One of the few Republicans who managed to keep his seat in the Texas House of Representatives through Tuesday's bloodbath is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to rein in the powers afforded to the governor before Democrats formally take power in January.
Abbott was voted out of office on Tuesday, losing decisively, 52.8%-45.7%, to Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an open-borders Democrat who has advocated taxpayer-funded health care for illegal aliens and sanctuary cities in the Lone Star State and voted against restrictions on sex-rejection surgeries on kids.
'The grassroots can help us force action now.'
Hinojosa said in her victory speech on Tuesday, "The voters have delivered a mandate for change, and it is change they will get."
On the campaign trail, Hinojosa signaled a desire to use gubernatorial emergency powers as soon as she takes office.
She stated ahead of Election Day, "Within an hour of taking the oath of office, I will declare a high-cost emergency in the state of Texas and issue an emergency executive order to: one, suspend the gas and diesel tax; and two, freeze electricity rates."
Of note, once in office, she will also have the support of a Democrat-controlled Texas House of Representatives as well as a Democrat lieutenant governor, Vikki Goodwin, and a Democrat state attorney general, Nathan Johnson. However, Republicans will retain a majority in the state Senate.
While Texans of various political stripes may be amenable to a tax freeze, state Rep. Brian Harrison (R) suspects Hinojosa might wield her newfound powers for nefarious purposes.
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Harrison sent a letter to Abbott on Wednesday imploring the badly defeated governor to call a special session "to rein in executive emergency powers before it's too late."
"During this time, we Republicans still control the entirety of the Texas government, and we muse use every minute of it and every lever of power lawfully afforded to us to protect Texans against the coming four-year period of near total Democrat rule," wrote the state representative.
Harrison suggested that owing to "Texas's absurd (and almost certainly unconstitutional) emergency powers laws, Gov. Hinojosa will literally inherit the power to modify laws, ignore laws, or create and enforce laws — including criminal laws — on a whim!"
The state representative has a pandemic-era bill ready to go that would bar the governor from suspending or modifying statutes; torpedo emergency orders in 30 days if not ratified by the legislature; bar the governor from reissuing expired or rejected emergency orders; and subject emergency orders to expedited judicial review.
The bill would also require that an order issued by the governor or another state official that infringes on the rights of a private person must be "narrowly tailored to serve a compelling public health or safety purpose" and "limited in duration, applicability, and scope to reduce any infringement on individual liberty."
Neither Abbott's office nor Hinojosa's campaign responded to Blaze News' request for comment.
"Governor Greg Abbott has ignored my numerous requests for special sessions to pass countless conservative policy priorities, but time is really short now for him to act on this imminent threat!" Harrison said in a written statement to Blaze News. "I had no problem calling this out back in 2022 when Republicans were in power. Democrats agreed then; they should agree now."
Harrison, who expressed hope that "the grassroots can help us force action now," stressed the urgency of taking action as quickly as possible, noting that Hinojosa's promised use of emergency powers "could wreak havoc on our oil and gas sector."
The state representative also noted that Hinojosa has before her an opportunity to show consistency on the subject of emergency-power uses.
"Gina Hinojosa has publicly complained that Gov. Abbott has 'abused' emergency powers and told me she wants to limit them," said Harrison. "She has an opportunity to prove she isn’t being hypocritical, and she should be forced to answer if she still believes emergency powers should be limited."
Texas Rep. Chip Roy (D) signaled support for Harrison's proposal, as did Florida's Voice founder Brendon Leslie, who tweeted, "Abbott will do this if he gives a damn about his legacy."
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[H/T Blaze Media]
