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The Texas Capitol in Austin at night, its dome and south facade lit gold against a dark sky.

Photo: Kumar Appaiah, CC BY-SA 2.0

Emergency petition to Governor Abbott

Limit the governor’s emergency powers before January 19.

Gina Hinojosa takes the oath as governor on January 19 and has promised to declare an emergency within an hour. Only Governor Abbott can call the Legislature back in time to put a check on those powers.

Until the new governor takes the oath

70Days
00Hours
00Minutes
00Seconds

The new governor takes the oath on Tuesday, January 19, 2027.

To the Honorable Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas

Call a special session. Limit the emergency powers before the new governor takes the oath.

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Texas Government Code

Chapter 418. Emergency Management

The Texas Disaster Act of 1975

  1. Sec. 418.012. Executive orders.

    Executive orders, proclamations, and regulations have the force and effect of law.

  2. Sec. 418.014(c). Declaration of state of disaster.

    A state of disaster may not continue for more than 30 days unless renewed by the governor.

  3. Sec. 418.016(a). Suspension of procedural laws and rules.

    The governor may suspend the provisions of any regulatory statute prescribing the procedures for conduct of state business or the orders or rules of a state agency …

  4. Sec. 418.017(c). Use of public and private resources.

    The governor may commandeer or use any private property if the governor finds it necessary to cope with a disaster …

  5. Sec. 418.018(c). Movement of people.

    The governor may control ingress and egress to and from a disaster area and the movement of persons and the occupancy of premises in the area.

Excerpts, verbatim. Highlights are ours.

One signature. The force of law.

The Texas Disaster Act lets the governor declare a state of disaster on the governor’s own finding. From that moment the governor’s orders carry the force of law. A declaration lasts 30 days, and the governor alone can renew it, as many times as the governor likes.

The law’s list of what counts as a disaster runs from fire and flood to “energy emergency” and “other public calamity requiring emergency action.” The person who decides is the governor.

69

times Governor Abbott has renewed or amended the border disaster proclamation since 2021. Texas Tribune, October 15, 2026

On January 19 the same pen goes to a governor who has already told Texans what she plans to declare.

What a declaration puts in one person’s hands.

“Within an hour of taking the oath of office, I will declare a high-cost emergency in the state of Texas,” Gina Hinojosa wrote in a statement during the campaign. Here is what the law hands the governor once a declaration is signed. Texas Tribune, Oct. 30, 2026

  • A steel bollard border barrier running along the Rio Grande under an overcast morning sky.

    The border

    Texas has run its border mission under a disaster proclamation since 2021, renewed by one signature every 30 days. On January 19, that signature changes hands.

    Proclamation renewed or amended at least 69 times. Texas Tribune, Oct. 15, 2026.

  • High-voltage transmission towers crossing Texas ranchland, an oil pumpjack working in the distance.

    Oil, gas and power

    She has promised an emergency order freezing electricity rates within an hour of the oath. During a declared disaster a governor can suspend the rules of any state agency, including the ones Texas energy works under.

    Gov’t Code 418.016(a). Hinojosa statement, Texas Tribune, Oct. 30, 2026.

  • Angus cattle at a water trough beside an old windmill on an East Texas ranch.

    Ranches and farms

    A declaration lets the governor commandeer or use private property found necessary to the emergency, with compensation decided afterward under the same law.

    Gov’t Code 418.017(c).

  • A rural Texas farm road closed with striped barricades and traffic cones.

    Where you can go

    Inside a declared disaster area the governor controls movement in and out, and who may occupy the property there.

    Gov’t Code 418.018(c).

The empty Texas House of Representatives chamber in the Capitol, looking down the center aisle to the Speaker’s rostrum.

Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress

Only Governor Abbott can act in time.

The Legislature can end a disaster declaration, but only by passing a law, and a governor can veto it. A special session is the one way to settle this before the oath, and the Texas Constitution gives the power to call it to the governor alone.

  1. Nov 3, 2026

    Election Day

    Gina Hinojosa is elected governor. Democrats win the Texas House.

  2. Now

    The window

    Governor Abbott can call the Legislature into special session and set its agenda. No one else can.

  3. Jan 12, 2027

    New Legislature convenes

    The House that would have to pass any limit is under new control.

  4. Jan 19, 2027

    The oath

    The new governor takes office, and the emergency powers with it.

Sign the Petition
Kat Wall in a black cowboy hat and denim jacket, smiling, in a Texas pasture.

Stop what you’re doing and sign.

Kat Wall’s family has ranched Leon County since 1850. She is asking every Texan who sees this to add their name today, not next week, and to send it to five people who will do the same.

A petition only matters if the governor sees it while he can still act. Every day on the clock above is a day the window gets smaller.

Add Your Name

What you’re signing.

Every word of it is on this page. Your name goes under it.

Sign the Petition

Send it to five people.

One name is easy for Austin to ignore. Five more from you are not.

To the Honorable Greg Abbott
Governor of the State of Texas

We, the undersigned Texans, ask you to call the Legislature into special session before January 19, 2027, and to place before it one item: to repeal or limit the emergency powers of the governor under Chapter 418 of the Government Code, the Texas Disaster Act, before the next governor takes the oath of office.

No governor of either party should hold powers this broad, renewed every 30 days on one signature, without a vote of the people’s representatives. The time to set that check is now, while you can still call the session.

Signed, the Texans named below

Questions

Can a petition force a special session?
No. Under the Texas Constitution only the governor can call one, and only the governor decides what it may take up. That is why this petition is addressed to Governor Abbott: it shows him how many Texans want this done while he still can.
Can’t the Legislature end an emergency after January?
Only by passing a law, and a governor can veto it. The Texas Senate passed limits on these powers in 2021 and again in 2025. Both died in the House. Starting in January, Democrats control the House.
Would this limit every governor, not just one?
Yes. The petition asks for a check on the office. No governor of either party should be able to rule by declaration, renewed every 30 days, with no vote from the people’s representatives.
What happens to my information?
Your name and contact details go to Kat Wall’s team, and your email joins her email list so we can keep you posted on the petition and what comes next. Every email has an unsubscribe link. We do not sell your information. If you give a mobile number, the text consent shown under the form applies.