The Texas Legislature is set to consider passing new laws that would prohibit private companies from forcing employees to get vaccinations for COVID-19.
As reported by The Dallas Express, Gov. Greg Abbott included the need for “[l]egislation prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates by private employers” in his special session call earlier this week.
“We must protect the freedom of Texans from forced COVID-19 vaccinations,” the governor said.
Legislation filed during the regular session to ban such mandates was killed in the House by the Calendars Committee earlier this year. However, grassroots activists called on lawmakers to revisit the bill as a new wave of mandates began sweeping through a number of Texas institutions, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Michelle Evans, the founder of Texans for Vaccine Choice, explained to The Dallas Express, “Medical liberty was the underdog of issues going into this special session, so Texans for Vaccine Choice credits the inclusion of private vaccine mandates [in] this call to the perseverance of our grassroots supporters who engaged in multiple action alerts.”
She also applauded “the persistence of Rep. Brian Harrison, who has remained vocally committed to advancing a ban on mandates.”
For his part, Harrison (R-Midlothian) noted, “I filed the Texas COVID Vaccine Freedom Act almost exactly TWO YEARS AGO … just hours after being sworn in to [the Texas Legislature].”
“Worked every day since then to protect medical freedom for all Texans,” he continued. “It’s taken (way) too long, but Texans are finally going to be free from COVID tyranny!”
Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), however, announced that he would be the one to file an anti-vaccine-mandate bill in the upcoming special session, claiming, “Since the first day I was sworn into office, I have vowed to fiercely protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Texans — including the right to decide which vaccines, if any, are best for Texans and their families.”
Leach, a close ally of House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) and one of the impeachment managers who prosecuted Attorney General Ken Paxton, has received substantial criticism from the grassroots wing of the Texas Republican Party for his role in the impeachment debacle. Some have suggested Leach is filing the bill in a bid to rehabilitate his reputation with the party base.
Michelle Smith, an advisor for Paxton, posted on social media: “We are not impressed Jeff. This was your bone Dade threw you. Get it done, but we don’t care [if] it is you carrying it. We know the truth why. Yes, [Rep. Harrison] has worked harder than anyone on this.”
Harrison later announced he would be re-filing his medical freedom bills.
In the upper chamber, Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) thanked Gov. Abbott for adding the issue to the special session call. Middleton had carried Harrison’s bill through the Senate during the regular session before it was killed in the House.
“No Texan should be forced to get the Covid vaccine, or have their job threatened if they choose not to get the vaccine!” the senator said.
Abbott’s special session call has been condemned by the Texas Democratic Party, with party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa saying, “Not a single priority proposed by Greg Abbott helps ease the day-to-day lives of working Texas families.”
“Billionaire mega-donors have infiltrated our state government and are the driving force behind Greg Abbott’s elusive agenda to further an extremist plot to monopolize power,” he alleged. “Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans have a long history of working for billionaires – but using their influence to disrupt our entire education system and make our border more dangerous further proves their eagerness to leave vulnerable, working families behind so they can get ahead.”