No doubt tempers were running high. Republicans were furious that Democrats killed a controversial voting restrictions bill by walking out of the Capitol in the final hours of the legislative session.
But Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat last Monday to veto the Legislature’s funding — to defund a coequal branch of government, one that provides checks and balances on his own powers — marks a scandalous withholding of government funds to punish political foes, an authoritarian response trampling over the very idea of a government of the people.
The governor may disagree with the views and even the parliamentary tactics of some lawmakers. But he has no right to cut off the public dollars that allow them to represent and serve their constituents.
Abbott’s sweeping threat, issued on Twitter, appears to target more than the salaries of Democratic lawmakers, or even all lawmakers. Abbott pledged to “veto Article 10 of the budget,” a $200 million-a-year section that pays for legislative staffers as well as a litany of nonpartisan workers, including budget experts, employees who provide computer support and printing services, members of the State Auditor’s Office and staffers who review the performance of state agencies for the Sunset Advisory Commission. Abbott has until June 20 to veto any funding for the budget year starting Sept. 1.
It is unconscionable for Abbott to threaten the pay of those workers as part of his brinkmanship with Democratic lawmakers. It is also foolish, as Abbott is calling lawmakers back for at least one special session later this year. As Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, noted last Tuesday, “Even if duly elected but unpaid legislators showed up, how do we have a special session when all support staff necessary to operate (the) session no longer have jobs?”
No Texan should find satisfaction in a lawmaking process that is so broken that legislators flee the Capitol rather than cast a vote. But the voting restrictions bill has been shrouded in bad-faith dysfunction from the start, with Republican lawmakers cutting off discussion in committee hearings; with Democrats effectively excluded from the negotiations to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill; with lawmakers receiving a revised bill with 20 pages of new provisions just hours before the final vote, without any opportunity to examine important new language addressing when election results could be overturned.
Texas cannot promote public confidence in elections by ramming through a voting restrictions bill crafted behind closed doors, supported by only one party and divorced from any evidence of substantial voter fraud. Those who drafted and refined Senate Bill 7 showed no interest in Democratic voices throughout the process, wanting Democratic bodies in the room only for quorum purposes.
Abbott is the leader of his party, but Texans need him to act now as the leader of our state. It’s his job to build consensus, not exact revenge. It’s his job to listen to the representatives of the people, not inflict collateral damage on hard-working government staffers. It’s his job to lead, not to govern by intimidation and reckless strongman tactics.
Austin American-Statesman
