Gov. Greg Abbott has called the first of several expected special legislative sessions this year to begin on July 8.
The Governor’s office announced the decision to call the special session on Tuesday after teasing the potential for several special sessions over the past few weeks. It has not yet been stated which items will be included on the agenda for the session, but Abbott’s office said he will announce the priorities for the session prior to the convening of the Texas Legislature.
Under Texas law, the Governor is the only person allowed to call a special session in between regular sessions and may also set the agenda for the session. It has been widely expected that Abbott could call more than one session before the end of the year to address both his legislative priorities and redistricting ahead of the 2022 midterm elections in Texas.
This year’s special session will be the first since 2017, which Abbott called to address a number of legislative priorities.