In the wake of flooding that killed over 100 people in Central Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on Texas lawmakers to improve the state’s natural disaster preparedness during an upcoming legislative overtime. He also asked lawmakers to redraw congressional districts and tackle other GOP priorities.
At a glance
Lawmakers should draft legislation to update flood warning systems, improve emergency communications, help communities prepare for natural disasters and provide relief for communities impacted by the July 4 floods, Abbott said in a July 9 proclamation. The 30-day special legislative session will begin July 21 at noon.
“We’re going to address every aspect of this storm to make sure that we’re going to have in place the systems that are needed to prevent deadly flooding events like this in the future,” Abbott said during a July 8 news conference in Kerr County.
A bill that would have provided funding to help local governments acquire emergency alert systems stalled during Texas’ regular legislative session, which ended June 2.
“That bill would not have gone into effect until Sept. 1 of this year, so it would not have helped this current disaster,” Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said in a July 9 interview. “But the time to respond is now, in order to prevent disasters in the future, or at least try to limit them.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate, told Community Impact he wants to fund flood warning sirens that can be installed “immediately” in communities along the Guadalupe River.
“In situations that are dealing with life and death, if a community can’t do it, then the state should come in and do it. … We should try and strive to do that before the next summer season,” Patrick said July 8.
The Texas House and Senate will also hold joint committee meetings to look into disaster and flooding preparedness, legislative leaders announced July 10. Participants in the nine-member committees were not immediately announced; however, they will hold their first hearing July 23 in Austin, followed by a meeting in hard-hit Kerrville.
“The Texas House will be organized; we will be ready,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said July 8. “We stand willing and able to listen to the community and experts to do all that we can.”
At least 119 people have died as a result of the Central Texas flooding, and Kerr County officials said they were searching for 161 missing people as of July 10.
More details
Abbott also directed Texas lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional maps during the 30-day special session, citing “constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.”
In a July 7 letter, the DOJ said four of Texas’ congressional districts were gerrymandered based on race and must be redrawn in order to meet constitutional guidelines. The districts are:
- TX-09, served by U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston
- TX-18, vacant; last served by Sylvester Turner, who died March 4
- TX-29, served by U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston
- TX-33, served by U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth
Some Texas Democrats criticized the redistricting call, arguing that it has been pushed by President Donald Trump to expand Republican majorities in the U.S. House.
“Let’s be clear: this is not about fairness or constitutionality. … This is a coordinated political stunt, not a legal revelation,” Veasey said in a July 9 statement. “The claim that coalition districts like mine violate the Voting Rights Act and 14th Amendment is laughable and offensive.”
State Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat who leads the Texas House Democratic Caucus, called Abbott’s wide-ranging special session agenda a “stunning betrayal.”
“While families need relief funds and infrastructure to prevent the next disaster, the governor is more focused on redrawing political maps, prosecuting election officials and further restricting women’s health care,” Wu said in a statement.
Zooming out
The governor’s 18-item agenda also includes tightening regulations on consumable THC products and making it a crime to give THC to minors. Abbott vetoed an outright ban on THC sales in late June, citing “undeniable” legal issues that he said would leave the legislation “permanently invalidated by the courts.”
He instead urged Texas lawmakers to consider strict regulations on the psychoactive substance, such as prohibiting sales near schools, implementing stringent testing requirements, limiting when THC products can be sold and requiring labels similar to those seen on nicotine products.
Proponents of a complete ban, including Patrick, said it is necessary to protect Texans from high-potency products that are currently subject to limited regulations. Critics said a THC ban would damage the economy and harm some veterans who use THC to treat conditions such as PTSD, anxiety and chronic pain.
Abbott also asked legislators to “[reduce] the property tax burden on Texans” by making it harder for local governments to increase tax rates.
Texas homeowners are taxed by local entities such as school districts, cities, counties, hospital districts and municipal utility districts. State lawmakers spend billions of dollars annually to reduce how much Texans pay school districts in property taxes, although Abbott noted in a June 11 interview that since the state does not charge property taxes, it also cannot make direct tax cuts.
Abbott suggested June 11 that lawmakers should limit how much local governments can spend each year, similar to the spending caps the Texas Legislature is subject to.
“If that applied to every jurisdiction, that could hinder their ability [to raise property taxes],” he said.
On social media, Rep. Brent Money, R-Greenville, thanked Abbott for including property taxes in the special session call and shared a letter calling for “a fundamental reset” of Texas’ tax system.
Lawmakers should also eliminate the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, and replace it with a new testing system, Abbott said. The House and Senate each advanced plans to scrap the high-stakes exam during the regular session, although they missed a legislative deadline after disagreeing over whether the new exams should be owned by a third party or the state.
Abbott has not publicly weighed in on the details of that legislation.
The legislative overtime will also feature several Republican-led policies that did not pass earlier this year, including plans to prohibit cities and counties from using public money to hire lobbyists, block the public disclosure of most police personnel records, allow the state attorney general to independently prosecute election crimes and, craft laws “protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.”
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