Patrick Wants Abbott to Revive Woke War
for Special Session on Taxes and Paxton
Capitol Inside
May 29, 2023
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick gaveled the regular session to an end in the Texas Senate at 6:39 p.m. on Monday when he told its members to be prepared to be back shortly after noon on Tuesday for a special session that he said Governor Greg Abbott may be calling before that time.
After vowing to force a special session if a school vouchers bill failed in the House, Patrick made good on the threat with an assist from Speaker Dade Phelan when the two refused to capitulate in a standoff on property tax reductions after posturing by the chambers throughout the afternoon failed to produce a deal.
Patrick fired a letter to Governor Greg Abbott early Monday evening with a wish list with 22 proposals that he wants the Legislature to tackle in a special session with property tax relief as the signature issue school choice last but not least as a measure that Patrick requested on the governor's "time schedule."
Abbott would have been compelled to call a special session in the near future regardless of the lieutenant governor's maneuvering for the sake of a trial the Senate has the task of conducting in the wake of Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment in the House on Saturday. But Patrick said the Senate would get the process off the ground on June 20 with a trial that may not begin until August.
The Patrick special session agenda begins with property taxes and teacher pay and includes an array of measures that take aim at migrants, drag queen. election pirates and woke in the form of bills that target critical rate theory in higher education and environmental, social, governance policies in the corporate workplace.
Patrick also sees the special session as an opportunity to promote Christianity with requests for the governor to resurrect a Ten Commandmants poster mandate for public schools and a bill to require prayer time during classes.
Patrick announced that a special Senate committee would oversee the impeachment proceedings with Republican State Senator Brian Birdwell of Granbery as its chair. Phelan appointed a so-called board of managers with a dozen House colleagues who will prosecute Paxton in the Senate with five representatives from a committee that investigated the attorney general and seven colleagues.
GOP State Reps. Andrew Murr of Junction is on the prosecutors team in his role as the General Investigating Committee chairman. The panel's other members - Democratic State Rep. Ann Johnson of Houston and Oscar Longoria of Mission and GOP State Reps. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth and David Spiller of Jacksboro are on the House managers team.
The group includes Republican State Reps. Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, Jeff Leach of Allen, Morgan Meyer of Dallas and Cody Vasut of Arlington. Democratic State Reps. Terry Canales of Edinburg, Erin Gámez of Brownsville and Joe Moody of El Paso also are serving on the team of House prosecutors that features seven Republicans and five Democrats.
Patrick named seven senators to the special panel that Birdwell will lead with Democratic State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen as the vice-chair. The panel includes Republican State Senators Brandon Creighton of Conroe; Pete Flores of Pleasanton; Joan Huffman of Houston and Phil King of Weatherford along with Democratic State Senator Royce West of Dallas.
more to come ...
|
