The Texas Legislature is preparing to adjourn early this week amid a continued quorum break by House Democrats. But Gov. Greg Abbott says he'll "immediately" call lawmakers back to the state Capitol for another special session.
In a statement on Tuesday, Abbott vowed "to call special session after special session" until his legislative priorities are passed.
"The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans," Abbott said. "There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them."
It's been more than a week since dozens of House Democrats left the state to prevent a vote on a Republican-backed redistricting map that would add up to five GOP-held congressional seats in Texas. Leaders in the Texas Senate and House have signaled they will end the special session Friday if enough House members don't return.
The standoff comes as California lawmakers also weigh new congressional maps, part of a nationwide reshaping of political boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Gov. Abbott called the special session to tackle issues including mid-decade redistricting, emergency alert upgrades after the July 4 Hill Country floods, THC sales regulation, eliminating the STAAR test and expanding the attorney general's power.
But without a quorum in the House, legislative work is effectively stalled at the Capitol.
On Tuesday morning, after gaveling in a barren chamber for the ninth day in a row, House Speaker Dustin Burrows criticized the absent Democrats for preventing the passage of bills that would help people "who lost their homes, their businesses, their livelihoods and in some cases, their loved ones" during the Hill Country floods.
"The work is not going away and the pressure on them will only grow," he said.
Despite the uncertain future, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the Republican-majority Senate will move forward as planned.
"Let me be clear: the Texas Senate will pass the bills on Gov. Abbott's special session call over, and over, and over again until the House Democrats return from their 'vacation' to do the people's business," Patrick said in a statement. "The decision is theirs."
For now, the absent lawmakers say they're staying out of Texas until the end of the current session. Earlier this week, House Democratic Leader Rep. Gene Wu, who's being targeted in two lawsuits filed with the Texas Supreme Court by Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, said he and his fellow Democrats would be open to another session — so long as it isn't "corrupt."
"If he simply calls another special session to do things that are selfish, things that are for him, things that are for his buddies — that's up to him," Wu said.
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