Texas Republicans are looking forward to a productive week, following a busy weekend in Austin.
With the run-away Democrats finally back to do their job, or at least enough for a quorum, the Texas House was finally able to pass SB 1, the election integrity bill. The House and the Senate will iron out some final details before sending it to Governor Greg Abbott's desk.
Also over the weekend, bail reform bounced back and won the first vote in the Texas House. SB 6 which had stalled, was rewritten and now has to pass through the House one more time before going to back to the Senate.
Retired teachers, who were put on hold while the Texas Democrats partied in Washington, are now one step closer to getting that '13th' check for up to $2,400. SB 7 was approved and needs one final ok before going to the Governor's desk.
The Texas House also approved SB 9 which would add $2 billion dollars for border security, along with SB 15 which would fund virtual learning through 2023. Both need final approval.
And finally, SB 8, the Texas abortion law that would ban abortions as early as six weeks, is set to officially become law on Wednesday. The 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals canceled a hearing that was planned for today. Over the weekend, a group led by Planned Parenthood filed an emergency motion with the court, but those motions were denied on Sunday.
The 2nd Special Session of the Texas legislature is set to resume today in Austin.