Republican Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison on Wednesday publicly called on outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott to convene a special session to restrict the governor's executive emergency powers before Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa is sworn in, Fox News Politics reported.
Harrison, a Republican representing Texas House District 10, made the demand in a lengthy statement posted to X, arguing that Republicans still hold the levers of state government for the next ten weeks and should use that time to restore the separation of powers.
"Republicans lost last night, but Democrats were not sworn in," Harrison wrote. "We still have total power in Texas, and we must act like it by using the remaining ten weeks to restore separation of powers and limit the emergency powers that Governor-Elect Hinojosa is set to inherit, that would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat."
Harrison told Fox News Digital on Thursday that his push is not about party but about the structure of Texas government. "Texas should have reined in executive emergency powers when I first demanded it in 2022," he said. "If these are not revoked, Gina Hinojosa will assume not just the powers our state constitution bestows upon a Governor, but will, in effect, inherit nearly all the powers of a dictator. Most people are shocked to learn Texas governors can write, edit, or change any statute on a whim if they just declare an 'emergency,' and this is unconstitutional."
Under Section 433.002 of the Texas Government Code, the governor may issue emergency directives and "amend, modify, or rescind" those directives during a declared state of emergency, subject to the requirements outlined in the law.
The push follows Hinojosa's defeat of Abbott in Tuesday's gubernatorial race, making her the state's first Latina governor. While on the campaign trail, Hinojosa pledged to declare what she called a "high-cost emergency" in Texas and to introduce executive orders under that declaration.
Harrison said those pledges are exactly why the Legislature should act now. "These powers have been abused in the past, and Governor-Elect Hinojosa has pledged to use them on day one," he wrote. "Republicans are still in control for ten weeks, we need to start acting like it."
He also pointed to legislation he first filed in December 2022 — HB911 — which would restrict the governor's "never ending emergency powers," and said the Legislature should "immediately pass" it.
Harrison returned to X later to note the reaction his demand drew, writing: "My demand to limit Texas Governor's emergency powers has REALLY triggered low-IQ leftists across America! Funny.... I don't recall them cussing and calling me every name in the book when I filed the same legislation 4 years ago... right after ABBOTT was re-elected!!"
That post cuts to the heart of the dispute. When Harrison filed the same bill in 2022, it would have constrained a Republican governor. Now the same proposal would constrain a Democrat — and the reaction has changed accordingly.
The Texas state Senate remains under Republican control following Tuesday's results, a detail that matters for any special session Abbott might call. It is not yet known whether Abbott will convene one, and his office has not publicly responded to Harrison's demand.
For everyday Texans, the practical question is what a governor can order without the Legislature. Under the current code, a declared emergency gives the governor broad authority to issue directives and to modify or rescind them unilaterally. Harrison's bill would narrow that authority. If it passes in a special session, the change would take effect before Hinojosa is sworn in and would apply to her administration from day one. If it does not, Hinojosa would take office with the same emergency powers Abbott held — and with a stated plan to use them.
Our Take
Harrison is right, and the howls from the Left prove it.
Notice what the critics are not saying. They are not arguing that Texas governors should be able to rewrite statutes by decree. They are arguing that this governor-elect should get to do it. Four years ago, when Harrison filed HB911 and the governor in the crosshairs was Greg Abbott, the same people were silent. Now that Gina Hinojosa is the one inheriting the pen, suddenly limiting executive emergency power is an outrage.
That tells you everything about how the Left views power: fine when they hold it, illegitimate when they don't. Harrison's bill never cared who sat in the governor's mansion. It cared that no single person should be able to suspend the laws of a state with a stroke of a pen.
And Hinojosa has promised exactly this. She told voters she would declare a "high-cost emergency" and govern through executive orders. She told them plainly. When a politician tells you what they intend to do, believe them.
Abbott has ten weeks. Ten weeks to do what should have been done in 2022, when Harrison first raised it. Ten weeks to restore the separation of powers that the emergency code has quietly eroded, session after session, under governors of both parties. The Texas Senate is still red. The Legislature is still in Republican hands. The votes are there if the will is.
The question is whether Texas Republicans will act like they still hold power — or whether they'll hand Hinojosa the same blank check they refused to take away from one of their own. Patriots should be watching Abbott's office closely. What happens in the next ten weeks will decide how much of Texas law is written by the Legislature over the next four years — and how much is written by one person's signature.
