State lawmakers reconvene for special session

Under the Texas Constitution, only the Governor can call a special session of the Legislature and only he decides which issues lawmakers can act upon. The special session that convened July 18 is starting with the urgent business at hand – reauthorizing a handful of state agencies – before they’re allowed to turn their attention to a laundry list of social and local governance issues that will form the platform of Gov. Greg Abbott’s just announced re-election campaign.