Texas House Convenes For Special Session

Rep. Greg Casar: "Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos should not pay into Social Security at a lower rate than police officers and truck drivers do. We need to make billionaires pay their fare share so we can expand Social Security and guarantee all seniors a decent life."

State Rep. Brian Harrison: "Betrayal: Speaker @Burrows4TX just appointed radical Democrat @GeneforTexas to his new select committee on REDISTRICTING... This appointment comes moments AFTER Wu threatened a quorum break to stop Trump's agenda!"

Rep. Gene Wu: "Abbott called a 'flood relief' session -- then immediately started doing Trump's bidding on redistricting. Y'all see what's really happening here. Trump wants more seats. Abbott delivers, and Texas communities get left behind."

Senator Ted Cruz: "In a new unhinged rant, Hunter Biden says he would INVADE El Salvador if they refuse to send back violent, incarcerated, gang members to America. This is the current state of the Democrat party."

State Senator Mayes Middleton: "I just filed SB 12 the Ban on taxpayer funded lobbying, let's drain the swamp, defund the the [sic] deep state and get SB 12 passed! Thank you @GregAbbott_TX for putting the ban on taxpayer funded lobbying on the agenda and @DanPatrick for making this bill a priority of the Senate!"

Texas Municipal Police Association Executive Director Kevin Lawrence: "Senator Cornyn has been a steadfast supporter of Texas law enforcement, ensuring officers have the resources and protections they need. His leadership makes a real difference, and TMPA is proud to stand with him."

Texas House Convenes For Special Session — By Texas Politics' Daniel Molina — The Texas House convenes this week for Governor Greg Abbott’s (R) Special Session. From education reform to flood recovery and abortion-related legislation, the session is expected to generate intense debate in an already divided Texas House.

Democrats Threaten to Break Quorum to Combat Redistricting — By Texas Politics' Daniel Molina — The Texas House convenes this week for a contentious special session, and Democrats are prepared to protest over redistricting. Texas Democrats are threatening to break quorum to block a redistricting proposal they argue is a blatant power grab.

Texas Job Growth Leads Nation as State Sets Employment Records — By Texas Politics' Raeylee Barefield — Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced that Texas job growth continues to outpace the rest of the country, with the state adding 198,300 nonfarm jobs over the past year. Based on June data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas also reached record highs in both the number of people employed and the size of its labor force.

Missing Persons Count Drops to Three After Kerr County Flooding — By Texas Politics' Raeylee Barefield — The number of people reported missing after the devastating July Fourth floods in Kerr County has fallen from more than 160 to just three, officials confirmed.

De La Cruz Secures $280M Drought Relief for Texas Farmers — By Texas Politics' Raeylee Barefield — Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz (R) and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller held a joint press conference in Mission to announce the delivery of $280 million in drought relief through the 1944 Water Treaty Agricultural Assistance Program.

Texas House Convenes For Special Session — By Texas Politics' Daniel Molina

Texas Republicans aim to redraw House districts at Trump's urging, but there's a risk — By Nicholas Riccardi and Nadia Lathan for AP News

LONESTAR is written by Javier Manjarres and Daniel Molina