The Texas Legislature gaveled in today for the start of a 30-day special session, called by Gov. Greg Abbott to tackle a wide-ranging agenda from flood recovery to mid-decade redistricting.
Abbott’s 18-item call includes several unfinished conservative priorities from the regular session, but the most politically charged is redrawing the state’s congressional map. Though redistricting is typically done once every decade, Republicans are eyeing changes they say reflect population shifts and court rulings.
Democrats, meanwhile, have already slammed the effort as a partisan power grab.
At a press conference Monday morning, the Texas House Democrat Caucus said “all options” are on the table to oppose the plan, including breaking quorum to prevent the Legislature from conducting business, as it did in 2003 and again in 2021.
Its comments come after the launch of a website outlining its intent to “use every tool available—including breaking quorum if necessary.”
Meanwhile, the Legislature enters the special session with billions of dollars potentially up for grabs.
Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock released an updated revenue estimate on Monday, showing that $3.1 billion in general-purpose revenue remains available through August 2027. Hancock also pointed to a record balance in the Economic Stabilization Fund, or Rainy Day Fund, which is projected to reach $28.5 billion by the end of fiscal 2027.
“Texas’ revenue estimate is holding steady,” Hancock said. “With a record balance in the Rainy Day Fund, a conservative approach to budgeting should keep us well-prepared to fund essential priorities.”
In addition, Congress recently allocated $13 billion to reimburse states for border security expenses as part of the “Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Trump earlier this month. Texas is expected to receive the bulk of this funding. Once factored in, lawmakers could have upwards of $16 billion in total available resources during the session.
How lawmakers will use it remains to be seen. Abbott’s agenda includes proposals for flood mitigation, additional property tax relief, and other initiatives that would require funding.
Andrew McVeigh, the president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, called the funds “over-collected taxpayer money.”
“With Governor Abbott adding property tax relief to the Special Session agenda, this is a perfect opportunity to provide every penny of this surplus money back to the people in the form of property tax relief,” McVeigh told Texas Scorecard.
“Of course, efforts like this must be coupled with tax reform and reigning in local spending, so that any relief provided by the legislature can actually have its intended effect, and not be eaten up by higher local taxes.”
With the session underway, legislative committees are expected to begin work immediately. The Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting is expected to hold public hearings over the coming days. Other committees will begin taking up legislation on topics like THC regulation, school testing, and disaster response.
As attention shifts to the committee process, the question remains whether Democrats will remain in the chamber or make good on their threat to walk out once again.
