Abbott sheds ‘absent’ label for special session
Governor taking hands-on approach to getting agenda through Legislature
AUSTIN — He was called “Absent Abbott” for his hands-off approach in this year’s legislative session that ended in disarray a month ago.
But as a July 18 special session approaches, Gov. Greg Abbott is taking a decidedly different approach. Rather than let the legislative process run its course, with gentle nudges along the way to get what he wants, the governor is evolving into a detailed tactician striving to ensure the 20 conservative issues he has proposed will be passed in the form he wants. He’s lining up House and Senate sponsors for each of the bills, negotiating the wording and suggesting the choreography of how they could be moved through the Legislature.
It is a rare move by Texas’ top elected official to be so hands-on in directing the legislative process, for an office that is among the weakest in the nation, as far as its constitutional powers go. But Capitol insiders and political experts
agree that what is being characterized as micromanaging by Texas’ CEO could carry little political risk, even if many of Abbott’s agenda items do not pass.
“Besides vetoing bills after the Legislature goes home, this is one of the areas where the governor really does have power — and Abbott is exercising that now in a way we haven’t seen in some time,” said Jerry Polinard, a political scientist at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley who has studied the machinations of Texas’ executive branch for more than 40 years. “He seems to be executing the process very skillfully, very smart, and I think it will pretty much end up in a win-win for him.”
‘Governor-driven’
Almost daily for the past two weeks, Abbott’s office has announced bill sponsors for each agenda item — Senate and House authors — after what looked to be a stumbling start for his priority list, when advocacy groups quickly declared war on many of the items and House Speaker Joe Straus likened the agenda to a room full of horse manure, suggesting that lawmakers should be focusing any summer efforts on better funding for public education.
Drawing the most opposition: the controversial bathroom “privacy” bill, school choice for specialneeds students, more abortion restrictions, propertytax reform and new limits on cities to regulate local businesses and property owners.
Only one bill so far seems set for smooth passage, a so-called “sunset” measure that will keep in operation the state agencies that regulate doctors and several related medical professions, though leaders in both legislative chambers seem concerned its approval could become a pawn in political games over the other bills.
For his part, Abbott has been clear that he wants all 20 items approved by the time the special session ends Aug. 17. He once went so far as to say lawmakers would be “lazy” if they didn’t approve his agenda at the rate of about one bill per day.
“This is clearly a governor-driven session, certainly a novel approach from what we’ve seen in the past,” said Houston state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Senate GOP leader and confidant of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was recruited by Abbott to author a property-tax reform bill along with Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton. Both lawmakers carried similar legislation that failed to pass during the regular session that ended May 29.
“The governor is putting this session together piece by piece to get the outcome he wants,” Bettencourt said. “He’s clearly trying to get consensus on the bills before the session starts, so they’ll get through.”
During the constitutionally required, 140-day legislative session that began in January, Abbott outlined his top priorities and then left the legislating to lawmakers, with the usual behind-the-scenes nudges to make sure they accomplished most of his intent. His top priorities passed, but the sunset bill — a key bill — was held hostage in the Senate over the bathroom bill and property-tax reform, and an alternative died in a procedural meltdown late in the session in the House.
Democrats included
Abbott, clearly angry about the failure, announced within days he would call lawmakers back into a summer special session — and that he planned to make them work, releasing a list that was quickly cheered by conservative Republicans and decried by most everyone else.
Even before the regular session ended, Capitol insiders confirmed, Abbott and his aides were quietly mapping their strategy for a special session.
In the weeks since, Abbott and his top aides have been meeting in person and in conference calls with lawmakers in both the Senate and House — Republicans and Democrats — who support one or more of the agenda items, as well as nearly 75 specialinterest advocates, political and grass-roots activists and trade associations.
That process for the most part has not directly involved Patrick and Straus — who are widely known to personally dislike each other — as Abbott aides hope to move the agenda ahead to passage, according to lawmakers and Capitol aides.
By Friday, the sponsors of the bills on Abbott’s agenda included both Republicans and Democrats — many in the leadership of both chambers — in a sign that seemed to confirm Abbott’s strategy could work. In addition, the announcements were accompanied by statements of support for the various bills by the announced sponsors.
“We must do more to keep our best teachers in
the classroom, especially in our highest-need campuses,” said Rep. Joe Deshotel, a Beaumont Democrat. He has agreed to support a bill to increase teacher pay and give school administrators greater flexibility to recruit and retain the best teachers in Texas public schools — and fire the bad ones. Deshotel chairs the House Select Committee on Ports, Innovation and Infrastructure.
“We must let our teachers know how much we value their hard work and the impact they make on our children.”
State Rep. Richard Raymond, a Laredo Democrat who chairs the powerful House Human Services Committee, also has signed on.
“I have introduced legislation several times, including during this past regular session, calling for a pay raise for teachers,” he said in a statement released by Abbott’s office. “I absolutely agree with Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to put this item on the agenda. Teachers deserve it.”
Straus criticizes
Abbott aides noted that the sponsor list includes members of both House and Senate leadership teams, a move they hope will clearly signal support across political fault lines in both chambers where delays in passage of the bills could develop.
Without a doubt, the political reckoning of the two Republican-controlled legislative chambers is far apart. The Senate is tea party conservative while the House, where Democrats are more than a third of the 150 members, tends to be more centrist conservative on many issues.
While Patrick has publicly called Abbott’s list of priorities a “big and bold special session agenda which solidly reflects the priorities of the people of Texas,” Straus has made it clear he dislikes some of it. Two weeks ago, he compared it to a pile of horse manure during a San Antonio speech to school board members from across the state, where he opened his remarks with a story, often told by President Ronald Reagan, about a boy who surprised his psychiatrist by getting excited about “a room full of horse manure.”
“With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere,” Straus quoted the boy as saying. “So I’m going to take the
optimistic approach to the special session and keep looking for that pony.”
He urged the education officials to complain often and loudly to their hometown lawmakers to prioritize public education — at one point, branding the House as the legislative chamber that “still believes in public education” — and took swipes at Patrick and the Senate for supporting school vouchers, the controversial bathroom bill and property-tax reforms that school districts have complained will hurt their ability to fund key programs.
In meetings with supporters and lawmakers, Abbott aides have hinted strongly that if they don’t get what they want from the special session, they will call lawmakers back for another.
‘Put-up-or-shut-up time’
While Abbott has been working behind the scenes to guarantee passage of most, if not all, of his conservative agenda, opponents insist they have a strong shot at defeating many of the proposals.
“Abbott can plan all he wants to, and the Senate will probably go along, but we’re counting on the House to be the voice of reason on a number of the issues,” said Gabe Ferrer, an Austin advocate who opposes the state taking more control from cities — on “sanctuary cities” and other issues.
Chuck Smith, chief executive officer of Equality Texas, an advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans that opposes the bathroom bill, echoed the sentiment: “The House tends to be a more deliberative body.”
At the same time, conservative activists who say they are networking with the governor’s office are just as intent on getting most, if not all, of Abbott’s agenda passed into law.
“The grass-roots will be looking at everything the Senate and House will be doing,” said Dale Huls, a board member of the Clear Lake Tea Party, echoing sentiments of other conservative activists. “The special session has taken away the hiding places where some Republicans were during the regular session, where they thought some of the best votes were the ones not taken.
“This is now put-up-orshut-up time.”