Business & Tech
San Antonio Chamber Of Commerce: Chamber Pens Letter To Gov. Abbott Requesting Regulatory Consistency (SB14) For Special Session
While your Chamber worked tirelessly during the 87th Legislative Session to make sure the needs of the business community were heard in ...
June 18, 2021
While your Chamber worked tirelessly during the 87th Legislative Session to make sure the needs of the business community were heard in Austin, critical legislation (Senate Bill 14) that would have stopped local governments from enacting labor and employment mandates on private businesses, such as hiring, scheduling, benefits, and wages, fell short. Senate Bill 14 would have helped avoid a patchwork of regulations that change from one city to the next. The Chamber believes Senate Bill 14 would have provided the needed stability for Texas employers, especially as they continue to recover from the pandemic.
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Now that session has ended, Governor Abbott has already announced that he will call a Special Session in the fall for redistricting. Your Chamber sent a letter to Governor Abbott requesting that regulatory consistency (Senate Bill 14) be added to the call.
The Governor is the only one who can call for a Special Session and will typically do so if any of his top priorities did not get passed. To call a Special Session, the Governor must issue an official proclamation with any items he would like the legislature to address. He can pick the number of topics he would like to tackle, and there is no limit. The Governor has full authority to call as many special sessions as he likes and set the agendas for those sessions. The sessions can be as long as 30 days, and legislators are not allowed to take up any other business than what is on the Governor’s agenda. When the session expires, the Governor can call another if he wishes.
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The deadline for Gov. Abbott to sign or veto bills passed during the Legislative Session is Sunday, June 20 at midnight. If he does not veto a bill, it will automatically become law. After that deadline, we can expect to hear more about how many Special Sessions are expected and what priorities will make the call.
For more information, contact Stephanie Reyes, VP of Public Policy at sreyes@sachamber.org or by phone at 210-229-2162.
This press release was produced by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce - News. The views expressed here are the author’s own.