Texas Republicans are scrambling to rein in the governor’s sweeping emergency powers before Democrat Gina Hinojosa takes office, with one conservative lawmaker demanding an immediate special legislative session following the GOP’s stunning midterm defeat.
State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, is urging outgoing Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to summon lawmakers back to Austin while Republicans still control the state government.
The push comes after Hinojosa defeated Abbott on Tuesday, ending three decades of Republican control of the Texas governor’s mansion and raising questions about how the incoming Democrat could use the state’s emergency powers.
Harrison wasted little time sounding the alarm.
“Republicans lost last night, but Democrats were not sworn in,” Harrison wrote Wednesday on X.
He argued that Republicans must use their remaining time in power to restrict emergency executive authority before Hinojosa takes office in January.
🚨 I call on Gov. Abbott to IMMEDIATELY convene a special session to REIN IN EXECUTIVE EMERGENCY POWERS… before Gina Hinojosa is sworn in!
Republicans lost last night, but Democrats were not sworn in.
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, which would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat.
I’ve warned since I was first elected that NO governor, Republican or Democrat, should have unchecked emergency powers!
Now that Texas has elected a Democrat Governor, the urgency is undeniable… and inaction is intolerable.
Without action, Governor Hinojosa will inherit the powers of a DICTATOR.
Due to the absurd (and almost certainly unconstitutional) Texas emergency powers laws, Gov. Hinojosa will literally have the power to modify laws, ignore laws, or create and enforce laws – including criminal laws – on a whim!
Today is a day for ACTION, and bold leadership.
The Texas Legislature must immediately pass, and Governor Abbott must sign, legislation like HB911, which I filed in 2022 and warned at the time, that “Never ending emergency powers are antithetical to representative government and render people powerless. Legislative bodies allowing a single executive branch official to both write and enforce laws is the biggest threat to our constitutional system of divided government and should be opposed irrespective of which political party runs the executive branch.”
My legislation would protect liberty from executive fiat by, among other things, taking the following actions:
1. Prohibit the Governor from suspending or modifying statutes
2. Sunset emergency orders in 30 days if the legislature does not ratify the order
3. Prohibit the governor from reissuing emergency orders that expired or the legislature rejected
4. Require emergency orders to be narrowly tailored
5. Subject emergency orders to expedited judicial review
We have TEN WEEKS LEFT to protect Texas from near total Democrat rule.
I encourage every elected Republican in Texas to join my demand for Gov. Abbott to call a special session.
The future of liberty in America is literally on the line in Texas, and Texans deserve leadership that acts accordingly.
@GregAbbott_TX
— Brian Harrison (@brianeharrison) November 4, 2026
“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, which would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat.”
At the center of Harrison’s proposal is House Bill 911, legislation he previously introduced to prevent Texas governors from exercising broad emergency authority without meaningful legislative oversight.
The proposal would prohibit governors from suspending or modifying existing state laws during declared emergencies.
It would also require emergency orders to expire after 30 days unless lawmakers explicitly approve an extension.
Under Harrison’s plan, governors could not simply reissue emergency orders that had expired or been rejected by the Legislature.
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Additional provisions would require emergency directives to be narrowly tailored and allow courts to review challenges through an expedited process.
Harrison maintains that the issue goes beyond partisan politics, pointing to his previous efforts to restrict executive emergency powers while Greg Abbott, a fellow Republican, occupied the governor’s office.
He has argued that the power to create laws belongs to the Legislature, not an individual executive acting through emergency declarations.
But Hinojosa’s victory has injected new urgency into the debate.
Texas law currently gives governors considerable authority during declared disasters, including the ability to suspend certain regulatory requirements when compliance would interfere with emergency response efforts.
Those powers have played a significant role in the state’s response to natural disasters, public health emergencies and border-related challenges.
Harrison fears the incoming Democratic administration could use those same provisions to advance policies that Republicans oppose.
Hinojosa has already proposed declaring a cost-of-living emergency as part of her effort to address rising household expenses.
Her campaign also emphasized changes to public education, energy policy and state spending, setting up potential confrontations with Republicans who retained control of the Texas Senate.
Although Democrats captured the governorship and state House, the Republican Senate majority means Hinojosa will not have unrestricted legislative control.
Nevertheless, Harrison argues that lawmakers should establish stronger constitutional safeguards before the transition.
His proposal has attracted attention from conservative commentators, including journalist Lara Logan, who described the effort as a “Hail Mary for Texas” and suggested Abbott should demonstrate greater political resolve.
The effort faces an immediate procedural hurdle.
Under the Texas Constitution, only the governor can convene a special legislative session, which may last no longer than 30 days.
Lawmakers are also restricted to considering subjects included in the governor’s special-session agenda.
That means Harrison cannot force the Legislature to return on his own. Abbott would first have to agree to summon lawmakers and authorize consideration of emergency-powers legislation.
The outgoing governor has not publicly committed to doing so.
Critics of the proposal argue that changing the rules immediately after a Democrat wins the governorship would undermine the authority voters elected Hinojosa to exercise.
Harrison counters that his opposition to unchecked emergency authority predates the election and applies regardless of which party controls the governor’s office.
He insists the Legislature should be responsible for making laws, with emergency declarations subject to clear limits and judicial review.
With Hinojosa preparing to take office Jan. 19, Republicans have a narrowing window to pursue the changes.
Whether Abbott agrees to call lawmakers back remains the central question.
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