Questions are swirling around the future of Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed funding for the state legislature, legislative agencies and staff, while raising funds for a border wall and calling for a special session.
“Funding should not be provided for those who quit their job early, leaving their state with unfinished business and exposing taxpayers to higher costs for an additional legislative session,” Abbott said in his veto statement. “I therefore object to and disapprove of these appropriations.”
Abbott had planned to call a special session to address redistricting and other issues before Democrats walked out on the last day of the regular session. The regular session was unable to address redistricting because of delays in U.S. Census data caused by the pandemic and former President Trump.
Abbott, a Republican endorsed by Trump, has also adopted the former president’s signature campaign issue by vowing to build a wall on the Texas-Mexico border.
The focus on the wall and other symbolic issues, such as unlicensed carrying of firearms, comes as the state faces a crisis over electric power supplies and the effects of a lingering pandemic.
While touting his wall initiative, Abbott spent little time on legislation addressing the collapse of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas electric grid in February, resulting more than 100 deaths and a pair of utility bankruptcies.
Under the Texas Constitution, the governor can issue line-item vetoes in legislation. Other than the veto for the legislature, Abbott signed House Bill 1, containing the $248.6 billion state budget. The budget provides funding for the next two fiscal years beginning Sept. 1.
Abbott unceremoniously signed House Bill 4492, allowing use of the state’s $10 billion rainy day fund to securitize debt to cover ERCOT’s losses. The grid operator faced a second strain this month due to summer heat.
"No one has ever seen anything like this before," said Sherri Greenberg, professor at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs and a former legislator. "There are questions whether this is even legal or constitutional. Does the governor have the power to do this to another branch of government?"
Legislative officials could head off the defunding if they obtain an injunction from the courts, Greenberg said. But only Abbott can determine what the legislature considers in special session, she added.
Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, called Abbott’s veto of legislative funds an "abuse of power" and said his party "is exploring every option, including immediate legal options, to fight back.”
"Texas has a governor, not a dictator," Turner said in a prepared statement. "The tyrannical veto of the legislative branch is the latest indication that [Abbott] is simply out of control.”
Abbott said he vetoed the funding to punish Democrats for walking out of the legislature on the last day of the session, killing a bill to restrict voting in Texas. But the veto also affects Republicans who control the legislature.
Abbott’s veto eliminates funds for nonpartisan agencies such as the Legislative Reference Library that conducts research for the legislature, and the Legislative Budget Board, which develops policy and budget recommendations and provides fiscal analyses for legislation.
Other agencies affected are: the Legislative Council, which helps draft and analyze potential legislation; the State Auditor’s Office, which reviews the state’s finances; and the Sunset Advisory Commission, which reviews state agencies.
Abbott was joined by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan, Senate Finance and House Appropriations Chairs Jane Nelson and Greg Bonnen, and members of the legislature in announcing plans to build a border wall with online donations.
"The problems along the border are only getting worse due to President Biden's inaction,” Abbott said of the administration that has dropped Trump’s campaign for a wall across the nearly 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexico border.
“Property is being destroyed, deadly drugs and illegal weapons are being smuggled into communities throughout the state, law enforcement is having to redirect their resources, and county judges and mayors are facing skyrocketing expenses,” Abbott said.
“Through this comprehensive public safety effort, we will secure the border, slow the influx of unlawful immigrants, and restore order in our border communities,” Abbott said.
Abbott announced plans to build the wall after a potential primary opponent, former legislator Don Huffines announced plans to erect the barrier in keeping with Trump’s efforts.
During a press conference last week, Abbott
Abbott authorized $250 million to pay for the preliminary work on the wall but said most of the money would come from voluntary contributions at the Web site
The site seeks credit card donations to the governor’s office and advises donors that information submitted on the site is subject to public disclosure.
Abbott’s online fundraising mirrors a private campaign called “We Build the Wall” that led to fraud charges against former Trump official Steve Bannon.
A federal judge last month dismissed an indictment against Bannon based on Trump’s pardon of the former campaign strategist and right-wing commentator. Bannon was accused of taking more than $1 million from people who thought they were donating to Trump's US-Mexico border wall.
"By October 2019 ... Bannon and the other defendants received hundreds of thousands of dollars each, which they used on personal expenses such as travel, hotels, and personal credit card debt,” U.S. District
According to court documents and public interest news agency Pro Publica, the three miles of wall near Mission, Texas, built with the private funding will not survive flooding along the Rio Grande.
The private border wall has also had the unintended consequence of dramatically increase a landowner’s property values and taxes. In 2020, the Hidalgo County Appraisal District notified sugar cane farmer Lance Neuhaus, of Neuhaus & Sons, that his property south of Mission, Texas, has been valued at millions more than the previous year because of the private border wall, per The Border Report news site.
