Gov Brings #AbbottHates Dogs Bill
Back to Life Amid Suburb Backlash

Capitol Inside
September 6, 2021

Stung by plunging popularity ratings that appear to be contagious, Governor Greg Abbott offered a rare glimpse of a soft side on Tuesday night when he revived a dog cruelty bill that he'd vetoed in a disastrous move after the regular session.

Capitol Inside raised the specter at the time that Senate Bill 474 could be back in special session this summer or fall in a desperation damage control effort amid the fallout from a massive backlash that Abbott encountered in the suburbs where he's even more unpopular now as a result of a school mask mandate ban, a new abortion ban and other measures that were tailored for conservatives in rural areas that are shrinking.

Abbott incorporated the dead dog protection measure into the program for the third special session that he called tonight with a starting date of September 20 for the sake of redrawing legislative, congressional and State Board of Education districts to reflect the 2020 Census data.

Abbott's third summer agenda includes the appropriations of funds that Democrats in Congress approved at President Joe Biden's urging without a single vote from Republicans. The Texas governor didn't go into detail on the source money in the new call that included "legislation providing appropriations from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Pub. L. No. 117-2."

The governor also resurrected a measure that would ban trangender athletes in high school sport after failed attempts by the Republicans to pass the proposal in regular and special session this year. The proposal has the potential to erase whatever goodwill Abbott hopes to reap with the newfound interest in the prevention of cruel and abusive treatment of dogs by owners.

Abbott began a veto message on SB 474 with shade of sarcasm - declaring that Texans "love their dogs so it is no surprise that our statutes already protect them by outlawing true animal cruelty."

But Abbott complained that the measure would subject owners to the "pain of criminal penalties" by requiring to take minor steps to ensure that their dogs are treated properly. The governor added the measure to the original call for the Legislature's third special session in the past three months. Abbott warned lawmakers that he wants a bill that " addresses the concerns expressed in the governor's veto statement."

"Texas is no place for this kind of micro-managing and over-criminalization," Abbott said in the formal explanation for his veto in June.

Lawmakers might have to gut the bill if they try to remove all of the problems that he cited in the veto message.

more to come ...