Gregory Wayne Abbott

Gregory Wayne Abbott 48th Governor of Texas   [Source]
Texas Heartbeat Act Greg Abbott at the signing of the Texas Heartbeat Act of 2021.  [Source]
Professional / Career Details
Name	Gregory Wayne Abbott
Position	48th Governor of Texas (incumbent; assumed office 2015-01-20)
Previous positions	Chair, Republican Governors Association (2019-11-21 to 2020-12-09) 50th Attorney General of Texas (2002-12-02 to 2015-01-05) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas (1996-01-02 to 2001-06-06)
Profession	attorney former jurist politician
Website	Gov.Texas.gov/
Personal Details
Name	Gregory Wayne Abbott
Born	1957-11-13
Birthplace	Wichita Falls, Texas, U.S.A.
Spouse	Cecilia Abbott (née Phalen; m. 1981; former school teacher, principal)
Marital status	Married
Children	Daughter: Audrey Abbott (adopted)
Nationality	American
Residence	Governor's Mansion (Austin, Texas)
Education	University of Texas at Austin  (B.B.A.) Vanderbilt University  (J.D.)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Political party	Republican Party
Political position	Right-wing
Ideology	Christian right Conservative Neoconservative
Known for	Anti-abortion rights Anti-LGBT rights in Texas Transphobia:  refer here,  here, and here

Background

Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party, Greg Abbott served as Attorney General of Texas from 2002 to 2015 and as a member of the Texas Supreme Court from 1996 to 2001. Abbott was elected governor in 2014, and re-elected in 2018.

Greg Abbott was the third Republican to serve as Attorney General of Texas since Reconstruction. He was initially elected to that office with 57 percent of the vote in 2002, re-elected with 60 percent in 2006, and 64 percent in 2010. Before assuming the office of attorney general, Abbott was a justice of the Texas Supreme Court, a position to which he was initially appointed in 1995 by then-governor George W. Bush. Abbott won a full term in 1998 with 60 percent of the vote. As Attorney General, he successfully advocated for the Texas State Capitol to display the Ten Commandments in the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case Van Orden v. Perry, and unsuccessfully defended the state's ban on same-sex marriage. He was involved in numerous lawsuits against the Barack Obama administration, seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act and the administration's environmental regulations.

In July 2013, Abbott declared his candidacy in the 2014 Texas gubernatorial election. He won the Republican primary and subsequently won the general election by 19 points. He is the first governor of Texas and third governor of a U.S. state to use a wheelchair. As Governor, Abbott supported the Donald Trump administration, and has promoted a conservative agenda, including measures against abortion such as the Texas Heartbeat Act of 2021, promoted more lenient gun laws and restrictions, opposed illegal immigration, opposed decreasing law enforcement funding, and promoted election integrity reform that his critics denounce as voter suppression. In response to the power crisis following a February 2021 winter storm, Abbott called for reforms to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and required power plant weatherization. Abbott's approach to handling the COVID-19 pandemic has been controversial, as he has resisted implementing COVID-19 public health precautions while blocking local governments, businesses and other organizations from implementing their own.

Early Life, Education and Early Law Career

Gregory Wayne Abbott was born on November 13, 1957, in Wichita Falls, Texas, of English descent. His mother, Doris Lechristia Jacks Abbott, was a stay at home wife and his father, Calvin Rodger Abbott, was a stockbroker and insurance agent. When he was six years old, they moved to Longview; the family lived in the East Texas city for six years. At the beginning of junior high school, Abbott's family moved to Duncanville. In his sophomore year in high school, his father died of a heart attack; his mother went to work in a real estate office. He graduated from Duncanville High School. He was on the track team in high school, was in the National Honor Society, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed."

In 1981, Abbott earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and the Young Republicans Club. He met his wife, Cecilia Phelan, while attending UT Austin. In 1984, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee.

On July 14, 1984, at age 26, Abbott was paralyzed below the waist when an oak tree fell on him while he was jogging following a storm. He had two steel rods implanted in his spine, underwent extensive rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston and has used a wheelchair ever since. He sued the homeowner and a tree service company, resulting in an insurance settlement that provides him with lump sum payments every three years until 2022 along with monthly payments for life; both are adjusted "to keep up with the rising cost of living." As of August 2013, the monthly payment amount was US$14,000. Abbott said he had relied on the money to help him pay for nearly three decades of medical expenses and other costs.

Greg Abbott went into private practice, working for Butler and Binion, LLP between 1984 and 1992.

Judicial Career

Greg Abbott's judicial career began in Houston, where he served as a state trial judge in the 129th District Court for three years. Then-Governor George W. Bush appointed Abbott to the Texas Supreme Court; he was then twice elected to the state's highest civil court - in 1996 (two-year term) and in 1998 (six-year term). In 1996, Abbott had no Democratic opponent but was challenged by Libertarian John B. Hawley of Dallas. Abbott defeated Hawley by a margin of 84 percent to 16 percent. In 1998, Abbott defeated Democrat David Van Os by 60 percent to 40 percent.

In 2001, after resigning from the Supreme Court, Abbott went back to private practice and worked for Bracewell & Giuliani LLC. He was also an adjunct professor at University of Texas School of Law.

Attorney General of Texas

2002 Election

Greg Abbott resigned from the Texas Supreme Court in 2001 to seek the position of Lieutenant Governor of Texas. His campaign for Lieutenant Governor had been running for several months when the previous attorney general, John Cornyn, vacated the post to run for the U.S. Senate. He then switched his campaign to the open attorney general's position in 2002. Abbott defeated the Democratic nominee, former Austin mayor and former state senator Kirk Watson, 57 percent to 41 percent. Abbott was sworn in on December 2, 2002, following fellow Republican Cornyn's election to the Senate.

Tenure

Greg Abbott expanded the attorney general's office's law enforcement division from about 30 people to more than 100. He also created a new division called the Fugitive Unit to track down convicted sex offenders in violation of their paroles or probations.

In 2003, Abbott supported the Texas Legislature's move to cap non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases at $250,000, with no built-in increases for rising cost of living.

In a 2013 speech to fellow Republicans, when asked what his job entails, Abbott said: "I go into the office in the morning, I sue Barack Obama, and then I go home." Abbott filed 31 lawsuits against the Obama administration, including suits against the Environmental Protection Agency; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including challenges to the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"); and the U.S. Department of Education, among many others.According to The Wall Street Journal, from Abbott's tenure as Attorney General through his first term as Governor, Texas sued the Obama administration at least 44 times, more than any other state over the same period; court challenges included carbon-emission standards, health-care reform, transgender rights, and others. The Dallas Morning News compared Abbott to Scott Pruitt, noting that both Attorneys General had repeatedly sued the federal government over its environmental regulations. The Houston Chronicle noted that Abbott "led the charge against Obama-era climate regulations."

Greg Abbott has said that the state must not release Tier II Chemical Inventory Reports for security reasons, but that Texans "can ask every facility whether they have chemicals or not." Koch Industries has denied that their contributions to Abbott's campaign had anything to do with his ruling against releasing the safety information.

In March 2014, Abbott filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Plano in three federal lawsuits against the hospital, brought by patients who alleged that the hospital allowed Christopher Duntsch to perform neurosurgery despite knowing that he was a dangerous physician. Abbott cited the Texas Legislature's cap on malpractice cases, along with the statute's removal of the term "gross negligence" from the definition of legal malice, as reasons for defending Baylor.

As Texas AG in the late 2000s, Abbott established a unit in the AG's office to pursue voter-fraud prosecutions, using a $1.4 million federal grant; the unit prosecuted a few dozen cases, resulting "in small fines and little or no jail time." The office found no large-scale fraud that could change the outcome of any election.

Lawsuit Against Sony BMG

In late 2005, Abbott sued Sony BMG. Texas was the first state in the nation to bring legal action against Sony BMG for illegal spyware. The suit is also the first filed under the state's spyware law of 2005. It alleges the company surreptitiously installed the spyware on millions of compact music discs (CDs) that consumers inserted into their computers when they played the CDs, which can compromise the systems. On December 21, 2005, Abbott added new allegations to his lawsuit against Sony BMG. Abbott says the MediaMax copy protection technology violates the state's spyware and deceptive trade practices laws. He says Sony BMG offered consumers a licensing agreement when they bought CDs and played them on their computers. In the lawsuit, brought under the Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act of 2005 and other laws, Abbott alleged that even if consumers reject that agreement, spyware is secretly installed on their computers, posing security risks for music buyers and deceiving Texas purchasers. Sony settled the Texas lawsuit, as well as a similar lawsuit brought by the California Attorney General, for $1.5 million.

Separation of Church and State

In March 2005, Abbott delivered oral argument before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Texas, defending a Ten Commandments monument on grounds of the Texas State Capitol. Thousands of similar monuments were donated to cities and towns across the nation by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, who were inspired by the Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments (1956) in following years. In his deposition, Abbott said that "The Ten Commandments are a historically recognized system of law." The Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that the Texas display did not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause and was constitutional. After Abbott's oral arguments in Van Orden v. Perry, Justice John Paul Stevens commented upon Abbott's performance while in a wheelchair, "I want to thank you [...] for demonstrating that it's not necessary to stand at the lectern in order to do a fine job."

Guns

As Texas Attorney General, Abbott staunchly opposed gun control legislation. In 2013, Abbott criticized legislation enacted by New York State that strengthened the state's gun laws by expanding an assault weapons ban and creating a high-capacity magazine ban; Abbott also said he would sue if Congress enacted a new gun-control bill. After the law was passed, Abbott's political campaign placed Internet ads to users with Albany and Manhattan ZIP codes suggesting that New York gun owners should move to Texas. The one ad read "Is Governor Cuomo looking to take your guns?" and the other ad read, "Wanted: Law abiding New York gun owners looking for lower taxes and greater opportunity." The ads linked to a letter on Facebook in which Abbott stated such a move would enable citizens "to keep more of what you earn and use some of that extra money to buy more ammo."

In February 2014, Abbott argued against a lawsuit brought by the National Rifle Association to allow more people access to concealed carry of firearms, as Abbott felt this would disrupt public safety.

Tort Reform

Greg Abbott backed legislation in Texas that limits "punitive damages stemming from noneconomic losses" and "noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases," at $750,000 and $250,000, respectively. While the settlement in Abbott's own paralysis case was a "nonmedical liability lawsuit," which remains uncapped, Abbott has faced criticism from generally Democratic who oppose the Republican-backed lawsuit curbs, for "tilting the judicial scales toward civil defendants."

Support for Ban on Sex Toys

As Attorney General, Abbott unsuccessfully defended Texas's ban on sex toys. He said Texas had a legitimate interest in "discouraging prurient interests in autonomous sex and the pursuit of sexual gratification unrelated to procreation."

Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage

As Attorney General, Abbott defended the state's ban on same-sex marriage from a constitutional challenge. In 2014, he argued in court that Texas should be allowed to prohibit same-sex marriage because LGBT individuals purportedly cannot procreate. He said that as "same-sex relationships do not naturally produce children, recognizing same-sex marriage does not further these goals to the same extent that recognizing opposite-sex marriage does." He also argued that gay individuals still have the freedom to marry, saying they are "as free to marry an opposite sex spouse as anyone else." He suggested that same-sex marriage was a slippery slope where "any conduct that has been traditionally prohibited can become a constitutional right simply by redefining it at a higher level of abstraction."

2006 Election

In the November 7, 2006, general election, Abbott was challenged by civil rights attorney David Van Os, who had been his Democratic opponent in the 1998 election for state Supreme Court. He won re-election to a second term by a margin of 60 percent to 37 percent.

2010 Election

Greg Abbott ran for a third term in 2010. He defeated the Democratic attorney Barbara Ann Radnofsky of Houston by a margin of 64 percent to 34 percent. He was the longest-serving Texas attorney general in Texas history.

In July 2013, the Houston Chronicle alleged improper ties and oversight between many of Abbott's largest donors and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, of which he was a director.

Governor of Texas

2014 Election

In July 2013, shortly after Governor Rick Perry announced that he would not seek a fourth full term, Abbott announced his intention to run for Governor of Texas in the 2014 Texas gubernatorial election. In the first six months of 2011, he raised more money for his campaign than any other Texas politician, reaching $1.6 million. The next highest fundraiser among state officeholders was Texas comptroller Susan Combs with $611,700.

Greg Abbott won the Republican primary on March 4, 2014, with 91.5 percent of the ballots cast. He faced state senator Wendy Davis of Fort Worth in the general election.

Greg Abbott promised to "tie outcomes to funding" for pre-K programs if elected governor, but he said he would not require government standardized testing for 4-year-olds, as Davis has accused him of advancing. When defending his education plan, Abbott cited Charles Murray: "Family background has the most decisive effect on student achievement, contributing to a large performance gap between children from economically disadvantaged families and those from middle class homes." A spokesman for Abbott's campaign pointed out that the biggest difference in spending was that Davis had proposed universal pre-K education while Abbott wanted to limit state funding to programs that meet certain standards. Davis's plan could reach $750 million in costs and Abbott has said that her plan was a "budget buster" whereas Abbott's education plan would cost no more than $118 million. Overall, Abbott said the reforms that he envisioned would "level the playing field for all students and target schools which don't have access to the best resources." He called for greater access to technology in the classroom and mathematics instruction for kindergarten pupils.

Greg Abbott received $1.4 million in campaign contributions from recipients of the Texas Enterprise Fund, some of whose members submitted the proper paperwork for grants. Elliot Nagin of the Union of Concerned Scientists observed that Abbott was the recipient of large support from the fossil fuels industries, such as NuStar Energy, Koch Industries, Valero Energy, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips. Abbott received the endorsement of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Morning News, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Abbott, and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, were endorsed by the National Rifle Association and received their 'A' rating.

Greg Abbott defeated Davis by about 19 percentage points in the November general election.

2018 Election

In January 2017, Abbott was reportedly raising funds for a 2018 re-election bid as governor; as of December 2016, he had $34.4 million on hand for his campaign, of which he had raised $9 million during the second half of 2016. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick had been mentioned as a potential challenger, but confirmed that he would run for a second term as lieutenant governor. During the weekend of January 21, 2017, Abbott stated that he intended to run for re-election. He confirmed this on March 28, 2017.

Greg Abbott formally announced his re-election campaign on July 14, 2017. This came four days before the start of a special legislative session that could split the Republican Party into factions favoring Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Patrick on one hand, and House speaker Joe Straus on the other. Straus represented the Moderate Republican faction, which opposes much of the social conservative agenda pursued by Abbott and Patrick.

In the November 6 general election, Abbott defeated Democratic nominee Lupe Valdez with about 56 percent of the vote, having out-raised her 18-to-1. Abbott received 42 percent of the Hispanic and 16 percent of the African-Americans vote.

2022 Election

Greg Abbott is running for a third term and faces challengers from within his own party. His rivals include the former chairman of the Texas Republican Party, Allen West. The opposition Democrats do not yet have an announced candidate. Abbott has a large campaign funding advantage over this opponents.

Tenure

Greg Abbott was sworn in as the governor of Texas on January 20, 2015 succeeding Rick Perry. He is the first governor of Texas and the third elected governor of a U.S. state to use a wheelchair after Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York (1929-1932) and George Wallace of Alabama (1963-1967, 1971-1979; 1983-1987).

Greg Abbott declared February 2, 2015, as "Chris Kyle Day" in honor of the deceased United States Navy SEAL who was the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history (portrayed in the film American Sniper). This came exactly two years after Kyle was shot and killed. Abbott held his first meeting as governor with a foreign prime minister when he met with the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny on March 15, 2015, to discuss trade and economic relations.

During the 2015 legislative session, initiated by officials at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Legislature placed a rider in the Texas budget to cut $150 million from its budget by ending payments and coverage for various developmental therapies for children on Medicaid. A lawsuit has been filed against the state on behalf of affected families and therapy providers, claiming it can cause irreparable damage to the affected children's development. The litigation obtained a temporary injunction order on September 25, 2015, barring THHSC from implementing therapy rate cuts.

During Donald Trump's presidency, Abbott was characterized as an "ardent Trump supporter." The Trump administration appointed several former appointees of Abbott to federal court vacancies, which some media outlets attributed to Abbott's influence on the administration.

His 2016 book, Broken But Unbowed, recounted Greg Abbott's personal story and views on politics.

In October 2016, explosive packages were mailed to Abbott, President Obama, and the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. The governor's package did not explode when he opened it because "he did not open the package as intended."

On June 6, 2017, Abbott called for a special legislative session in order to pass several legislative priorities for Abbott, an agenda supported by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Abbott vetoed 50 bills in the regular 2017 session, the highest number in a session since 2007.

Following the regular 2021 session, The New York Times described Abbott and Patrick as "the driving force behind one of the hardest right turns in recent state history."

Abortion

In late November 2016, the State of Texas, at Abbott's request, approved new rules that require facilities that perform abortions either to bury or cremate the aborted, rather than dispose of the remains in a sanitary landfill. The rules were intended to go into effect on December 19, but on December 15 a federal judge blocked the rules from going into effect for at least one month after the Center for Reproductive Rights and other advocacy groups filed a lawsuit. On January 27, 2017, a federal judge ruled against the law, but the State of Texas vowed to appeal the ruling.

On June 6, 2017, Abbott signed a bill into law banning dismemberment and partial-birth abortions and requiring either the cremation or burial of the aborted. The law was also blocked by a federal judge; the state said it would appeal.

On May 18, 2021, Abbott signed the Texas Heartbeat Act of 2021 into law, legislation that prohibits abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, effectively banning most abortions in the state. Fetal heartbeats may be detected as early as six weeks gestation, or six weeks from a woman's last menstrual period, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Convention of States Proposal

In 2016, Abbott spoke to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, calling for a Convention of States to amend the U.S. Constitution. In his speech, he proposed the Texas Plan, a series of nine new amendments to "unravel the federal government's decades-long power grab "to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government and limit the federal government's power and jurisdiction." The plan would limit the power of the federal government and expand states' rights, allowing the states to nullify federal law under some circumstances.

On January 8, 2016, Abbott called for a national constitutional convention to address what he sees as abuses by justices of the United States Supreme Court in "abandoning the Constitution." Speaking to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Abbott said, "We the people have to take the lead to restore the rule of law in the United States." Abbott elaborated on his proposal in a public seminar at the Hoover Institute on May 17, 2016.

Criminal Justice

In the wake of the George Floyd protests, Abbott called on candidates in the 2020 elections to "back the blue." In response to actions by some Texas cities to redirect funding from police to social services and emergency response, Abbott threatened that the state of Texas would seize control of the local police departments. In 2021, Abbott spearheaded legislative efforts to financially penalize cities in Texas that reduce spending on police.

In 2021, Abbott vetoed a bipartisan criminal justice bill that would have made individuals convicted of certain crimes before the age of 18 eligible for early parole, as well as created panels to evaluate the age and the mental status of inmates at the time of their crimes when evaluating parole eligibility. He also vetoed legislation that would have prohibited police from using statements made under hypnosis in criminal court. He also vetoed an animal protection bill which would have made it illegal to chain up dogs without giving them access to drinkable water, and shade or shelter.

Firearms

In 2015, Abbott signed the campus carry (SB 11) and the open carry (HB 910) bills into law. The campus carry law came into effect later that year, allowing licensed carrying of a concealed handgun on public college campuses, with private colleges being able to opt out. The open carry bill went into effect in 2016, allowing the licensed carrying of handguns openly in public areas and in private businesses that do not display a 30.07 sign. The 30.07 sign (referring to state penal code 30.07) states that a handgun may not be carried openly even by a licensed gun carrier. To do so openly is considered trespassing. Texas is the 45th state to have open carry. In 2017, Abbott signed a bill into law lowering handgun carry license fees. In 2021, Abbott signed a bill into law that allowed Texans to carry guns without a license.

Following the Sutherland Springs church shooting on November 5, 2017, during an interview with Fox News, Abbott urged historical reflection and the consideration that evil had been present in earlier "horrific events" during the Nazi era, the Middle Ages and biblical times. The Anti-Defamation League said Abbott's comparison of the mass shooting "to the victims of the Holocaust" was "deeply offensive" and "insensitive."

After the Santa Fe High School shooting on May 18, 2018, Abbott said that he would consult across Texas in an attempt to prevent gun violence in schools and a series of round-table discussions followed at the state capitol. In a speech to a NRA convention in Dallas almost two weeks later, Abbott said: "The problem is not guns, it's hearts without God." In June 2019, he signed a bill allowing for more armed teachers with school districts being unrestricted as to the number they allow. The creation of "threat assessment teams," passed into law by the bill, is intended to identify potentially violent students. Although the state legislature passed measures for students services to deal with related mental health issues, proposals to adopt a red flag law failed, with Abbott saying such a law was "not necessary in the state of Texas."

In August 2019, a gunman who had written a racist manifesto killed 22 people in a mass shooting at a Wal-Mart in El Paso, saying he had targeted "Mexicans." Following the shooting, Abbott convened a domestic terrorism task force to look into domestic extremism, but reiterated his opposition to a red-flag law and rejected calls to convene a special session of the state legislature to address gun violence.

Jade Helm 15

Greg Abbott on April 28, 2015, asked the State Guard to monitor the training exercise Jade Helm 15 amid Internet-fueled suspicions that the war simulation was really a hostile military takeover. In 2018 former director of the CIA and NSA Michael Hayden said that the conspiracy theory had been propagated by Russian intelligence organizations and that Abbott's response convinced them of the power such a misinformation campaign could have in the United States.

Religion

In 2015, Abbott signed the "Pastor Protection Act," which allows pastors to refuse to marry couples if they feel doing so violates their beliefs.

In 2017, Abbott signed Senate Bill 24 into law, preventing state or local governments from subpoenaing pastors' sermons. This bill was inspired by an anti-discrimination ordinance in Houston, where sermons from five pastors were subpoenaed.

Also in 2017, Abbott signed House Bill 3859 which allows faith-based groups working with the Texas child welfare system to deny services "under circumstances that conflict with the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs." Democrats and civil rights advocates said the adoption bill could allow such groups to discriminate against those who practice a different religion or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, and LGBT rights groups said they would challenge the bill in court. In response, California added Texas to a list of states to which it banned official government travel.

Immigration

In November 2015, Abbott announced that Texas would refuse Syrian refugees following the Paris terrorist attack that occurred earlier that month. In December 2015, Abbott ordered the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to file a lawsuit against the federal government and the International Rescue Committee to block refugee settlement, but the lawsuit was struck down by a federal district court.

On February 1, 2017, Abbott blocked funding to Travis County, Texas, due to its recently implemented sanctuary city policy. On May 7, 2017, Abbott signed Texas Senate Bill 4 into law, targeting sanctuary cities by charging county or city officials who refuse to work with federal officials and by allowing police officers to check the immigration status of those they detain if they choose.

In January 2020, Abbott made Texas the first state to decline refugee resettlement under a new rule implemented by the Trump administration. The move was condemned in a joint statement by all 16 Catholic bishops of Texas.

In 2021, Abbott referred to undocumented immigrants crossing the border as an "invasion." In March 2021, Abbott claimed that the Biden administration was releasing illegal immigrants infected with COVID-19 into Texas, saying "The Biden Administration is recklessly releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have COVID into Texas communities." PolitiFact rated Abbott's claim as "Mostly False," since those being released were asylum seekers with a legal right to remain in the U.S., and the number was well below "hundreds," only 108, at the time of Abbot's tweet.

In June 2021, Abbott ordered Texas child-care regulators to take the licenses of child-care facilities that housed unaccompanied migrant minors. Abbott said that the housing of unaccompanied minors in child-care facilities had a negative impact on facilities housing Texan children in foster care. Later that month, he announced plans to build a border wall with Mexico in his state, saying that the state would provide $250 million and that direct donations from the public would be solicited.

In July 2021, Abbott advised state law enforcement officers to begin arresting illegal migrants for trespassing. Later, on July 27, 2021, Abbott ordered the National Guard to begin helping arrest migrants, and the following day he signed an order to restrict the ground transportation of migrants. Migrants arrested under Abbott's policy were subsequently kept imprisoned for weeks without legal help or formal charges.

Environment

Greg Abbott rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. Abbott has said that the climate is changing, but does not accept the consensus that human activity is the primary contributor to climate change.

In early 2014, Abbott participated in strategy sessions held at the headquarters of the United States Chamber of Commerce, devising a legal strategy for dismantling climate change regulations. In 2016, Abbott supported the appointment of Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), noting "He and I teamed up on many lawsuits against the EPA." As Attorney General of Texas, Abbott frequently sued the federal government over environmental regulations.

After Joe Biden was elected President, Abbott vowed to pursue an aggressive legal strategy against environmental regulations implemented by the Biden administration.

Voting Rights

Greg Abbott pressed for a purge of nearly 100,000 registered voters from Texas voter rolls. Texas officials initially claimed that the voters to be purged were not American citizens. The purge was canceled in April 2018 after voting rights groups challenged the proposed purge, and officials at the Office of the Texas Secretary of State publicly admitted that tens of thousands of legitimate voters (naturalized citizens) were wrongly flagged for removal. Abbott claimed that he played no role in the voter purge, but emails released in June 2019 showed that Abbott was the driving force behind the Department of Public Safety voter-purge effort.

In September 2020, Abbott issued a proclamation providing that each Texas county could only have a single location where voters could drop off their early voting ballots. Abbott justified the decision by claiming it would prevent "illegal voting" but cited no examples of voter fraud. Election security experts say voter fraud is extremely rare. Also in September 2020, Abbott extended the early voting period for that year's general election due to COVID-19; his decision was opposed by the Republican Party of Texas.

Greg Abbott, a political ally of Donald Trump, made "election integrity" a legislative priority following President Trump's failed attempts to overturn the election results of 2020 United States presidential election by using baseless claims that the results were fraudulent. The resulting legislation was denounced by voting rights advocates and civil rights groups, who accused it disproportionately affecting voters of color and people with disabilities.

LGBT Rights

In 2014, Abbott defended Texas' ban on same-sex marriage, which was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court. As Attorney General of Texas, Abbott's office argued that the prohibition on same-sex marriage incentivized that children would be born "in the context of stable, lasting relationships."

Greg Abbott condemned Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruling which found prohibitions on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional. He said, "the Supreme Court has abandoned its role as an impartial judicial arbiter." Shortly thereafter, Abbott filed a lawsuit to stop same-sex spouses of city employees from being covered by benefit policies.

In a letter dated May 27, 2017, the CEOs of 14 large technology companies, including Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, urged Abbott not to pass the what would come to be known as the "bathroom bill:" legislation which would require people to use the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificates, not the one of their choice  [see also: Discrediting the Transphobic "Bathroom Predator" Myth]. The bill was revived by Abbott and supported by Republican lieutenant governor Dan Patrick. In March 2018, Byron Cook, the chairman of the House State Affairs committee who blocked the bill, claimed that Abbott privately opposed the bill. The bill was never signed; Abbott later stated that "it's not on my agenda," in a debate with Lupe Valdez, the Democratic candidate for governor in 2018.

Amid child development concerns, in 2017, Abbott signed legislation to allow taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to refuse same-sex families from adopting children.

Homelessness

In June 2019, the city of Austin introduced an ordinance that repealed a 25-year-old ban on homeless people camping, lying, or sleeping in public. In early October 2019, Abbott sent a widely publicized letter to Austin Mayor Steve Adler criticizing the camping ban repeal and threatened to deploy state resources to combat homelessness.

In November 2019, Abbott directed the State of Texas to open a temporary homeless encampment on a former vehicle storage yard owned by the Texas Department of Transportation, which was informally dubbed "Abbottville" by camp residents.

Marijuana

In 2019, when numerous local prosecutors announced that they would stop prosecuting low-level marijuana offenses, Abbott instructed them to continue enforcing marijuana laws. The prosecutors cited recently passed legislation that legalized hemp. As hemp contains the same chemical, THC, that marijuana does, tests that are at the disposal of law enforcement cannot distinguish between marijuana usage and hemp usage. Abbott has stated that legalized hemp products come with a "hemp certificate."

COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Abbott issued a stay-at-home order from April 2 to May 1, 2020. This was one of the shortest stay-at-home orders implemented by any governor. Since the reopening, coronavirus surged across Texas, leading Abbott to pause the gradual re-opening. On June 24, 2020, Texas broke its record in terms of number of new coronavirus cases in a day. Critics described Abbott's pause as a half-measure, arguing that he should reverse the re-opening in full to stave off the spread of the virus.

According to The New York Times, Abbott's response to the pandemic has been contradictory, as he has said that Texans should stay at home while also saying that Texas is open for business. He also said that Texans should wear face masks, but refused to issue a statewide mandate. Abbott's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has received criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. In July 2020, Abbott directed counties with more than 20 COVID-19 cases to wear masks in public places; he had previously prohibited local governments from implementing required face masks.

In December 2020, Abbott directed restaurants in Texas to ignore local curfews that had been imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Localities had implemented restrictions on indoor dining and drinking late at night on New Years weekend amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

On March 2, 2021, Abbott lifted all COVID-19 restrictions in Texas, which included ending a mask mandate and allow businesses to open up "100 percent."

In April 2021, Abbott signed an executive order banning state agencies and corporations that take public funding from requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19. In June 2021, Abbott signed a bill that would punish businesses that require customers to have proof of COVID-19 vaccination for services.

On May 18, 2021, Abbott issued an executive order banning mask mandates in public schools and governmental entities, with up to a $1,000 fine for non-compliers.

Greg Abbott has emphasized personal responsibility over government restrictions, and has doubled down on this as of August 2021. On July 29, 2021, in the face of a once-again worsening pandemic situation, Abbott issued a superseding executive order (GA-38) that restated earlier orders and imposed additional prohibitions on local governmental officials, state agencies, public universities, and businesses doing business with the state, to prohibit them from adopting measures such as requiring face masks or proof of vaccination status as a condition of service. The order also provides for a $1,000 fine for local officials who adopt inconsistent policies. US President Biden criticized Abbott for these measures. The ban on mask mandates has led to a score of legal challenges between Abbott and local governments, including school districts. In justifying the ban on local government mandates in August 2021, an Abbott spokesperson said, "Private businesses don't need government running their business." In October 2021, Abbott issued an executive order that banned any entity, including a private business, from implementing a vaccine requirement for its employees.

On August 17, 2021, Abbott's office announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated since December of last year. According to his office, Abbott is "in good health and experiencing no symptoms." He received Regeneron's monoclonal antibody treatment.

February 2021 North American Ice Storm

During the February 13-17, 2021 North American winter storm, power plants failures across Texas left four million households in Texas without power. Abbott called for investigation and reform of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the electric grid operator for most of Texas.

On February 16, as a guest on Hannity, Abbott stated, "This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America ... Our wind and our solar got shut down, and they were collectively more than 10 percent of our power grid, and that thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis. ... It just shows that fossil fuel is necessary." There was an immediate response from the energy department of the state of Texas, clarifying that "most of Texas's energy losses came from failures to winterize the power-generating systems, including fossil fuel pipelines." Most power plants in Texas are gas-fired, with wind generators providing about 10 percent during the winter months.

By February 18, Abbott had ordered Texas natural gas to sell exclusively to power generators in Texas, which had an immediate and direct impact on Mexico, where two-thirds of all energy is generated by gas-fired plants.

In June 2021, Abbott signed a bill requiring power companies to be more prepared for extreme weather events.

Personal Life

Greg Abbott, a Roman Catholic, is married to Cecilia Phalen Abbott, the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants. They were married in San Antonio in 1981. His election as governor of Texas made her the first Latina to be First Lady of Texas since Texas joined the union. They have one adopted daughter, Audrey. Cecilia is a former school teacher and principal.

Greg Abbott suffered second- and third-degree burns on his legs after coming in contact with scalding water while on vacation in Wyoming in July 2016, which caused him to miss the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Electoral History

On November 4, 2014, Abbott defeated Wendy Davis by 21 points in the gubernatorial general election of Texas. According to exit polls he received 44 percent of the Hispanic vote and 50 percent of Hispanic men, a majority (54 percent) of women voters, and 62 percent of the votes of married women (75 percent of women in Texas are married).

A week after his election, Abbott announced that Carlos Cascos, of Brownsville, the county judge since 2007 of Cameron County in far South Texas, would become the secretary of state of Texas.

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See Wikipedia article for details.

Additional Reading

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday [2021-10-25] signed a bill that would ban K-12 transgender students from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity - the first such bill to become law in the state, after dozens of similar bills were introduced and debated over three special legislative sessions. The bill is the first piece of anti-trans legislation in Texas to actually become law in recent years. The state's effort to restrict trans Texans' bathroom usage failed to reach the governor's desk in 2017 after a similarly intense special session  [see also: Discrediting the Transphobic "Bathroom Predator" Myth]. Texas is now the ninth state this year to pass legislation restricting how trans athletes can join school sports. LGBTQ+ advocates are worried about the direct aftermath of the bill, which could subject trans students in interscholastic sports to scrutiny and harassment, as well as the potential for similar bills targeting trans youth to become law in Texas if another special session is called.

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Even before the passage of Texas' law targeting K-12 sports, the debate over anti-trans bills has caused increased bullying and mental health crises across the state, advocates say. ... Advocates have repeatedly warned that rhetoric surrounding the bills, which characterizes trans girls as boys and in Texas has devolved into arguments over what "transgender" and "cisgender" mean, could also spur violent and potentially deadly attacks against trans people - although more research is needed to understand a direct link. ...

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In a statement that could also signal the future of anti-trans bills in Texas, Abbott supporters at a Kingwood Tea Party meeting on Tuesday night [2021-10-26] that laws targeting trans youth will be advanced in "every single session that we have." The governor's office declined to comment and Abbott's campaign office did not respond to a request for comment.

Other bills previously introduced in Texas across this year's special sessions have aimed to classify gender-affirming treatments like hormones and surgeries as child abuse and ban puberty blockers provided by a physician. Some of those bills died in the House or were reintroduced in the third special session but did not move forward.

Two issues are top of mind for advocates if the governor again lists bills targeting trans youth as a priority: efforts to restrict people's ability to update gender markers on birth certificates and bans on gender-affirming care for minors. "We have also seen that his supporters have expressed desire for the sports ban to also begin to encroach into collegiate level sports," Schelling said via text, referencing a reported Q&A during the Kingwood Tea Party meeting. "I wouldn't rule anything out."

Although many states have introduced bills targeting gender-affirming care for trans youth, nearly every anti-trans bill that has actually made it into law this year has been about sports. Arkansas' law criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors was temporarily blocked by a judge in July and is still working through the courts, as the state appealed the injunction in September 2021. In contrast, birth certificates have been at the core of debate surrounding the new law on K-12 sports in Texas - and some lawmakers, like Republican state Senator Charles Perry, have previously introduced bills that would keep minors from updating their birth certificates to match their gender identity.

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Human rights defenders condemned Texas Governor Greg Abbott and "extremist Republicans cruel values" after several busloads of migrants were dropped off outside U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' Washington, D.C. home in subfreezing temperatures on Christmas Eve (2022-12-24). For the second time since 2022-09 Central American and South American migrants were bussed from Texas to the vice president's residence at the United States Naval Observatory in the nation's capital (aside from its scientific mission, the U.S.Naval Observatory campus hosts the official residence of the vice president of the United States). According to reports, some of the asylum-seekers were wearing only t-shirts and shorts as the mercury dropped to 18°F (-8°C) on Saturday (2022-12-24).

While it is not known who ordered the migrants bussed to the capital, advocates pointed fingers at Greg Abbott. The Republican Texas governor - along with GOP Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Doug Ducey of Arizona - have bussed more than 10,000 migrants to Democratic-led cities since 2020-04 to protest what they falsely call the Biden administration's "open border" immigration policies. "What we're seeing are Greg Abbott and extremist Republicans' cruel values," tweeted the youth-led Sunrise Movement. "This is who they are. Don't forget that." Amy Fischer - a volunteer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network - told   CNN that her group was prepared for the migrants' arrival. "The D.C. community has been welcoming buses from Texas anytime they've come since 2022-04. Christmas Eve and freezing cold weather is no different," Amy Fischer said. "We are always here welcoming folks with open arms."

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• [Truthout.org, 2022-12-26] Greg Abbott Blasted for Bussing Migrants to Kamala Harris’s Home in Cruel Stunt.  This is the second time since September that migrant people were sent to the vice president’s home.

• [CTVNews.ca, 2022-12-26] Texas Governor Abbott endangered lives with Christmas Eve migrant drop: White House.

The White House on Monday (2022-12-26) accused Texas Governor Greg Abbott of endangering lives after busloads of migrants from the southwest border in Texas were dropped near Vice President Kamala Harris' home in Washington, D.C., on a cold Christmas Eve (2022-12-24). An estimated 110 to 130 migrants seeking asylum in the United States - many of them families with children - were placed on buses by Texas officials, immigrant aid groups said on Sunday (2022-12-25) after the migrants arrived in the U.S. capital.

"Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in below freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve without coordinating with any Federal or local authorities," White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan said in a statement. "The political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger," Abdullah Hasan added. The Republican Greg Abbott - a vocal critic of the Biden administrationimmigration policies - has not acknowledged the Christmas Eve drop and his office has not claimed responsibility. U.S. President President Joe Biden is a Democrat. Texas has bused thousands of migrants to Washington, New York City, and Chicago - in what some critics have labeled a stunt amid a national debate over the high levels of immigrant arrivals along the U.S. southern border. Greg Abbott has said previously his state was purposefully busing migrants to sanctuary cities, where law enforcement is discouraged from deporting immigrants.

Hasan said the Biden administration was willing to work with Democrats and Republicans on solutions to the migrant issue. Amy Fischer - an organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network - told NPR the migrants were immediately transferred onto city-provided buses in Washington, D.D. and moved to a church that distributed hot food and clothes. In a letter to Joe Biden on 2022-12-20, Greg Abbott said Texas was overburdened with thousands of men, women and children crossing into Texas everyday who risk freezing to death on city streets.

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Days after being elected Texas governor in 2014, Greg Abbott called a staff meeting to discuss his vision for leading Texas. "Our number-one priority as public servants is to follow the law," Greg Abbott - who served as Texas attorney general before he was elected - told staffers, according to his autobiography. Adhering to the law was "a way to ignore the pressure of politics, polls, money and lobbying." The Republican governor-elect said he rejected the path of Democratic President Barack Obama, whom he had sued 34 times as attorney general. Abbott claimed that Obama had usurped Congress' power by using executive orders, including one to protect from deportation young people born in other countries and brought to the United States as children.

Now, nearly eight years into his governorship, Greg Abbott's actions belie his words. Greg Abbott has consolidated power like no Texas governor in recent history, at times circumventing the GOP-controlled state Legislature and overriding local officials. The governor used the pandemic to block judges from ordering the release of some prisoners who couldn't post cash bail and unilaterally defunded the legislative branch because lawmakers had failed to approve some of his top priorities. He also used his disaster authority to push Texas further than any other state on immigration and was the first to send thousands of immigrants by bus to Democratic strongholds.

Greg Abbott's executive measures have solidified his conservative base and dramatically raised his national profile. He is leading Democrat Beto O'Rourke in polls ahead of the 2022-11-08 election and is mentioned as a potential 2024 GOP presidential contender. But his moves have also brought fierce criticism from some civil liberties groups, legal experts and even members of his own party, who have said his actions overstep the clearly defined limits of his office.

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At least 34 lawsuits have been filed in the past two years challenging Greg Abbott's executive actions, which became bolder since the start of the pandemic. Abbott used his expanded power at first to require safety measures against COVID-19, similar to what other governors did. But after pushback from his conservative base, he later forbade local governments and businesses from imposing mask and vaccine mandates. He also forced through Republican priorities, including an order that indirectly took aim at abortions by postponing surgeries and procedures that were not medically necessary.

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"I'm not sure any other governor in recent Texas history has so blatantly violated the law with full awareness by the Supreme Court, and he's been successful at every turn when he had no power to exercise it. It's amazing," said Ron Beal, a former Baylor University law professor who has written widely on administrative law and filed legal briefs challenging Greg Abbott's power. Although Texas Supreme Court justices are elected, Abbott has appointed five of the nine members of the state's highest court when there have been vacancies.

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Democratic   Beto O'Rourke has officially launched his campaign for governor of Texas, challenging Governor Greg Abbott in a time when the extremist governor has been leading a right-wing charge to slash rights and suppress marginalized groups in the state.

Beto O'Rourke is a leading Democratic candidate in the race for the state that is undergoing quick population growth, with many of the new residents being nonwhite. He served as a representative for El Paso in Congress for six years, and in 2018 lost his bid to unseat Republican Senator Ted Cruz, an election that nonetheless launched O'Rourke into national prominence.

If Beto O'Rourke were elected, he would be the first Democratic to hold the governor's office since 1995, nearly 30 years ago. This would break a nineteen-year streak of Republicans controlling the state legislature and governorship, and potentially usher in the long-vaunted blue state status for Texas.

Beto O'Rourke criticized Abbott in a video announcing his campaign on Monday, saying that Texans were "abandoned by those who were elected to serve and look out for them" during winter storm Uri earlier this year and other crises. He highlighted priorities like expanding Medicaid and marijuana legalization, and panned Abbott for "extremist" policies that he's put in place.

The challenge comes as Abbott's approval ratings have plummeted to record lows amidst an especially difficult year for Texas. The right-wing firebrand oversaw a devastating energy crisis in February, pushing climate denial in the press despite the fact that it was the climate crisis that largely caused the winter storm to begin with.

Later in the year, the governor led the charge in implementing some of the harshest voter suppression laws in the country as a backlash to Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 election - laws that voting rights advocates say would disproportionately affect poor and nonwhite communities. He pushed hard for anti-trans legislation, culminating in a bill he signed late last month that bars transgender students from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity and potentially endanger trans students' lives with ensuing mental health impacts.  [See also main article: Transphobia.]

Perhaps most infamously, Abbott signed the nation's most restrictive abortion ban into law that went into effect in September 2021 [Texas Heartbeat Act of 2021], banning most abortions in the state and effectively overturning rights afforded by Roe v. Wade. It allows vigilantes to sue anyone who has assisted a person in obtaining an abortion, placing a huge chilling effect on abortion providers. Backlash to this law has been fierce, and Abbott's supposed reasons for supporting the law have been flimsy at best, and actively harmful at worst.

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Apparently, the Republican argument suggests, we should just forget about the Covid and ignore a disease that has killed 700,000 Americans, variously overrun our hospitals; interrupted jobs, businesses and lives; and spurred a strong political resistance movement. Even as some courts have already endorsed the idea of government mandates for masks and protections against contagion, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is challenging the right of President Joe Biden to act for public health as "yet another instance of federal overreach."

It's apparently OK for Abbott to mandate against mandates not only for the state's employees but for its private businesses as well. By contrast, it's not OK for the federal government to tell Texas, Florida or any state what to do about a pandemic that knows no bounds or for companies with more than 100 employees. That Texas is only beginning to emerge from two months or more of spiraling Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths is not the focus of this dust-up over the rules. Rather, it's a bald political showdown.

Frankly, it's disgusting, no matter what one's politics are. No, this drawdown borders on insanity. Why do we have time, energy and money available for endless court battles over who's really in charge?

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• [Truthout.org, 2021-10-12] Abbott Issues Executive Order Banning Vaccine Mandates in Texas.

• [Truthout.org, 2021-10-13] 2 Airlines Plan to Defy Greg Abbott's Ban on Vaccine Mandates in Texas.

This week, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning public and private entities in the state from issuing vaccine mandates - but two Texas-based airlines are planning to defy that order by requiring their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, both of which are headquartered in Texas, issued statements on Tuesday [2021-10-12] saying they would not comply with Abbott's ban. The companies cited an upcoming order by the Biden administrationsaid in a statement. American Airlines said that airline officials believe "the federal vaccine mandate supersedes any conflicting state laws."

Greg Abbott's executive order, issued earlier this week, bars any public or private sector entity from imposing rules that workers or customers be vaccinated. If a business defies this order, it could result in a $1,000 fine per violation, Abbott's decree said. But if companies plan to defy that order, they may have to litigate the issue in court until the Biden administration's mandate is passed. At that point, the court would likely rule that the issue is a moot point, since the U.S. Constitution states that federal law, not state law, is the "supreme law of the land."

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The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill that bans transgender women and girls from participating in female school sports after three previous attempts failed, all but assuring Republican Governor Greg Abbott will sign it into law. Texas is now poised to join seven other states that passed similar laws this year, part of a national campaign in which Republican legislators introduced such bills in 32 states. Conservatives say the law, which applies to public school teams through high school, are protecting fair competition. "We need a statewide level playing field," bill sponsor Representative Valoree Swanson said during the debate.

Equal rights activists have said there is no evidence that trans women and girls are dominating sports. Ricardo Martinez, chief executive of the LGBTQ rights group Equality Texas, called passage of the bill a "hateful, targeted attack on transgender people." Political analysts say the campaign is meant to animate hard-core Republican supporters. "There's no evidence that there's a problem. This is red meat for the base," said Robert Stein, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston.

While the Texas Senate passed a companion bill, three previous House versions of the legislation stalled in the public education committee, which has a Democratic chairman. Republicans then created a new version of the bill and sent it through a select committee they control, enabling it to pass the full House late Thursday. The bill has gone back to the Senate for procedural approval and is expected to reach Abbott's desk.

Texas Republicans have passed a very conservative agenda this year, including new laws that make it more difficult to vote, all but ban abortion, and do away with the need for a permit to carry a concealed handgun. "Like a lot of other things in Texas politics right now, this is selling mainly to very ideologically driven voters in the Republican Party. These are the voters that show up for Republican primaries," said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas.

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee and West Virginia have passed similar transgender sports legislation, and South Dakota's governor signed an executive order. Some of these face legal challenges. Idaho passed a similar law last year that has been blocked by a federal court, and a federal court in July ruled that an 11-year-old West Virginia trans girl must be allowed to try out for the girls' track and cross-country teams at her school.

While the big news from Texas this week was about the Supreme Court upholding the state's ban on essentially all abortions in the state, a number of other restrictive laws that advance a far right Republican agenda also went into effect the same day.

A total of 666 new laws were rolled out on Wednesday [2021-09-01]. Many of them, if they had been implemented individually, would have raised the alarm for Democrats and progressives. One law, for instance, criminalizes homelessness by disallowing people without homes from camping in a public location, making the act a misdemeanor with a $500 fine. Another law will make it illegal for people to hire workers for sex, which critics say will only exacerbate dangerous conditions for sex workers.

Many of the laws that went into effect on 2021-09-01 were a direct backlash against the Movement for Black Lives that gained momentum across the country over the past year, along with the general movement for racial justice. One bill will create financial penalties for medium to large municipalities that decline their police departments' budgets yearly.

Another bill that Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed in June 2021 bans the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools. The scholarly theory, deliberately misinterpreted and politicized by the GOP, is not taught in grade schools. However, the intent of the law is to discourage educators from teaching American history without a white supremacist lens or talking about race in school. It bars teachers from giving "deference" to either side of a conflict while teaching about historical events.

One bill, which again appears to be a backlash against last year's mass uprisings for racial justice, makes it a felony for protesters to block a road while protesting. This will lead to harsher penalties for left-wing protesters who already face disproportionate punishment and violence from police when they demonstrate.

A law that bans establishments from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine before entry also went into effect on Wednesday [2021-09-01] after having been signed by Greg Abbott earlier this year. The punishment for requiring vaccinations is especially harsh on businesses: a business could be denied state contracts or even lose their license if they are found requiring customers to be vaccinated.

And then, of course, Texas also implemented a law that essentially overturns Roe v. Wade in the state, outlawing abortions at a point so early in the pregnancy that most people don't even realize that they are pregnant. It will do untold damage to the millions of people in the state that it affects - especially low-income people who don't have the wherewithal to go out of state to seek abortion care.

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