Abbott vetoes bills, calls special session

Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed 26 bills late Sunday evening, shortly before the deadline at which those bills would have become law without his signature. In Texas, if the governor does not sign or veto a bill within 20 days (or 10, if the bill passed sufficiently early in the session), it becomes law by default; midnight on June 22 is that deadline this session. 

Vetoes

SB 3 by Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), a bill that would have outright banned most hemp-derived products in the state, was the most notable legislation vetoed by Abbott; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick counted the bill among his top priorities for the session. 

Other bills among those vetoed did not attract as much public attention. Only two had anything to do with education: HB 2243 by Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress) and SB 974 by Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin). 

HB 2243 would have created the Texas Commission on Teacher Job Satisfaction and Retention, seen by some as a continuation of the Teacher Vacancy Task Force. In his statement on the veto, Abbott stated that the purpose of the bill could be accomplished without additional state funding and that the bill constituted a violation of requirements on the separation of legislative and executive power. Additionally, he said that he will work to convene a task force during the interim to accomplish the goals of the bill without creating more administrative burdens on the state.

SB 974 would have allowed teachers to serve on property appraisal boards. In some smaller districts, these boards have difficulties finding enough people to populate them and the intent of this bill was to allow teachers to fill that role during the summers. Abbott stated, as many critics in the Legislature did, that it would be a conflict of interest for a teacher to determine the value of property used to fund their own employer. 

See a full list of bills vetoed last night here and the proclamations explaining the rationale behind those vetoes here.

Special session

Following his late-night vetoes, Abbott issued a call for a special session on a topics related to a handful of the bills he vetoed, none of them education-related:

• Senate Bill 3: Relating to the regulation of products derived from hemp, including consumable hemp products and the hemp-derived cannabinoids contained in those products.
• Senate Bill 648: Relating to recording requirements for certain instruments concerning real property.
• Senate Bill 1253: Relating to impact and production fees for certain water projects and to the regulation of certain wells; authorizing a fee.
• Senate Bill 1278: Relating to an affirmative defense to prosecution for victims of trafficking of persons or compelling prostitution.
• Senate Bill 1758: Relating to the operation of a cement kiln and the production of aggregates near a semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility.
• Senate Bill 2878: Relating to the operation and administration of and practices and procedures related to proceedings in the judicial branch of state government.

After the session, most Capitol insiders felt that there would not be a special session at all, but Abbott faced pressure from President Donald Trump to call a special session to redraw Texas' congressional districts in advance of the upcoming midterm elections. While Abbott may include additional topics in a special session at will, he has not included redistricting yet and will focus only on issues related to vetoed legislation. See the full special session proclamation here.

The special session begins July 21.