The Texas Legislature’s 2023 regular session staggered to its end on May 29, as lawmakers finalized the bills and budgets that will shape the next two years in the state.
Gov. Greg Abbott has until Sunday to sign or veto the bills passed in the 140-day session, which saw legislators divided over hot-button issues like teacher salaries, school security, LGBTQ+ rights and gun control.
Immediately following the regular session’s end, Abbott called a special session to continue hashing out certain priorities that had fallen through, namely cutting property taxes and beefing-up border security.
Special sessions can last no longer than 30 days and are limited to the topics chosen by the governor. The governor had called three special sessions in 2021, with the last one stretching into October.