Legislative session ends with fireworks in Austin

The final day of the Legislative session in Austin was not a quiet one to be sure. And lawmakers may not be done with their work if Governor Gregg Abbott decides to have them put in overtime.

On Monday, protesters against the Sanctuary Cities bill made their presence felt. It led to State Representative Matt Rinaldi saying he called ICE. That led to a fight on the House floor.

“There was a threat made from Representative Rinaldi to put a bullet in one of my colleagues’ head,” State Representative Justin Rodriguez said, talking about a confrontation between Rinaldi and fellow State Representative Pancho Nevaras.

In the meantime continued bickering between the House and Senate over the 'Bathroom Bill' and property tax bill caused Lt. Governor Dan Patrick to demand a special session over the holiday weekend.

“They want us to stay here and get the job done, and so thanks to Joe Straus, we’re going to have a special session that he created,” Patrick said late on Friday night.

But Governor Abbott says that decision is up to him and he'll make it this week.

“When it gets to a special session, the time and the topics are solely up to the Governor of the State of Texas,” Abbott stated on Monday.

As for the highlight of the session, Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak told KTRH it was the Sanctuary Cities bill.

“It’s an issue the Governor really put a lot of emphasis on, reacting to actions in Dallas and Travis Counties by the sheriffs,” Mackowiak said.

But the lowlight, he says, was the arguing between Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus.


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