Abbott Sets Special Session Agenda, Some Wins for Liberty

Estimated Time to Read: 8 minutes

On July 9, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) formally released the agenda for the upcoming special legislative session, set to convene at noon on July 21. Framed as a response to recent weather-related emergencies and lingering unfinished legislative business, the call includes a broad mix of policy items ranging from flood recovery to the regulation of hemp products.

Just days before the proclamation, Texas Policy Research called on Abbott to include 12 critical priorities to protect the liberty of Texans. The list included proposals such as banning taxpayer-funded lobbying, enacting a property tax compression plan, ending in-state tuition for illegal aliens, implementing a moratorium on AI regulation, and passing “Defend the Guard” legislation to block unconstitutional foreign deployments of Texas National Guard members.

Abbott’s official proclamation includes only some of these priorities.

Official Agenda for the Texas Special Legislative Session

According to the July 9 proclamation, the special session will consider the following:

Big Liberty Wins: Abbott Delivers on Some Key Priorities

While not every liberty priority made it into the call, several major victories for limited government and personal responsibility did. Governor Abbott deserves credit for including the following items, each of which aligns directly with the agenda Texas Policy Research urged him to adopt.

Property Tax Relief & Local Spending Limits

The inclusion of legislation to reduce the property tax burden and impose spending limits on taxing entities is a meaningful step in the right direction. While it falls short of full elimination through M&O compression, it reflects a commitment to structural reform and increased accountability for local governments. We’re pleased to see this issue included in the call, as it acknowledges that the Senate’s reliance on increasing the homestead exemption offers only limited, short-term relief. While Texas Policy Research will continue to advocate for the complete elimination of the property tax, we encourage lawmakers to pursue the most substantial and lasting relief possible for Texas taxpayers.

Ban on Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying

This one’s huge. For years, liberty advocates have called on the Legislature to end the practice of using taxpayer dollars to fund lobbyists who often work against taxpayer interests. Abbott’s call to ban both the hiring of contract lobbyists and the payment of dues to lobbying associations is a long-overdue correction. With SB 19 as a blueprint, the Legislature must finally deliver.

Abortion Pill Enforcement

We are also pleased to see the agenda include language aimed at “further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.” This is widely understood as an invitation to revive SB 2880, which would create a civil enforcement mechanism targeting the trafficking of abortion-inducing drugs into Texas. It’s a clear win for both life and liberty, emphasizing individual accountability over bureaucratic enforcement.

Redistricting Revisited: DOJ Pressure Forces a Return to the Map

One of the more controversial items on the special session agenda is legislation to provide a revised congressional redistricting plan. This follows a formal notice issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on July 7, 2025, which alleges that four of Texas’s current congressional districts—TX-09, TX-18, TX-29, and TX-33—constitute unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.

The DOJ’s complaint stems from the Fifth Circuit’s 2024 decision in Petteway v. Galveston County, which overturned longstanding precedent by holding that so-called “coalition districts” are not protected under the Voting Rights Act. These are districts where minority groups, such as Black and Hispanic voters, are combined to form a majority for electoral purposes. According to the DOJ, Texas created such districts in Houston and Dallas that now violate the constitutional standard of race neutrality in redistricting.

Specifically, the DOJ argues that:

• TX-09 and TX-18 were drawn to create two coalition seats in Houston.
• TX-29 was crafted as a majority Hispanic district using strict racial lines.
• TX-33, originally created through a federal court order, was re-adopted by the Legislature in 2021 without change, despite no longer having the same legal justification.

The DOJ contends that any race-based redistricting must be temporary and must serve a compelling state interest, which it argues no longer applies after Petteway. Texas has been asked to respond and bring its maps into compliance or face potential legal action under the 14th Amendment.

By including redistricting on the special session agenda, Governor Abbott is giving lawmakers the opportunity to respond before litigation escalates. But this move is not without political consequences—it reopens the redistricting debate just one year after the 2024 elections and could reshape the 2026 landscape, depending on how the Legislature chooses to act.

Will Democrats Show Up? A Strategic Wildcard

One of the biggest unknowns surrounding redistricting in this special session is whether House Democrats will even show up. Because redistricting bills require a two-thirds vote (100 members) in the Texas House to take effect immediately, Democrats hold leverage by potentially denying quorum, a tactic they’ve employed before without long-term political penalty. With several conservative priorities on the call, including restrictions on abortion pills, a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying, and property tax reforms, many Democrats may see little incentive to participate in a process that could empower a legislative agenda they oppose. Their willingness to engage, or walk, will significantly shape not just the outcome of redistricting, but the success or failure of the entire special session.

Final Thoughts

Governor Abbott’s special session proclamation includes several meaningful wins for liberty-minded Texans, most notably the inclusion of property tax relief tied to spending limits, a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying, and efforts to crack down on the trafficking of abortion-inducing drugs. These are strong reforms that Texas Policy Research fully supports and has long advocated for.

At the same time, the omission of major priorities like Defend the Guard legislation, AI regulation restraint, and a ban on guaranteed income programs reveals a reluctance to fully commit to structural reform. The agenda feels more like a patchwork of partially finished business than a bold vision for the future of liberty in Texas.

The redistricting item introduces a significant wildcard. With the DOJ pressuring Texas to redraw four congressional districts on constitutional grounds, the Legislature must act quickly. But it also raises serious questions about political participation—especially in the House, where Democrats may be tempted to deny quorum rather than give Republicans the numbers they need to fast-track redistricting or any of the governor’s other priorities.

Texans shouldn’t underestimate the importance of this session. While the call may be limited, the outcomes could shape everything from how students are tested, to how taxpayers are protected, to how congressional lines are drawn for years to come.

The special session convenes at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, July 21, 2025, and can last for up to 30 days. Under the Texas Constitution, only the governor can call a special session and decide what is on the agenda. What happens next will depend not only on what’s been included—but on whether lawmakers have the political courage to act.

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