AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott’s strategy to veto 77 bills passed this session — a bid to push his property tax relief and school voucher proposals through the legislature — is being viewed by observers as misplaced, at best, and undermining potential success on his agenda, at worst, as the legislature approaches a second expected special session.
The 88th regular session in Texas ended May 29. At that time, Abbott had vetoed only two bills, both on the grounds of logistical difficulty. By the time the House upended the first special session and the veto period had passed on Sunday, Abbott had added 75 additional bills, many of the veto proclamations noting that the topic of the bill was serious but not as important as property tax reform, or so-called educational freedom.
For instance, the Senate signed House Bill 2956 in the last days of the legislative session. The fairly routine bill, which allows a city to annex on both sides of a railroad track, was carried by Republicans in both chambers and passed by a large majority in the House and Senate. Abbott vetoed the bill on Sunday, along with a slew of House and Senate bills he decided to oppose.
“While House Bill No. 2956 is important, it is simply not as important as cutting property taxes,” Abbott wrote in the veto proclamation he filed with the Secretary of State. “At this time, the legislature must concentrate on delivering property tax cuts to Texans. This bill can be reconsidered at a future special session only after property tax relief is passed.”
That’s not a veto typical of Abbott or many of the Texas governors before him. Most vetoes are like Abbott’s veto of House Bill 181, which would have created a state sickle cell registry. Abbott said the bill would expose sensitive health information without agency policies or funding intended to maintain patient confidentiality. Sponsor Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, expressed his disappointment on Twitter on Monday, saying the bill took years to pass, and the CDC is currently funding other state registries.
Supporters of the bill, and Johnson, may consider the veto unfair, but it’s within the governor’s prerogative to offer it. And in such cases, lawmakers usually re-file the bill in a subsequent session, typically with the corrections requested by the governor.
The point where Abbott’s vetoes have broken new ground this session is when Abbott has used the veto pen as a political tool. That’s irked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who says Abbott can’t have it both ways: Urging the two chambers to work together to pass legislation; then vetoing the legislation that the two chambers had worked together to pass during the regular session.
Bee Moorhead, executive director of the interfaith group Texas Impact, said Abbott's rationale for many of his vetoes sets this session apart.
"The veto, as we understand it, is supposed to be related to the bill," Moorhead said. "The time for making deals is during session. The governor typically is going to use that veto threat during session, while there is still time to negotiate."
The only time in recent memory when a governor has used the veto without negotiation was in 2001. First-term Gov. Rick Perry, elevated when former Gov. George W. Bush went to the White House, vetoed a record-breaking 83 bills that session. In the end, that was determined to be a breakdown in communication between the governor's office and the two chambers, a mistake that was corrected in subsequent sessions.
The current vetoed legislation, on the other hand, has become a chit between Abbott's office and individual lawmakers. When lawmakers pass what Abbott wants, according to these veto proclamations, he'll add the lawmaker's bill topics onto a subsequent special session call.
That decision also puts state agencies in the crosshairs, said Moorhead, pointing to a fairly minor bill Abbott vetoed that would have capped interest rates on consumer loans. Abbott's veto proclamation notes House Bill 4219, supported by a coalition of consumer lenders, is important, but not as important as educational freedom.
“You’re dragging a bunch of people — who don’t have anything to do with your thing — into it,” Moorhead said of the bill, which gave direction to the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner. “They don’t have anything to do with it, but you’re dragging them into it. Now you’ve created complete regulatory uncertainty because of circumstances that have nothing to do with the issue.”
Abbott vetoed multiple House bills — on topics as varied as the creation of new municipal utility districts, procedures to resolve customer complaints at the Public Utilities Commission and the release of property in Palo Pinto County — to prioritize his goal of school vouchers. Those who fought school vouchers during the regular session, like the Association for Texas Public Educators, called it a misuse of the governor’s powers.
“Gov. Abbott seems to have forgotten that lawmakers are elected to represent their constituents in Austin, not do his bidding,” ATPE Executive Director Shannon Holmes said in a statement on Monday. “Vetoing legislation because of a lawmaker’s position on an unrelated issue is a misuse of power, and every Texan should be appalled. It takes lots of time and taxpayer dollars to get any bill across the finish line, and the governor is willing to waste both to score national political points.”
Groups like Mothers Against Greg Abbott also lamented the legislation lost to Abbott’s vetoes, pointing to Sen. Sarah Eckhardt’s, D-Austin, Senate Bill 200, which would have given universities the option to waive prior college credits to give new students a fresh academic start.
Matthew Wilson, who teaches political science at Southern Methodist University, described Abbott’s approach — denying bills he would likely sign until he gets lawmakers to pass his priorities — as a “stick rather than a carrot” strategy.
“He’s banking on the fact that, eventually, just enough Republicans will knuckle under and will go with his approach. We’ll see if that pays off,” Wilson said. “Dan Patrick is not an easy guy to intimidate, so this is a very high-stakes game of chicken between the governor and lieutenant governor.”
Scott Braddock, editor of the online Quorum Report, doesn’t hold out much hope for Abbott’s success. Over the weekend, Braddock wrote a piece that noted that Patrick already has said, and tweeted, he has no problem holding legislation hostage. Why then, asked Braddock, should he care if Abbott kills bills that were not necessarily his priorities?
“Based on what I hear from Republican lawmakers, the governor isn’t doing anything that will encourage collaboration anytime soon,” Braddock said. “A robust voucher proposal seems as dead as ever in the Texas House. On property taxes, the governor would be wise to give the lawmakers some time off. He should negotiate in person with Patrick, rather than trying to negotiate on Twitter and in veto proclamations.”