LWV Texas statement in response to Governor Abbott’s remarks about state legislature funding
LWV Texas | Published on 6/1/2021
League of Women Voters President Grace Chimene issued the following statement in response to Governor Abbott’s remarks about state legislature funding.
“Governor Abbott's threat to defund the legislature is unethical and anti-democratic. By threatening to defund Texas’s legislative branch, Governor Abbott undermines the constitutional set of checks and balances upon which our government is built. Furthermore, his threats distract from the real issue: SB7 is a deeply undemocratic bill rammed through without due process.
SB7 impacts how Texans will vote for years to come, and this bill was set to be passed without sufficient input from the public or elected officials before House legislators blocked it. Certain elected officials took advantage of the pandemic, employing undemocratic shenanigans to undermine our legislative processes that normally allow for public and legislative input on important bills such as SB7. Sunday night, House legislators exercised their constitutional authority to block the backdoor passage of this anti-voter bill.
House legislators and their staff were doing their job, patriotically representing their constituents. Governor Abbott must respect our governmental system of checks and balances, and legislators must respect the public’s right to floor debate and public input.”