First posted on Instagram
Texas State Representative Brian Harrison has called on Governor Greg Abbott to immediately convene a special legislative session to limit the governor's emergency powers before Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat, takes office.
Harrison, a Republican from Midlothian, sent Abbott a letter on Wednesday, November 4, and pressed the demand in a lengthy post on X. "We still have total power in Texas, and we must act like it by using the remaining ten weeks to restore separation of powers and limit the emergency powers that Governor-Elect Hinojosa is set to inherit, which would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat," he wrote.
Hinojosa defeated Abbott, a three-term incumbent, in Tuesday's election, in a result called by the Associated Press. Harrison argues that without action, Hinojosa "will inherit the powers of a DICTATOR," because Texas emergency powers laws allow a governor to modify laws, ignore laws, or create and enforce laws — including criminal laws — on a whim. He argues Republicans still have a limited window to pass restrictions while they control the Texas government, and warns Hinojosa could use the same executive powers she has reportedly pledged to exercise on her first day.
Harrison wants the Legislature to pass House Bill 911, a bill he filed in December 2022 against what he called "never ending emergency powers." The bill would prohibit the governor from suspending or modifying statutes, require emergency orders to expire after 30 days unless approved by the Legislature, prevent governors from reissuing orders that lawmakers have rejected or allowed to expire, require emergency orders to be narrowly tailored, and fast-track legal challenges to emergency declarations. The bill remained in committee after its referral in March 2023.
Harrison says he has pushed for the reforms since 2022 and has warned since he was first elected that no governor, Republican or Democrat, should have unchecked emergency powers. "We have TEN WEEKS LEFT to protect Texas from near total Democrat rule," he wrote, urging every elected Republican in Texas to join his demand for Abbott to call a special session. The decision rests with Abbott: only the governor can call a special session in Texas.