2021 Texas Legislature: What's on the line for Abbott, Patrick and Phelan?

The state's top leaders will play key roles in setting the course for the 140-day legislative session.

Known as "the big three" of Texas politics, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and soon-to-be House Speaker Dade Phelan, all Republicans, navigate a budget crunch, redistricting and issues related to the pandemic, among other topics that promise to be divisive.

Each will face a different set of challenges in wielding power and burnishing their reputations.

Here's a look at what's on the line for Abbott, Patrick and Phelan:

Gov. Greg Abbott

As the pandemic wreaked havoc on the state's economy and strained the health care system, the Capitol remained closed — opening Monday for the first time since March — with calls for a special session unanswered by the governor.

The Legislature will meet for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Texas, and the Lone Star State remains under a disaster declaration, giving Abbott broad power over state agencies, boards and commissions.

He's wielded that power to issue statewide orders mandating masks and restricting businesses, more so in areas with high numbers of COVID-19 patients in hospitals. He also has blocked local officials from issuing more restrictive measures, while at the same time taking incoming fire from members of his own party complaining of executive overreach.

Those debates over Abbott's emergency powers are expected to play out during the session.

In recent months, Abbott has repeatedly promised, "no more shutdowns," even as the number of new cases and hospitalizations break new records.

Instead, he's relying on a regional approach: areas where COVID-19 patients make up more than 15% of total hospital bed capacity must further restrict business occupancy limits, close bars and halt elective surgeries. Most parts of the state now meet that threshold, with the Austin-area expected to face those restrictions as early as Monday.

Democrats argue those restrictions aren't enough to slow the spread of the virus, while some Republicans oppose any order that closes a Texas business.

That criticism from the right emboldened several party leaders, including a handful of Republican lawmakers, to sue over his order expanding early voting as a pandemic safety measure. Abbott prevailed in court, but his standing is weaker than it's ever been among the party faithful.

He also faces increasing criticism over the slow distribution of the vaccine.

More than three dozen Democrats have urged Abbott and Texas Department of State Health Services to overhaul the state's vaccine rollout plan, saying it should focus more on essential workers and correct ongoing confusion and delays.

Abbott, meanwhile, has found common cause among Republicans in criticizing the Austin City Council over its move over the summer to cut police funding, holding numerous news conferences over the issue and pledging to push legislation that would punish the city, including shifting local police oversight to the state.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick

Patrick, who presides over the Texas Senate, is an avid practitioner of power politics — a side of the conservative Republican that will be on prominent display during the 87th session of the Legislature.

Patrick spent eight years as a senator before unseating the previous lieutenant governor, David Dewhurst, in the 2014 GOP primary with the promise of a harder shift to the right.

He quickly delivered, providing an immense boost to Republican power by pushing through a rules change allowing a floor vote on bills with the approval of 19 senators instead of 21. There were 20 GOP senators at the time, so the new rule blocked Democratic hopes of thwarting Republican priorities.

Patrick is ready to do the same thing in the upcoming session after Democrats flipped one seat in the November election, leaving Republicans with an 18-13 advantage.

The new rule, Patrick has vowed, will require only 18 senators to bring a bill to the Senate floor.

Democrats have decried the proposed change as a dirty trick and four former Republican senators called it a misguided blow to bipartisanship, but Patrick believes the new rule will be a critical step toward keeping Republicans ascendant in 2021.

“Texans reaffirmed in the 2020 election that they support conservative candidates and conservative policies, and I am committed to again moving a conservative agenda forward," he said recently.

Presumptive House Speaker Dade Phelan

First on House members' to-do list this session: Vote for a new speaker.

Lawmakers are expected to easily approve Phelan, of Beaumont, for the job. He announced in November that he secured an overwhelming majority of support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

He'll replace former House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Lake Jackson, who faced pressure to step aside from members of his own party after a political scandal damaged his reputation. He did not seek reelection.

GOP members have high hopes that Phelan will unite the Republican caucus. Democrats say Phelan's time as chair of the House State Affairs committee signals that he won't alienate them.

It's likely Phelan will find an ally in Abbott, as they've both been targeted for harsh criticism from GOP Chairman Allen West — Phelan for courting Democratic support in his bid for the leadership post and Abbott for acting like a "tyrant" in managing the pandemic.

But few elected Republicans have publicly backed West on his criticism over Phelan. Previous House speakers have received support from both sides of the aisle.

In his first media interview ahead of the session, Phelan told KFDM Beaumont Friday that he'll prioritize getting "the economy back on track," adding that Texas now faces a budget deficit.

"COVID will obviously be a blanket over the entire session," Phelan said. "We'll deal with it in every aspect of policy."

He vowed to maintain education funding levels this session, while schools spend millions of dollars for virtual learning and safety measures.

"We in the House have committed to funding schools throughout this session, throughout this budget cycle," he told KFDM. "We're not going to cut back on them because their average daily attendance was down because children were distance learning or not learning at all."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 2021 Texas Legislature: What's on the line for Abbott, Patrick and Phelan?

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