The morning after the Democrat blue tsunami swept through the nation, including Texas, state Rep. Brian Harrison fired off an X post urging action. “I call on Gov. Abbott to IMMEDIATELY convene a special session to REIN IN EXECUTIVE EMERGENCY POWERS… before Gina Hinojosa is sworn in!” he wrote.
Hinojosa, a Democrat state representative, defeated Republican Gov. Abbott in the Tuesday election 56%-42%. She is now governor-elect in once-red Texas and will take office January 19, 2027.
What worries Rep. Harrison about that pending date, he wrote, is the emergency-related executive authority Hinojosa is set to inherit from Abbott as the next governor.
That authority comes from the Texas Government Code and is granted to the state governor during a state of emergency, such as a natural disaster.
Gov. Abbott himself used that authority to shut down schools and businesses, and impose criminal punishment, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rep. Harrison has proven he's familiar with that state law and its executive power. He introduced legislation, HB911, during the 2022 legislative session to curb the Governor’s executive power. His bill died in committee, however, when fellow Republicans refused to curb Gov. Abbott’s political power.
That executive power, Harrison warned this week, gives a Texas governor the authority to “modify laws, ignore laws, or create and enforce laws – including criminal laws – on a whim!”
Describing those executive powers on American Family Radio, Rep. Harrison told show host Jenna Ellis he’s not exaggerating when he compares them to a dictator’s authority.
“The Governor can write laws. He can delete laws. He can edit laws. I'm not making this up,” the GOP lawmaker insisted. “The governor of Texas can create a criminal law, and then prosecute somebody for violating the criminal law, that he wrote by executive action.”
AFN has learned it is true, under Section 418, there is a maximum $1,000 fine, or up to 180 days in jail, for “failure to comply” with the Texas governor’s emergency management plan.
It was under that authority, and Gov. Abbott's orders, that a Dallas salon owner was fined and sentenced to jail for defying Covid-19 lockdown orders.
Among her stated plans for The Lonestar State, Governor-elect Hinojosa has vowed to end school vouchers, and stop border wall construction, with the power of the Governor’s office.
As far as any hints of using her executive authority, Hinojosa has also vowed to she will declare a “high-cost emergency” after taking the oath of office.
“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,” Hinojosa told reporters during her gubernatorial campaign.
Aware of that comment, Rep. Harrison told Ellis the Governor-elect has openly admitted she will start “meddling” with the state electricity markets as soon as she takes office.
“And I think that’s just the start,” he warned.
“Hey, Governor, the Democrats might have won elections two nights ago, but they weren't inaugurated two nights ago, and Governor Abbott is still the governor of the state of Texas. The legislature didn't change yet,” Harrison said.
As of today, Thursday, Gov. Abbott has not responded to Rep. Harrison's plea to call a special session.
