The number of Texas lawmakers urging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to call a fourth special legislative session is growing.
The desire to address a ban on employer vaccine mandates has been the primary motive for the renewed calls for an additional special session of the Texas State Legislature.
According to Jeramy Kitchen of Texas Scorecard, the list of lawmakers ready to call a fourth special session initially started at 16 as of November 11.
However, that list has grown to 24, featuring politicians from the Texas House and Texas Senate.
Abbott added vaccine mandate prohibition legislation to the legislature’s agenda at the end of the third special session, which ended on October 19.
Although elected officials filed several bills to tackle the question, the state legislature did not fully address the issue.
Despite Abbott’s issuance of the order, major companies such as American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Union-Pacific Railroad have largely ignored it, raising concerns about the order’s efficacy.
As a result, several political leaders felt compelled to address this question by proposing a conventional legislative measure.
After the third special session, the Texas Republican Party has remained steadfast in its support for initiating a fourth special session to tackle employer vaccine mandate bans and other legislative items.
Kitchen provided a list of the state representatives who support an additional legislative session:
State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood)
State Sen. Drew Springer (R-Muenster)
State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)
State Rep. Keith Bell (R-Forney)
State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg)
State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park)
State Rep. Jeff Cason (R-Bedford)
State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Waxahachie)
State Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mt. Pleasant)
State Rep. Matt Krause (R-Haslet)
State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Allen)
State Rep. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)
State Rep. Candy Noble (R-Lucas)
State Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress)
State Rep. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound)
State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler)
State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano)
State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City)
State Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro)
State Rep. Valoree Swanson (R-Spring)
State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington)
State Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands)
State Rep. Cody Vasut (R-Angleton)
State Rep. James White (R-Hillister)
The 87th session of the Texas State Legislature witnessed the passage of key conservative items such as “Constitutional Carry,” Heartbeat Act legislation, and “election integrity reform,” moves that pleased conservatives, however, other issues such as property tax relief and vaccine mandates have yet to be addressed.
