Good news, Texas: Gov. Greg Abbott has announced a special legislative session to tackle the most pressing issues facing the state — like whether gummies are too fun and whether your uterus is up to no good.
On Wednesday, Abbott laid out 18 priorities for the July 21 special session. At first glance, it’s your typical disaster-recovery-meets-culture-war buffet. There’s money for flood relief in the Hill Country, which was devastated over the Fourth of July weekend, and legislation to improve emergency communication and preparedness systems.
As of Wednesday morning, officials in Kerr County had confirmed 97 deaths, including 59 adults and 36 children. Across all of Texas, at least 109 people had been killed in the floods and more than 170 people were still missing.
“We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,” Abbott said.
So far, so reasonable.
Abbott is also calling to “comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products,” including limiting potency, cracking down on synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms. He added, though, that he wants to do all that “without banning a lawful agricultural commodity.” Cool, nobody wants to see 10-year-olds watching “The Wizard of Oz” while listening to Dark Side of the Moon. But with regulation, the devil’s in the details.
Ok, so Abbott is probably not trying to ban THC — despite pressure from lawmakers who wanted to shut down the entire hemp-derived industry. In fact, he vetoed a bill last month that would’ve done just that. So yes, your Delta-8 gummies survive another day — but regulation is coming, and it’s bringing a clipboard, a testing lab, and probably a 10-point font warning label.
But the real red flag? Tucked between property tax cuts and anti-lobbying crusades is a vague-yet-ominous line item: “Legislation further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.” Which is a lot of words to say, “We might try to outlaw medication abortion, too.”
Texas already has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, but apparently that’s not quite enough fetal patriotism for Abbott. The intentionally broad wording leaves the door wide open, and banning medication abortion has been a pet project for the right.
One of the most sweeping attempts in the country to restrict abortion pills sailed through the Texas Senate earlier this year before dying in a House committee.
Undeterred, more than 40 Republican lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, sent a letter in June urging Abbott to revive the fight in the special session. Because nothing screams “limited government” like micromanaging your uterus from a Capitol office.
Abbott’s special session wish list also revives several conservative priorities that flopped during the regular session — like banning local governments from hiring lobbyists and forcing people to use bathrooms based on their assigned sex at birth.
He’s also pushing for a congressional redistricting redo, reportedly at the urging of Trumpworld, to carve out more Republican seats — even as some think it could backfire. Oh, and if Texas does redistrict, California has said it might retaliate by redrawing its own lines to offset any GOP gains.
Toss in a bid to give the Attorney General more power over election prosecutions, scrap the STAAR test, and cut property taxes, and you’ve got a full plate of red meat with a side of voter suppression.
Buckle up, Texas. Abbott’s special session is here to protect us — from THC, from testing, and from the terrifying concept of reproductive autonomy.
