Good morning, 

With the New Year having now arrived, employers are continuing to mandate the COVID vaccine. Will Texas fight back?

That is the subject of today's Texas Minute.

– Brandon Waltens 

Monday, January 3, 2022
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• The issue of vaccine mandates has hit a fever pitch, as large employers in Texas have continued rolling out strict requirements for their employees and the Biden Administration rolls out its own mandates.
   

• Last fall, while the Texas Legislature was meeting during its third special session of the year, Gov. Greg Abbott added a ban on vaccine mandates from any entity—including businesses—to the agenda in the final days. Simultaneously, Abbott signed an executive order to that effect.
   

• But the executive order has been largely ignored by employers and state agencies alike, in part because it only imposes a $1,000 fine. The systems of the University of Texas and Texas A&M have said they will abide by the federal vaccine mandates, in spite of Abbott's order.
   

• And legislation banning mandates? So far that has been ignored by both the Texas House and Senate.

• Pressure has continued to grow for Gov. Abbott to call a fourth special session of the state legislature. The Republican Party of Texas has repeatedly asked Abbott to call another special session to address vaccine mandates. 
   
• As Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi noted last week, Abbott's executive order (to the extent it is followed by employers) is only effective so long as the emergency order for COVID continues. That order has been in place since March of 2020. "So are we doing a special session or keeping a declared emergency through Sept 2023?" Rinaldi asked.
   
• Specifically, the party has endorsed legislation by freshman State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Waxahachie) that would require informed consent of employees who receive the COVID vaccine; if the employee refuses the treatment, no penalties may be enacted against the person. It also would allow the State of Texas to sue any company on behalf of an individual penalized for refusing.
   
• So will lawmakers be called back for a fourth special session to address this issue?

• Only the governor can call the Legislature back to Austin for special sessions. They can only last up to 30 days at a time and are limited to agenda items he puts on the call. So far, Abbott appears hesitant to bring lawmakers back to Austin to protect Texans from vaccine mandates, saying there is “no need” for a special session at this time.
   
• Last month, Abbott did announce a telephone hotline for Texans to report employers that require vaccines in defiance of his executive order. That phone line is operated by the Texas Workforce Commission.
   
• As of now, according to the Republican Party of Texas, the following 30 lawmakers have indicated their support for a fourth special session to ban vaccine mandates:
  • State Sen. Bob Hall
  • State Sen. Drew Springer
  • State Sen. Angela Paxton
  • State Sen. Dawn Buckingham
  • State Rep. "Doc" Anderson 
  • State Rep. Kyle Biedermann
  • State Rep. Keith Bell
  • State Rep. Briscoe Cain
  • State Rep. Jeff Cason
  • State Rep. Brian Harrison
  • State Rep. Cole Hefner
  • State Rep. Phil King
  • State Rep. Stephanie Klick
  • State Rep. Matt Krause
  • State Rep. Jeff Leach
  • State Rep. Mayes Middleton
  • State Rep. Candy Noble
  • State Rep. Tom Oliverson
  • State Rep. Tan Parker 
  • State Rep. Matt Schaefer
  • State Rep. Matt Shaheen
  • State Rep. Bryan Slaton
  • State Rep. Shelby Slawson
  • State Rep. David Spiller
  • State Rep. Phil Stephenson
  • State Rep. Valoree Swanson
  • State Rep. Tony Tinderholt
  • State Rep. Steve Toth
  • State Rep. Cody Vasut
  • State Rep. James White
  • State Rep. Keith Bell

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