Redistricting tops agenda of third Texas Legislative special session

AUSTIN, Texas - Monday marks the start of yet another special legislative session in Texas, with redistricting at the top of the agenda.

Texas has grown by nearly four million people in the past decade, picking up two additional U.S. House seats. In addition to congressional districts, the redistricting process will also determine state legislative districts. Over the past couple of weeks, the Senate Special Committee on Redistricting has been holding hearings, and on Saturday the Senate released preliminary maps of its own members’ districts, which will need to be approved by the full legislature.

Dr. Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward’s University, says not only could this shape up to be one of the ugliest political fights we’ve seen in recent years but the outcome could likely get challenged in the court system.

"There's a lot of bad blood going on right now," said Smith. "When we think about the Republicans, what their ideal redistricting situation would be is to make all current Republican districts safe, and that both new districts are Republican. That's one extreme the Democrats are going to hope for, that the Republicans overplay their hands, the courts draw something where the new districts, they get at least one or both of those."

Federal judges have previously ruled that ten years ago Texas lawmakers discriminated against minorities in how they drew the congressional map, and two Democratic members have already filed a lawsuit calling for a court to draw the map this time around.

Also during this special session, legislators will take up a bill that would ban vaccine mandates for local and state governments. The legislation is designed to beef up Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that already bans such requirements.

Dr. Smith says the debate on this issue could go in a couple of directions: it could set up a battle between the state and federal governments, or Texas Democrats and Republicans could actually find room for compromise.

"So that opens the door for the Democrats to say, you know what, we're happy with the legislation as long as it gives these kinds of windows," said Smith. "If Governor Abbott and the Republican legislature really draw a hard line on what the vaccination mandates are allowed, it's going to come in conflict with what the federal government might do regarding a vaccination mandate."

Legislators will also decide how to spend $16 billion in federal COVID relief money.

Elsewhere on the agenda are two other hot-button issues that experts say Gov. Greg Abbott likely included because they could impact his re-election prospects.

Transgender athletes in school sports is one of the most divisive issues that lawmakers have debated this year. Legislation to only allow student-athletes to join teams that correspond with their sex on their birth certificate filed to pass during the regular session. It came back during the first special session, advancing out of a Senate committee, only to stall out in the House due to Democrats fleeing to Washington to block the voting bill.

The restrictions on transgender athletes would apply to college as well as K-12 sports. Dr. Smith says bringing back this issue in the special session is a key way for Abbott to appeal to his base ahead of a potentially tough primary.

"This is definitely the red-meat issue of the special session, it's the one issue that he thinks is going to be able to win over very conservative Republicans," said Smith. "Because if Greg Abbott loses the primary, it's not going to be from a centrist candidate. It's going to be from somebody to his right."

Abbott has also instructed lawmakers to take a second look at a bill he previously vetoed—aimed at cutting down on animal abuse. The Safe Outdoor Dog Act would create new rules around leaving dogs outside on a chain or tether. The Governor added that bill to the list for the special session after facing backlash for his veto. He has suggested that he would sign a new version if some changes were made.

"So what he has to do is using the special session to save face, to try to get a law that he agrees with, that he won't veto, that makes it look like he doesn't hate puppies and the people that own puppies. That is not a good campaign slogan for his next election: ‘I'm Greg Abbott and I don't like puppies,’" said Smith.

The third special session is set to last for the next 30 days. 

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MORE HEADLINES:
Governor Greg Abbott calls third special session starting Sept. 20
Abbott vetoes bill protecting dogs left outside in harsh conditions
Senate members discuss bill that limits transgender student-athletes
FOX 7 Discussion: 2020 census effects on Texas redistricting
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