Democrats thought they put one over on Texas governor Greg Abbott after they staged a walkout to avoid allowing the passage of an election reform bill.
The proposed legislation would have put restrictions on certain types of voting in order to ensure election fairness and integrity.
Because of the walkout, the legislation missed the deadline for passage.
Abbott says he will now veto funding to the state legislators because of the democrat walkout.
Governor Abbott explained on Twitter:
“I will veto Article 10 of the budget passed by the legislature. Article 10 funds the legislative branch. No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities.”
Governor Abbott is already calling for a special legislative session where he expects the legislators to have worked out their differences by then.
Business Insider has the inside scoop:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared in a tweet on Monday that he would suspend the pay of the Texas Legislature after state Democrats staged a walkout to prevent Republicans from passing restrictive voting legislation.
The Texas Constitution grants the governor the power to veto line items in bills and state budgets, giving Abbott the authority to unilaterally remove the Legislature's funding in the recently passed budget.
Abbott's potential veto comes after state Democrats collectively walked out of the chamber to ensure there wouldn't be the quorum of lawmakers necessary to vote on the legislation, a move that killed chances of the bill being passed before a midnight deadline.
Governor Abbott said he expects legislators to work out their differences before special session.
Here's more on what the Texas governor had to say from our friends at the Daily Wire:
“I will veto Article 10 of the budget passed by the legislature,” Abbott tweeted. “Article 10 funds the legislative branch. No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities. Stay tuned.”
Abbott, who has called for a special legislative session, followed by tweeting, “The last time a stunt like this happened was… …Wendy Davis. We all know how that story ended.”
Abbott was referring to June 2013, when then-Texas state senator Wendy Davis held a filibuster for 13 hours to block Senate Bill 5, a strong pro-life measure. With the help of the filibuster, which pushed the bill past the midnight deadline for the end of the legislative session, the bill was delayed, but when a second session was convened, the bill was passed anyway. The filibuster triggered the Democrats to choose Davis to run for governor in 2014, but she was crushed by Abbott, 59% to 38%.
Abbott stated Monday, “I expect legislators to have worked out their differences prior to arriving back at the Capitol so that they can hit the ground running to pass legislation related to these emergency items and other priority legislation. During the special session, we will continue to advance policies that put the people of Texas first,” as KXXV reported.
Governor Abbott also tweeted:
Greg Abbott has been a trailblazer for the last few years, and is one of the few governor's who handled COVID-19 the right way.
Dems can whine and moan all they want, but this man gets stuff done.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!