Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave his pen a real workout over the weekend, signing into law a number of measures passed by the 89th Texas Legislature that attack the LGBTQ community, women’s bodily autonomy, local control and more. And then word came today that the governor not only had vetoed the Legislature’s ban on THC products, but that he is also calling lawmakers back for a special session to address that and other issues related to other bills he vetoed.
HB1106
It started on Friday, June 20, when Abbott signed into law House Bill 1106, which amends the Texas Family Code to allow homophobic parents to get away with bullying their LGBTQ kids. Or, in the words of the state, HB 1106 amends the family code to specify that a parent’s refusal to affirm a child’s gender identity or sexual orientation does not constitute child abuse or neglect.
Texas Freedom Network Political Director Rocío Fierro-Pérez said in a written statement:
“This law gives the state’s approval to reject LGBTQIA+ kids. It strips some of our most vulnerable youth of even the most basic protections and sends a dangerous signal: that adults can ignore, deny, or silence a child’s identity, and the state will look the other way.
“We know what this leads to” Fierro-Pérez continued. “When a child is rejected at home, the risk of depression, self-harm, and suicide skyrockets. When young people are denied the ability to be called by their name or recognized for who they are, they’re being told they don’t exist. Policies like this isolate children, discourage them from speaking up, and deepen a crisis of fear, silence, and invisibility.
““Governor Abbott and the legislators who championed this bill are not protecting children; they are abandoning them. In doing so, they’ve made Texas less safe for the young people who already need our support the most.”
HB 1106 takes effect Sept. 1.
HB 229
Fiero-Pérez and TFN also denounced another bill Abbott signed on Friday, saying that HB 229 is “a government permission slip to discriminate.”
HB 229 is the heinously hateful and scientifically invalid measure approved this spring by the Texas Legislature that mandates a binary definition of sex based solely on reproductive anatomy. It also restricts intersex Texans from being recognized outside the male/female binary and prohibits updates to gender markers on birth certificates, driver’s licenses and other vital records.
HB 229 “forces a narrow, binary definition of sex into every corner of public life in Texas. It erases transgender and intersex people from legal recognition, … [and] it does so by weaponizing our legal system against those who simply want to live as who they are,” Fierro-Pérez said.
“Texans deserve a government that respects our identities, not one that denies them,” she continued. “This law may be signed, but it will never go unchallenged. Our communities are fierce, our values are rooted in justice, and we will fight every attempt to legislate people out of existence.”
SB 10, SB 11
On Saturday, June 21, Abbott set about doing his part to violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state by signing into law Senate Bills 10 and 11, the first of which, SB 10, requires every public school classroom in Texas to display a version of the Ten Commandments specified by the state. SB 11 mandates a daily period for prayer and Bible reading in Texas public schools, with all school boards required vote on adopting such a policy within six months of the bill’s enactment, which applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
“Texas is home to millions of people of all religions, and of none. Our classrooms should reflect that diversity, not deny it,” Fierro-Pérez said of SB 10. Calling the measure “government overreach in its most dangerous form,” she continued, “Religion is a sacred practice that should be directed by families and faith leaders, not the Texas government. No child should be told by the state that their beliefs are wrong, or that they don’t belong in their own school.”
SB 11, Fierro-Pérez said, is a “deliberate attack on the First Amendment” that “open the door for public schools to become instruments of state-sponsored religion, trampling the rights of families who do not share the governor’s beliefs.
“In a state as diverse as Texas, home to Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, atheists, and so many others, this law is both unconstitutional and morally reprehensible,” she added, “SB 11 does nothing to support students; it only divides and excludes. No child should be pressured to perform piety to feel safe or accepted in a public school classroom. No teacher should have to referee prayer. And no family should have to fear that their beliefs will be marginalized by the institutions meant to educate their children.”
And if cramming religion down people’s throat weren’t enough, Abbott managed to steal away women’s bodily autonomy and local control, all in one stroke of the pen on Saturday when he signed into law SB 33. This measure prohibits local governments from using public funds or resources to support Texans seeking abortion care out of state. It bans basic assistance such as providing transportation, lodging or logistical support.
“SB 33 is an attack on basic local governance and human dignity,” Fierro-Péreze declared. “This law doesn’t protect anyone — it punishes Texans for helping people access legal healthcare. Gov. Abbott and state leaders are using their power to criminalize compassion and intimidate communities that dare to meet people’s needs where the state has abandoned them.”
THC ban vetoed
Then Abbott waited til the very last minute to veto a measure that would have banned all THC consumables, allowing THC-infused vapes, gummies and other products to continue to be sold across the state.
Had Abbott chosen to sign the measure into law, or had waited around til it passed the deadline to become law without his signature, it would have been one of the most restrictive THC bans in the country and a significant blow to the state’s billion-dollar industry.”
He vetoed the measure less than an hour before the veto deadline.
But Abbott is giving conservatives another shot at banning THC in Texas by calling a special session to beg in July 21,
The six bills up for consideration in the special session are:
• SB 3 which regulates consumable hemp products.
• SB 648 which sets recording requirements for certain instruments concerning real property.
• SB 1253 dealing with impact and production fees for certain water projects and to the regulation of certain wells; authorizing a fee.
• SB 1278 which creates an affirmative defense to prosecution for victims of trafficking of persons or compelling prostitution.
• SB 1758 dealing with the operation of a cement kiln and the production of aggregates near a semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility, and
• SB 2878 which deals with the operation and administration of and practices and procedures related to proceedings in the judicial branch of state government.