or discussions on conference committee reports.  The session concludes on Monday June 2^nd. 

There are several bills of interest to those within the Texas Desal industry.  How the much discussed and hyped water focus looks this session still has to be decided.  The bills in question remain “works in progress”.  I have no doubt that something will pass, what the final version looks like remains to be seen.  Both Houses remain focused on the need for additional “new” water some of which will be desalination, inland brackish and marine, but how that money will be ultimately divided and how those decisions will be made remains in question.  The condition of the Constitutional request to voters is also still up in the air.  Stay tuned…  While the legislative session is almost over, there is much to still play out.  Stay up to date by reviewing the Texas Desal or the Texas Legislature Online websites on a regular basis.