Johnson: Abbott should 'refocus his efforts on the power grid, health care access'

State Rep. Ann Johnson (D-Houston) has responded to remarks Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made about her during a ceremonial bill signing.

Abbott called out Johnson for participating in the second Democratic walkout in Washington, D.C., joining over 50 absentee colleagues, according to ABC 13.

He told ABC 13 that Johnson was not in attendance at the signing ceremony because she "fled the state with other Democrats who abandoned their legislative responsibilities."

Johnson tweeted that Abbott’s parting shots would not derail her from focusing on trying to fix the real issues that are plaguing Texans.

"Nice try at a cheap shot @GovAbbott,” she wrote. “But my colleagues and I are working overtime to stop you from suppressing the votes of hardworking Texans. I'm ready to work with you to solve real problems – fixing the power grid, expanding access to health care and reducing gun violence #txlege."

Abbott signed an anti-fentanyl bill into law in Houston on July 20, which states that individuals who manufacture or deliver 200-400 grams of the drug could face 15 years in prison while more than 400 grams could be a potential 20-year sentence, according to ABC 13.

"I'm glad that the governor is thinking about me, but I would ask that he refocus his efforts on the power grid, health care access being expanded, especially in this moment of an increase variant – the Delta variant of COVID, and lets talk about the rising epidemic in gun violence," Johnson told the news station.

Abbott did note there had been an increase in fentanyl overdoses over the last several years, saying that it was 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin.

“In just the first six months of this year, the Texas Department of Public Safety has seized over 300 pounds of fentanyl and that is over a 1,000% increase in the amount of fentanyl seized during the same sixth month period last year, ” Abbott said.