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Governor Greg Abbott weighs in on several issues in exclusive interview with 25 News

Posted at 11:33 AM, Jul 21, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-21 12:58:59-04

WACO, TX — In a 25 News exclusive, Governor Greg Abbott weighed in on everything from ERCOT to the highly contentious election integrity bill under consideration in the special session.

“It actually adds hours to voting, not reduces [...] they altered the hours of voting to make 24 hours, and for the first time ever they had drive-through voting," said Governor Abbott. "The state of Texas has never authorized those practices. The US Constitution gives states, not counties, the authority to establish what laws are.”

Democrats say the bill hurts the right to vote. It's the reason a group of them packed up and headed to D.C. last week, bringing the special session to a standstill.

Governor Abbott tells 25 News he’ll call special session after special session until some progress is made, despite the cost.

“These aren’t cheap. Taxpayer dollars are in play. How can you be 100% sure they’ll turn out differently?” asked 25 News Anchor Todd Unger.

“You do make an important point, taxpayer dollars are being used [...] but it’s not just election integrity on the agenda. It’s reducing property tax, it’s reforming bail reform, including the Damon Allen Act, a DPS trooper just outside of Waco who lost his life because someone was out on bail,” said Governor Abbott

Governor Abbott also defended initial reforms to the state’s power grid operator ERCOT during the regular session, despite some insisting far more needs to be done following the devastating winter storm.

“They’ve increased power generation, and they have already provided additional power reserves,” Governor Abbott added.