Patrick and Senate Face Choice of Passing
or Killing Tax Relief after Historic Outfoxing
Extraordinary Session #1
Capitol Inside
May 31, 2023
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and the Texas Senate Republicans - having been played in epic fashion by GOP leaders in the House - have a fundamental choice to make when they convene again on Friday with only two viable options available to them in the first special session of 2023.
The Senate Republican can either pass a $17 billion property tax relief bill or kill it when its members return to the Capitol two days from now. The Senate can vote to approve the historic measure that the House approved before it adjourned sine die on Tuesday night. Or the Senate could bury the largest tax cut in the history of the Lone Star State with a vote or motion to call it quits on the current special session with taking action on the historic proposal that's been shoved down the throats of Patrick and the Senate GOP.
The ultimatum that Senate Republicans face when they're back at work this week is the product of one of the all-time power plays at the statehouse in Austin. Governor Greg Abbott set the stage for the monumental chicanery that culminated in the Senate hoodwinking when he limited the call of the event that he refers to officially as "extraordinary session #1" to property taxes and migrant smuggling penalties. GOP Speaker Dade Phelan capped it off when he gaveled the initial special session to a close in the House immediately after it fulfilled the governor's request with a series of rapid-fire votes on the two issues without debate.
Senate Republicans focused their wrath on Abbott today after being outfoxed by GOP leaders in the Capitol's west wing. GOP senators are upset with the governor for diving into the fray after camping on the sidelines for five months in regular session in an impasse on property taxes as the Legislature's signature issue this year.
Patrick took aim at the Republican governor last night in an insulting Twitter post that accused Abbott of being "misinformed about the roles of the executive and legislative branches of government" - a slap that may seem curious in the case of a state leader who's been an elected official almost all of his entire adult life. Patrick said that Abbott had "finally shown his cards" with his belated support for a plan that would reward business at the expense of homeowners across the state. Patrick said he was "shocked" by Abbott's position in the tweet that implied that Phelan and the governor didn't understand the way the legislative process works.
But Patrick and senators set themselves up for the humiliating experience with the inclusion of a proposed homestead exemption increase in Senate Bill 1 even though such a provision hadn't been contained in the governor's formal call. Abbott ordered lawmakers to consider cutting property taxes through rate compression exclusively. The lower chamber complied with unanimous votes for House Bill 1 and House Joint Resolution 1 in a move that Abbott quickly endorsed.
The human smuggling punishment measure that Abbott also requested cleared the House on a 90-53 vote before Phelan dropped the gave on special session number one. The Senate would be killing that as well if it refuses to take up any of the measures that the House sent across the rotunda last night while senators were at dinner. The chain of events got under way in the House when Phelan ruled that the Senate tax bill was invalid on the grounds that it went outside the session call.
Patrick defended the Senate's actions and suggested that the courts would back him up. "I stand by our bill. It is germane to the call – legal precedent is clear on this point," Patrick said in the statement on social media. "Something Governor Abbott and Speaker Phelan should remember -- for any bill to pass, it must go through both the House AND the Senate. While the House may have thrown in the towel, the Senate continues to work. The Governor should feel free to expand the call to include other critical issues for our State."
Patrick's condescending remarks about Abbott and Phelan raise the specter that he may see a third option on Friday - to keep the Senate working in extraordinary session #1 even though it would be impossible to pass any legislation in the House. The lieutenant governor appears to be the one who's getting schooled on legislative politics in the Lone Star State now.
more to come ... |
