Texas Senator files resolution to put term limits on state offices: 'The Governor has gone rogue'

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, filed a resolution Thursday that would limit all of the Texas' statewide elected offices to two terms, according to a press release from the senator.

Senate Joint Resolution 4 "mirrors" a 2013 resolution filed by Sen. Kevin Eltife and co-authored by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the release said. Like the 2013 version, SJR 4 doesn't put limits on legislative branch offices.

That resolution was the 83rd Legislative Session's SJR 13, which was blocked by a 61-80 vote of the Texas House. That vote saw lawmakers from both parties landing on either side of the issue -- Patrick voted for it in the Senate, and Rep. Gene Wu voted for it in the House.

KXAN reached out to Patrick's office for comment about the resolution. He's been Texas' lieutenant governor since 2015 and recently announced his run for a fourth term.

In a statement, Johnson said the filing was a response to Gov. Greg Abbott's addition of three topics to an "overladen" special session.

"It's fair to say the Governor has gone rogue. He’s running special sessions as if the Legislature were composed of his employees, there to serve his political calculations no matter their own opinions and no matter the damage to the state," the Senator said.

Abbott is in his third term as Texas Governor. If he wins reelection in 2026, Abbott would become the state's longest serving governor.

KXAN reached out to Abbott for comment, and will update this story if we receive a response.

"This is what happens when you give too much power to one individual for too long ... a fourth term would give Abbott 16 years to control state bureaucracy – and the staggering campaign cash that that control draws," Johnson added. "There is no hoping for limited government while giving the executive branch unlimited tenure."

Johnson also criticized his fellow legislators for "again and again" giving away their power to the state's executive branch.

"This is a historical aberration, and not a good one. Legislatures once guarded their power
fiercely. Today, Republican majorities yield it willingly," Johnson said.