Gov. Greg Abbott is looking for a uncommon, mid-decade spherical of congressional redistricting as a part of a packed agenda for the Texas Legislature’s particular session, set to start July 21.
The transfer comes following heavy strain from President Donald Trump to shore up the Republican majority within the U.S. Home of Representatives.
In his Wednesday proclamation outlining his objectives for the particular session, Abbott cited a letter from the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division figuring out 4 Texas congressional districts as “unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.” All 4 districts presently include non-white majorities, and three of them are in Houston.
Houston’s Congressional District 9 is represented by U.S. Rep. Al Inexperienced, a Black Democrat and vocal critic of Trump who has filed articles of impeachment in opposition to the president a number of instances. Houston’s Congressional District 18, presently vacant, was represented for greater than 50 years by a succession of Black Democrats, most lately the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner. Houston’s Congressional District 29 is represented by Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, a Latina Democrat. And Fort Value’s Congressional District 33 is represented by Marc Veasey, a Black Democrat.
“That is about politics,” mentioned Anthony Gutierrez, government director of the voting rights group Frequent Trigger Texas. “That is simply concerning the president figuring out that he’ll be taking some embarrassing losses within the midterms and his administration making an attempt to guard them from that by breaking apart a bunch of Black and brown communities in Texas to attempt to decide up just a few seats.”
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The response from Democratic elected leaders was swift and fierce. U.S. Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) issued an announcement condemning Abbott for issuing the decision for redistricting when Texas remains to be reeling from the shock of final week’s lethal flash flood within the Hill Nation.
“There are actual questions on Governor Greg Abbott’s failed management, lack of preparation and the reckless determination to not bolster the early warning infrastructure in flood inclined communities,” Jeffries mentioned. “As a substitute of aggressively addressing the failures of his administration, Governor Abbott and shameless extremists are conspiring with Donald Trump and Home Republicans to attempt to rig the election and disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters.”
Texas Home Minority Chief Gene Wu (D-Houston) struck the same word in an announcement to Houston Public Media.
“Within the face of this unimaginable tragedy, with almost 200 Texans nonetheless lacking, Governor Abbott’s response to this disaster is a shocking betrayal,” Wu mentioned. “Home Democrats welcome the chance to go significant flood aid. However we is not going to enable this tragedy for use as political cowl for an excessive agenda that does nothing to assist households get again on their ft.”
Flood warnings and response, in gentle of the disaster in Central Texas, together with pure catastrophe preparedness, property taxes and hemp regulation are also among the many 18 objects Abbott cited as priorities for the upcoming particular session.
He directed lawmakers to work towards laws bettering flood warning programs and emergency communications in flood-prone areas, consider rules regarding pure catastrophe preparation and restoration and to supply aid funding for Texas Hill Nation flood victims. Greater than 100 folks died in floods which have devastated Central Texas in latest days, together with greater than 15 folks from the Houston space.
“We delivered on historic laws within the 89th Common Legislative Session that may profit Texans for generations to come back,” Abbott mentioned in a information launch. “There may be extra work to be completed, significantly within the aftermath of the devastating floods within the Texas Hill Nation. We should guarantee higher preparation for such occasions sooner or later.”
The governor additionally prioritized laws that regulates hemp-derived merchandise containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, with out an outright ban, together with making it against the law to “present hemp-derived merchandise to youngsters” beneath 21.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pushed closely for the passage of Senate Invoice 3, outlawing all THC merchandise within the state. The invoice was handed by lawmakers in the course of the common session this 12 months however was vetoed by Abbott in a call that drew frustration from Patrick.
“If he’d have labored with us by way of the session, perhaps we might have addressed a few of his points,” Patrick mentioned after the veto. “However he decided to veto this invoice very late, with out even giving us the courtesy of a name.”
Different objects Abbott desires addressed embody reducing property taxes, banning taxpayer-funded lobbying and the elimination of the STAAR check for public faculty college students. He additionally requested lawmakers to go laws “defending unborn youngsters and their moms from the hurt of abortion,” coming after a legislation was handed clarifying the state’s abortion ban for medical professionals. One other precedence for Abbott is laws that “protects ladies’s privateness in sex-segregated areas,” including to a slew of payments affecting transgender communities handed in Texas in the course of the common session.
Legal guidelines limiting public entry to police complaints and permitting the state lawyer normal to prosecute state election crimes had been additionally cited as priorities.
Lastly, Abbott requested the legislature to assessment and redress payments proposed within the common session that addressed human trafficking, water conservation incentives for builders, the state’s judicial division and its administration, and title theft and deed fraud.
The particular session comes after the legislature handed 1,155 payments that had been signed into legislation by the governor, together with laws establishing a faculty voucher program and payments funding main investments in water infrastructure throughout the state. Abbott additionally vetoed greater than 25 payments and a line merchandise from the appropriations finances reducing summer time meals program funding for kids.
Abbott known as 4 particular periods following the common assembly of the legislature in 2023.
