Texas Gov. Rick Perry cannot get enough rowdiness in the Legislature, which must be his rationale for calling a second special session as the state is still reeling from the near-brawl in the Texas Senate this week.

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/06/26/rick-perry-calls-second-special-session/

The second special session gets under way July 1, the day Perry is supposed to reveal his future political plans.

“Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn. Texans want a transportation system that keeps them moving. Texans want a court system that is fair and just. We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do,” Perry said in calling legislators back to work.

There you have it. Abortion, transportation and the courts will be on the agenda.

I have to differ with one of the governor’s points. “Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn,” Perry said. I’ll agree with him as far as that statement goes. I do not believe Texans want legislators to enact punitive legislation that makes abortion a criminal act. Texans have joined the rest of America in supporting a woman’s right to reproductive independence. Yet, Perry is listening to the conservative base within his party by demanding the Legislature mandate a law that tells a woman she must carry a pregnancy to full term.

The filibuster – led by state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth – that brought the previous special session to a raucous end on Tuesday is going to commence once the defeated abortion bill hits the Senate floor. Also, look for the crowds to return to the Senate gallery – once they catch their breath from all the yelling they did to disrupt the proceedings the other day.

Here’s hoping they return in full-throated form to stop this punitive bill.