AUSTIN, Texas — The third special session of the Texas Legislature came to a close early Tuesday morning with most, but not all, of Gov. Greg Abbott's priorities getting a stamp of approval from lawmakers. Legislators passed six out of 10 tasks assigned by Gov. Abbott, including redistricting maps and a bill banning transgender youth athletes from participating on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity. 

What You Need To Know

  • The third special session of the 87th Texas Legislature ended early Tuesday morning 

  • Six of Gov. Greg Abbott's 10 priority items were passed during the 30-day session

  • That included a bill limiting transgender athletes' participation in school sports as well as redistricting maps 

  • Left unpassed was a bill prohibiting COVID-19 mandates as well as one increasing the penalty for illegal voting. Whether Gov. Abbott will call another special session this year remains to be seen

But several of Abbott's big-ticket items failed to get over the finish line. Lawmakers did not pass a bill prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates by Texas businesses or governments, though Abbott's executive order banning the mandates is still in effect. 

“The fact that there was such pushback from business on Republicans on this gives us a sense that there is a divide within the party about how to approach this issue, and that certainly sunk the chances that such a bill would pass," said Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston.

They also did not approve increasing the penalty for illegal voting. Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a sweeping elections bill that will reduce the penalty for illegal voting from a second degree felony to a Class A misdemeanor. In September, Gov. Abbott, who already signed the bill, asked lawmakers to reverse that change in this special session but Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, refused. 

“Apparently, Governor Abbott didn't read the bill before he signed it in the big press conference about it and then tried to change it later, so I'm glad actually Speaker Phelan rejected that out of hand and the House didn't move forward on that," said Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie.

 

So far, Abbott has given no indication whether he would call another special session to tackle the items left undone.

One of the biggest items for lawmakers was redrawing the state's political maps based on the latest census data.

"The fact that they were able to do so and under the circumstances they were able to do so, was really a big win for [Republicans]. This redistricting plan is definitely going to get litigated and we won't see the end of this story until the courts give their final say on it, but it definitely solidified the Republicans’ strength that they've been building on since 2001," said Rottinghaus.

The negotiated maps for Congress, the State House, Senate and State Board of Education did not add districts where eligible voters of color would be the majority despite 95% of the state's population growth being fueled by people of color. 

The new maps, instead, were drawn to solidify the GOP's power across the state and to protect incumbents. Legal challenges are already underway. 

“The Republican Party has weaponized political gerrymandering to disenfranchise and to suppress the vote of Latinos throughout the state of Texas," said Domingo Garcia, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "The political dirty tricks that have been done this year are, even by Texas standards, big size BS.”

Lawmakers also decided how to allocate billions of dollars in federal COVID relief money. In a negotiated version of Senate Bill 8, lawmakers decided to provide more than $7 billion to the state's unemployment compensation fund and $2 billion for surge staffing at hospitals, to name a few. 

Gov. Abbott also made a late request for lawmakers to "improve higher education." In a last-minute bid, the chambers agreed to provide about $3.3 billion to fund capital construction projects for higher education institutions across the state. 

In the final hours before adjourning, lawmakers also rushed to pass a bipartisan property tax relief bill, that would have voters decide on a constitutional amendment to increase the homestead property tax exemption. 

It would translate into savings of about $176 a year for the average homeowner. 

“That's for a lifetime that they own the home, so it can add up to well over $5,000 of lifetime benefit," said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. "It's great bipartisan legislation, everybody knows we need property tax relief, and I think it was the high note in the session.”