Texas second special session ends with possible third looming

Second special session has ended

The second special session of the Texas legislature officially came to an end on Sept. 4. State lawmakers are leaving Austin after several partisan battles and the possibility of a third special session.

AUSTIN, Texas - A few people were at the Texas Capitol Thursday morning to tour what was a legislative battleground. 

In a mostly empty House Chamber, Speaker Dustin Burrows, wearing a jacket but no tie, formally closed out the Second Special Session.

Big picture view:

Governor Greg Abbott had already left Austin and was in Center Point. 

Abbott and the first lady spent Thursday morning handing out laptops to students affected by the July flooding. During the event, the governor spoke about the comprehensive flood response package he put in his 2nd Special Session call.

"Last night a budget was passed out of the Texas legislature adding another $300 million, so a total of a half a billion dollars. To help respond to this devastating tragedy. And a large portion of that is going to be helping every community be able to recover and to rebuild," said Abbott.

Ongoing flood response was also the topic earlier Thursday morning in the state Senate. A special committee was created to conduct a broader investigation.

"We want to be able take a look at, what worked, what didn't work. And so, with the bills that we adopted in this special session, which are great bills and very much needed, but they addressed pretty much immediately. And this study will be able to take, do this deeper dive to this comprehensive investigative look at the entire situation as totality," said State Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton).

The 89th Session of the Texas legislature began back in January. FOX 7 Austin was there as the big debate, initially, was on education funding. When lawmakers were called back for the first special session in July, FOX 7 Austin covered how Democrats broke quorum to stall a vote on a new congressional redistricting map. In August, with the Second Special Session, the map, flood response and a host of republican priorities were pushed through.

Thursday morning, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick noted it’s been a long stay under the Capitol dome.

"I don't think in the history of the state any Senate body has ever accomplished so much. We started on a cold night at the Senate ladies' gala in January, eight months ago, and here we are. And we thought the biggest bill of the whole session and the biggest issue and the biggest news would be school choice. And it happened so long ago, it's almost... Oh yes, we passed school choice too," said Patrick.

What's next:

Several key items were left undone. 

Regulating or banning hemp products with excessive amounts of THC failed. A deal to tighten the cap on property tax increases got sidetracked, as did a compromise on a bill to prevent the release of unsubstantiated claims in law enforcement personnel files. Any of those undone items could bring state lawmakers back to Austin for a third special session.

Abbott, on Wednesday, hinted there may be another call, but a third session would have to be squeezed around the upcoming mid-term primaries, which typically heat up by January.