Gov. Abbott promises small business protection during North Texas visit

During a visit to Tarrant County, Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to protect small businesses from lawsuits over COVID-19.

The governor made the announcement during a small business roundtable in North Richland Hills on Monday.

He praised the resilience of Texas businesses and said they should be able to defend themselves against frivolous lawsuits as long as they were operating "in good faith."

The governor said he’s made litigation protection an emergency item during the legislative session.

"We think that even though a small business would be successful in defending themselves against this litigation they would still be a loser because of all the money they had to spend defending themselves. So we want to say they should not even have to spend that money which is one reason why we want to see this legislation pass," Abbott said.

He is planning more small business roundtable discussions across the state.

Ideas from the visits will be taken to the state capitol, Abbott said.