Texas Governor Calls Special Session to Ban COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sept. 9, 2023. Vasha Hunt/AP Photo

The governor of Texas on Oct. 5 called a special legislative session to ban private employers from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, listed banning private mandates among a list of priorities that also includes bills to fund construction of barriers at the U.S.–Mexico border and targeting the Colony Ridge illegal immigrant encampment.

“We must protect the freedom of Texans from forced COVID-19 vaccinations. I look forward to working with my partners in the legislature to address these critical issues,” Mr. Abbott said in a statement.

Republicans, who control both legislative chambers in addition to the governor’s mansion, expressed surprise at the development.

“This is fantastic. I did not expect vaccine mandates to be added to the call,” Matt Rinaldi, chairman of the Texas Republican Party, said.

Mr. Abbott in an executive order in 2021 banned private employers from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates on workers or customers, but that hasn’t stopped some employers in the state from requiring the shots.

The Baylor College of Medicine, a private university located in Houston, announced in late September that both faculty and students would need to get a COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 30, unless they receive an exemption on medical, religious, or personal grounds.

The new COVID-19 vaccines were recently authorized and approved by the U.S. Food and Administration, and recommended for virtually all Americans by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, despite clinical study data from just 50 humans. The vaccines are made by Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax.

Many other countries, and the state of Florida, are only recommending the shots for certain populations, such as those 65 and older.

State legislators earlier in September passed a law that was signed by Mr. Abbott. The law prohibits local governments from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates. But lawmakers in the state House did not approve another bill that would block private businesses from imposing vaccination requirements.

Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, in a file photograph.
The Epoch Times

The bill was passed by the state Senate but blocked by the state House’s Calendar Committee.

State Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, in response to Baylor’s mandate, had told The Epoch Times that the governor should call a special session to pass the bill concerning private businesses.

“This is Texas. We should not tolerate this here,” Mr. Harrison said. “The governor should demand we pass the COVID Vaccine Freedom Act in a special session. This makes no sense that people aren’t protected.

Mr. Harrison said Gov. Abbott’s move this week was an answer to his call.

“The time is NOW to pass the Texas COVID Vaccine Freedom Act,” Mr. Harrison said on X.

Texans for Vaccine Choice, a group that supports ending mandates, told supporters that their petition signatures, emails, phone calls, and pressure on social media resulted in Gov. Abbott’s move. “We will finally see the end of all COVID jab mandates in Texas before Thanksgiving!” the group said in a statement.

State Rep. Jeff Leach, another Republican, said he would file a separate bill that would prohibit private businesses from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate, and with Governor Abbott, to aggressively safeguard the medical freedom of all Texans by opposing vaccine mandates,” Mr. Leach said in a statement. “I’m proud to carry this important legislation and promise to do everything I can to get it to the Governor’s desk and signed into law as soon as possible.”

The special session is scheduled to start on Oct. 9.

Syringes filled with COVID-19 vaccine sit on a table at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in a file image. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Other Priorities

The special session will also focus on legislation that would provide education savings accounts for all primary school students in Texas, legislation that would create a new criminal offense for illegally entering Texas from a foreign nation, and legislation that would provide more funding for building barriers at the border with Texas.

Mr. Abbott also wants a bill that would address “public safety, security, environmental quality, and property ownership in areas like the Colony Ridge development,” which houses illegal immigrants.

The state Senate Finance Committee is slated to meet on Oct. 9 to discuss teacher compensation and funding for public schools while the state Senate Education Committee said it would meet the following day to consider acting on the education savings accounts.

But the priorities drew criticism from Democrats, who said lawmakers should focus on other issues.

“Today, there are schools in my district and all across Texas at risk of closure because the governor is holding public school funding hostage to pass his private school voucher scam,” state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat, said in a statement. “It’s clear Greg Abbott is more interested in doing the bidding of the billionaire mega donors pushing this scam than in serving the people of Texas.”