A coalition of dozens of groups and 15,000 people have signed petitions calling on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special legislative session before the end of the year.

Republicans are still in power and could convene to curtail gubernatorial emergency powers, state Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Waxahachie, said.

He’s been calling for a special session since Republicans lost every statewide race and at least 20 seats in the Texas House on Election Day.

Newly elected Democrats won’t be sworn into office until mid-January and Republicans have nine weeks “to restore separation of powers and limit the emergency powers that Governor-Elect Hinojosa is set to inherit, which would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat,” he said, The Center Square reported.

On Thursday, he was joined by dozens of groups who’ve formed a coalition calling for a special session to amend a state disaster emergency law.

Democrat Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa is expected to use emergency powers to change policy through executive order citing a 1975-era law Abbott used to issue executive orders his entire time in office. For years, conservatives have called for reigning in this authority.

The coalition calling for a special session is the “largest coalition of conservative organizations ever formed to restore separation of powers and rein in unconstitutional emergency powers,” Harrison said.

The coalition said at an event in Austin on Thursday and in a letter to the governor that he has “an unprecedented opportunity to be the hero Texas deserves. In less than 10 weeks, the makeup of the Texas government will drastically change … and action is necessary to protect the Texas we all love from the weaponization of the governor's seat. As your term comes to an end, the greatest threat to the liberty of Texans is the unchecked executive emergency powers that will be available to” Hinojosa. The coalition argues emergency powers shouldn’t be available to any governor, Republican or Democrat, it said in a joint statement.

They are calling for the law to be amended to prohibit the governor from suspending or modifying statutes, sunset emergency orders in 30 days if the legislature doesn't ratify them, require emergency orders to be narrowly tailored and subjected to judicial review.

After the coalition made their announcement, Harris delivered 15,000 signed petitions to the governor’s office calling for a special session.

The governor has not yet responded. In the past, when House Democrats have tried to prevent votes on Republican bills they don't want approved, they have left the state to prohibit the legislature from reaching a quorum.

State Rep. Andy Hopper, a Republican colleague of Harrison’s, told The Center Square, “Democrats would never show up for quorum, and would just flee the state” if they believed Abbott were to call a special session. Over the years, lawmakers have called on Abbott to call special sessions even during the COVID-lockdown era, which he didn’t do.

A special session “would cost the state millions of dollars with zero chance of success. This maneuver is designed to deflect the ire of Texans from radical Democrats and onto Republicans who are packing their boxes” because they were voted out of office, he said.

No Republican leaders in the state legislature have called for a special session. During Abbott’s 12 years in office, neither he nor the legislature amended the law to make the changes Harrison has called for.

Hinojosa has announced a bipartisan transition team, as have the other female leaders of Texas’ new government. They have all said they plan to work with Republicans, The Center Square reported.

Regardless of what House Democrats pass in the lower chamber next year, nothing will pass without Texas Senate approval, a chamber where Republicans hold the majority.

A new government will be sworn in on Jan. 19.