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The Blast: Is the border the next Abbott-Patrick front? [1]

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Date: 2023-06 

A SPECIAL SESSION STATUS UPDATE

While the House continues to enjoy its summer break, the Senate is getting to work bright and early tomorrow with hearings on border bills.



The Senate Border Security Committee, which will get things going at 8:30 a.m., is slated to take up four border bills, including one sent from the House before that chamber adjourned sine die a week ago. But the more curious part of the agenda are the two bills that go beyond Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session call for the Legislature to increase penalties for human smuggling and operating stash houses.



Senate Bill 2 Senate Bill 2424. That bill never made it to the House floor after getting postponed to death.



While it’s mostly a symbolic move for the Senate to pass the bill with no sign that the House will reverse its sine die plans, SB 2 is another dig at the lower chamber. SB 2 replicates the Senate’s plan for SB 2424, not the House’s watered-down version.



SB 2 and the Senate’s SB 2424 draft proposed a Class A misdemeanor for illegal immigration while the House’s SB 2424 draft proposed a Class B misdemeanor. Additionally, the Senate’s version included penalty enhancements beyond the agreed-upon state jail felony for repeat offenses and other prior convictions.



The second bill that diverges from Abbott’s call is Senate Bill 8, which would establish a “Texas Border Force,” per the Senate’s version of House Bill 7 and similar to House Bill 20, both from the regular session.



The recurring theme here is that the Senate and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are continuing to flout the specifics of Abbott’s special session call after making a stink over passing a property tax bill that includes raising the homestead exemption against Abbott’s wishes. Citing case law and precedent, Patrick says the governor can diagnose areas for lawmakers to address but can’t prescribe a legislative solution.



The disagreements could result in a bit of a Capitol showdown tomorrow. Patrick is hosting a news conference after lunch, and Abbott is holding a bill signing on public safety legislation later that afternoon. In the evening, the Senate will hold a floor session and is expected to pass the border bills that emerge from committee.



There’s also another opportunity for Patrick to continue his special session crusade. During tomorrow’s floor session, the Senate could get the ball rolling on Senate Bill 9, a reboot of the regular session’s Ten Commandments bill. Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, today filed that bill, which would mandate that public schools display the Ten Commandments.

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