Texas Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison is calling on outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott to limit the governor’s emergency powers before Democrat Gina Hinojosa takes office in January 2027.
Harrison urged Abbott on Wednesday to convene a special legislative session, arguing that Republicans still have time to act before Hinojosa’s inauguration. Democrats won the governor’s race and other statewide contests on Tuesday, but the current Republican-led government remains in place for about ten more weeks.
In a post on X, Harrison said lawmakers should use that period to restore a clearer separation of powers and restrict the emergency authority Hinojosa will inherit. He added that his concern was not tied to one party: no Texas governor, he argued, should have unchecked emergency powers.
Harrison said the state should have curbed those powers when he first raised the issue in 2022. Without changes, he warned, Hinojosa could wield authority beyond what the state constitution gives a governor. He claimed the law could let a governor alter statutes after declaring an emergency, a power he described as unconstitutional.
Under Section 433.002 of the Texas Government Code, a governor can issue emergency directives and amend, modify or rescind them during a declared emergency, subject to the law’s requirements. The Texas Disaster Act of 1975 also allows a governor to declare a disaster and suspend certain regulatory requirements. Declarations must be renewed after 30 days, and the Legislature can end them at any time.
Harrison said emergency powers had been misused before and claimed Hinojosa had promised to use them on her first day. He called on Republicans to act while they still control the state government.
He also urged lawmakers to pass HB911, a bill he filed in December 2022 that would restrict what he called the governor’s “never-ending” emergency powers.
Hinojosa defeated Abbott in Tuesday’s election, becoming Texas’ first Latina governor. During her campaign, she said she would declare a “high-cost emergency” and issue orders to suspend the state’s gas and diesel taxes and freeze residential electricity rates.
Abbott’s office and Hinojosa’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
In another post Thursday, Harrison said his push to limit emergency authority had drawn angry reactions from critics. He noted that he had proposed similar legislation four years earlier, shortly after Abbott won re-election, and said the response then had been different.
The Texas governor can sign or veto bills, serve as commander-in-chief of the state’s military forces and call special legislative sessions for specific purposes.
Hinojosa said Wednesday that her administration would govern with “a politics of courage, not convenience.” Democrats also won a major Senate race in Texas, where James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Some Republican state senators have said they plan to resist Democratic policy proposals. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump criticized Abbott after the election, calling him a “RINO” and suggesting he lost because he had returned to his original political approach.
Abbott conceded on Tuesday and said he had offered to help Hinojosa and her team during the transition.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said he had warned for weeks that Texas Republicans were at risk of losing statewide races. He called the outcome deeply disappointing, noting that the state had not elected a Democratic governor since 1994 or a Democratic senator since 1993.
