Gov. Greg Abbott followed through Friday on a threat to veto a section of the state budget that funds the Texas Legislature, its staffers and legislative agencies.
The governor’s move targeting lawmaker pay comes after House Democrats walked out in the final days of the regular legislative session, breaking quorum, to block passage of Senate Bill 7, Abbott’s priority elections bill that would have overhauled voting rights in the state. The move also killed bail legislation that Abbott had earmarked as a priority.
In a statement, Abbott said that “funding should not be provided for those who quit their job early, leaving their state with unfinished business and exposing taxpayers to higher costs for an additional legislative session.”
“I therefore object to and disapprove of these appropriations,” the governor said.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Chris Turner of Grand Prairie called the move by Abbott an “abuse of power” and said the caucus “is exploring every option, including immediate legal options, to fight back.”
“Texas has a governor, not a dictator,” Turner said in a statement. “The tyrannical veto of the legislative branch is the latest indication that [Abbott] is simply out of control.”
Since Abbott issued his threat earlier this month, other lawmakers and political leaders have raised concerns over how the move could impact staffers and legislative agencies that are funded by Article X, which is the section of the budget he vetoed, such as the Legislative Reference Library and the Legislative Budget Board.
“I’m just concerned how it impacts them because they weren’t the ones who decided that we were going to break quorum, it wasn’t their decision, right?,” said House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, in an interview earlier this month.
Questions have also been raised about the constitutionality of the move, which according to the Legislative Reference Library is unprecedented.
See here, here, and here for the background. I very much want to see a lawsuit filed to challenge this, because the constitutional questions this veto raises need to be answered. Someone might also point out that Abbott could veto funding for the courts under whatever pretext he wanted as well if this is kosher. Separation of powers has to mean something.
I’m going to turn the mike over to Scott Braddock for a minute:
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This isn’t that hard: In the special, the Texas Legislature defunds @GregAbbott_TX’s staff in another appropriations bill.
He can cut – but not add – to the budget with his veto pen
#txlege— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) 12:52 AM – 19 June 2021
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And since power-grabbing is in vogue: The Texas Legislature could also restore their funding and tell @GregAbbott_TX they won’t pass anything else in a special until he signs in. Doesn’t matter if he puts it on the call #txlege— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) 12:56 AM – 19 June 2021
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If any members of the Legislature ask @GregAbbott_TX’s campaign to reimburse their staffers on the campaign side, that’ll be reported. If he buys his way out of this it’ll be public (if he follows Texas law) #txlege— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) 1:00 AM – 19 June 2021
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There are many Republican legislators who believed until tonight that Gov @GregAbbott_TX wasn’t serious, and was just posturing, when he said he’d attack their staff.
Now you know: He doesn’t care about you, your staff, or their families. Period #txlege— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) 1:12 AM – 19 June 2021
Hard to know how people will react to something unprecedented like this, but it’s not a stretch to think there may be some anger at Abbott from people who had supported him in the past. How they express that, and whether it might extend beyond a primary are questions I can’t answer. More immediately, the impression I have gotten from reading the Twitter posts of more legislatively fluent people is that as long as there is a special session before the end of the fiscal year (I think that’s August 31 but could be wrong), then this funding can be restored before any staffer loses a paycheck. More likely than not that is what will happen regardless of any litigation. But as with the freeze and blackouts of February, this is for thousands of people another huge and unexpected disruption to their daily lives and the security and stability they thought they had. No matter what happens, that’s going to leave a mark. Texas Standard has more.
The fine governor JUST might have really made a rather LARGE MISTAKE… My understanding one of the reasons for the special session is to deal with reapportion. Wonder how hard legislators and their staff would be working to come up with a plan that would please the governor if they know that they are going to be “enjoying” not being paid for the next 2 years?
From everything I’ve been reading lately, greener pastures beckon many who are experiencing job dissatisfaction. What are the penalties for a state that fails to accomplish redistricting in a timely manner?
If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. If any of the state lawmakers disagree, let them send me payment for fixing their cars, mowing their lawns, and painting their houses. Just because I didn’t do those things, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t pay me for them.
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