Thread by @DemocracyDocket

🚨ALERT: Texas Gov. Greg Abbot (R) recently announced he will convene a special session of the state legislature on July 8th.

Wondering how a TX special session works? Here’s what you need to know... 🧵👇 #txlege

In Texas, the governor has the power to call a special session after the regular legislative session ends if he thinks there are still laws that need to be passed.

The governor can convene the legislature at any time, with no notice, but with a few rules:

1. All special sessions last a maximum of 30 days. But Abbott can call as many sessions as he wants. So as soon as one ends, the next can begin.

The sessions can end before 30 days if the legislature has completed its work.

2. Special sessions are about a specific subject or topics. Only bills related to those categories can be considered. Abbot has NOT yet announced what issue(s) will be covered in the July special session, but it is possible election reform will be on the agenda.

3. All bills start over in a special session and follow the same process as a regular session, just expedited. This means that if Republicans want to pass voter suppression bill #SB7, they'll have to start from the beginning with committee meetings and hearings.

During a special session, new bills can be introduced if they're about the session's agenda. So if the session covers voting and elections, Republicans could re-introduce #SB7 or try to pass entirely different legislation.

In May, Texas House Democrats blocked #SB7 by leaving the statehouse and denying a quorum.

Dems could do this again, but the Texas House and Senate are authorized to send law enforcement after absent members and have them arrested and forced to return to the statehouse to work.

Gov. Abbott also recently vetoed a section of the state budget that funds the legislative branch. Pay for lawmakers is guaranteed by the TX constitution. The veto mainly affects the 2,000 other employees in the legislative branch, including support staff and agencies.

The budget Abbott vetoed wouldn't start until Sep. 1, so all employees would be paid for summer special sessions.

If the budget is a topic covered by the special session, lawmakers could pass a bill to restore funding to the legislative branch before time runs out.

Gov. Abbott has NOT yet set the agenda for July 8th. In interviews he's said that elections, bail reform, restricting critical race theory in schools, and prohibiting "conservative censorship" on social media platforms would all be special session topics at some point.

We'll be following Texas closely to see if elections and voting will be considered this summer. To stay updated on Texas voting news and much more, subscribe to the FREE Democracy Docket weekly newsletter⤵️
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