Texas Senate moves to curb Abbott’s emergency powers
Gov. Greg Abbott would never be able to shut down businesses in Texas again during an emergency like COVID-19 under legislation that passed the state Senate on Tuesday.
In a move to curb Abbott’s powers, lawmakers would require him to call the Legislature into a special session in order to shut down businesses during a major statewide emergency.
State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, said his Senate Bill 1025 makes clear “only the Legislature may close or economically degrade a category of business.”
The Senate also passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would would require the governor to call a special session before extending a disaster declaration for more than 30 days. That measure would need to be approved by the state’s voters to become law.
Because the Legislature meets once every two years, lawmakers had a limited role in shaping the state’s response to the pandemic until the start of 2021. Only three states in the nation, including Texas, had governors who unilaterally controlled their state’s coronavirus response for more than six months.
The duration of Abbott’s coronavirus-related orders — the first was issued March 1, 2020 — is unprecedented and raises questions about the strength of the governor’s emergency powers, which have also been the subject of a number of lawsuits filed by business and political interests.
The legislation curbing Abbott’s power still has a long way to go. It must still
go to the Texas House for approval. The House has its own legislation seeking to rein in the governor’s emergency powers — House Bill 3 — which has yet to pass out of committee.
During the pandemic, Abbott has received increasing criticism from Republicans who disagreed with forcing businesses to close or limit their occupancy to prevent transmission of the virus. Though such shutdowns were enacted in most states, the lawmakers say they worried that livelihoods were destroyed by those decisions.
That frustration turned into censures of Abbott from some county Republican party executive committees and become of rallying point for critics who want a Republican to challenge him in the GOP primary as he seeks re-election. Abbott’s critics on the right have held up Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who lifted that state’s coronavirus restrictions in September, as they argue that Abbott was too slow to do the same.
During debate of the measure on Tuesday, Democrats including Sens. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, and Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, raised concerns about giving businesses blanket protections during the next pandemic, saying it could take weeks for the Legislature to convene and move on measures that may be needed immediately to save lives.
“What if we need to act with speed?” Menendez said. “What if there has to be a brief closure for 15 or 20 days?”
“Maybe you’ve raised a concern that the House will take up,” Birdwell responded, adding, “I’m adamant that only the Legislature can close businesses. The state Legislature must make the most seminal decisions for livelihood.”
“I agree that the Legislature should have a role, but will remain opposed because I don’t see this Legislature being able to convene fast enough,” Eckhardt said.
If an identical version of the bill is approved by the Texas House, Abbott would need to sign it in order for it to become law. He said in early February he was open to rolling back his office’s sweeping emergency powers. At that time, Abbott said he was “working with legislators” on the matter, “but it has to be done in a way that leaves flexibility to move swiftly.”