Gov. Abbott calls special session to address property taxes, border security; more sessions coming

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas lawmakers were adjourned for almost three hours before Gov. Greg Abbott called them back to the Capitol on Monday.

Abbott called for a special session to begin at 9 p.m. Monday following the end of the 88th Texas Legislature's regular session at around 6:15 p.m. He said property taxes and border security are on the agenda for what he called "Special Session No. 1."

"Special Session No. 1 will focus only on cutting property taxes and cracking down on illegal human smuggling," he said in a release. "We must cut property taxes. During the regular session, we added $17.6 billion to cut property taxes. However, the legislature could not agree on how to allocate funds to accomplish this goal."

In his release, he said legislation needs to be passed that lowers property taxes by "reducing the school district maximum compressed tax rate in order to provide lasting property tax relief for Texas taxpayers."

For border security, he said laws need to be passed, "solely for the purpose of increasing or enhancing the penalties for certain criminal conduct involving the smuggling of persons or the operation of a stash house."

Abbott didn't say how many special sessions there will be, but he said "several will be required."

"To ensure that each priority receives the time and attention it deserves to pass into law, only a few will be added each session," he said.

The Texas Constitution limits special sessions to a maximum of 30 days. There is no minimum however, so the session can end when lawmakers reach the goals laid out by the Governor.