Greg Abbott Will Decide Which Bills To Veto And Which To Sign, Over The Next Two Weeks

“This is when he’s got a moment to be able to sit back and reflect and tremendously shape how things go through from what the legislature OK’d.”

By Rhonda Fanning & Terri LangfordJune 3, 2019 12:05 pm

The legislative session ended last week, but Gov. Greg Abbott still has a little over two more weeks to decide which bills he wants to veto and which will become law.

Brandon Rottinghaus is professor of political science at the University of Houston, and says this is the period when Abbott has the most power.

“This is when he’s got a moment to be able to sit back and reflect and tremendously shape how things go through from what the legislature ok’d,” Rottinghaus says.

He says he’s expecting the governor to veto a few bills. One is a bill that expands access to cannabis-derived CBD oil, and he also expects Abbott to veto some things from the state budget.

“It was a shockingly large budget,” Rottinghaus says. “For the first time in history, [it was] a quarter-trillion-dollar budget, and the 16% increase from the prior biennium, I think, has got a lot of conservative groups pretty irate.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– What it means when the governor doesn’t sign a bill, but also doesn’t veto it

– How a politically divided Texas House may have contributed to a relatively “calm” legislative session

– What Rottinghaus expects for the upcoming 2020 primaries

 

Written by Caroline Covington.