Texas is growing, and Governor Greg Abbott outlined his plan in his State of the State address to solve important issues and maintain the “Texas miracle”‘s momentum going forward.
“Clearly God has blessed Texas, and the state of our state has never been better,” Abbott stated.
At the Arnold Oil Company in Austin, in front of 1,100 state and corporate leaders and supporters, the governor unveiled seven of his top priorities—also known as emergency items for this legislative session.
In addition to the billions that were approved two years ago, he demanded an additional $10 billion in relief from school property taxes. Additionally, Abbott wants state legislators to make it more challenging for cities and counties to increase property taxes.
“No taxing entity should be able to raise your property taxes without a two-thirds approval by voters,” Abbott stated. “No approval, no new taxes.”
Some of Abbott’s other emergency measures include the state making record investments in creating new water sources and fixing old pipes in order to save billions of gallons of water each year.
He also called on lawmakers to assist avoid cyber attacks by establishing the Texas Cyber Command in San Antonio, which will collaborate with specialists in the area to protect against threats from China, Russia, and Iran.
The governor also encouraged lawmakers to pass bail reform, which was not passed two years ago.
He wants to refuse bail to people who have been arrested for capital murder and other violent crimes, as well as to those who have been detained for being in the United States illegally.
Abbott also became emotional when he asked for the death penalty for anyone found guilty of killing a child. He paid tribute to the memories of Jocelyn Nungary, who was 12 years old. Alexis, Nungary’s mother, was present in the crowd.
“She was brutally raped and murdered by two illegal immigrants with ties to Tren de Aragua,” Abbott stated.
Three of his seven top goals were related to education. These included increasing teachers’ salaries and expanding career-training programs for high school pupils.
The governor is also advocating for school choice by offering tax monies to students who choose to attend private school.
This was a priority for him in his last session, but it was rejected in the Texas House.
Abbott stated that, “The majority of Texans support school choice. More than 30 states already have a form of school choice. We will continue to fully fund public schools and raise teacher pay while also giving parents the choice they need.”
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James Talarico, a state representative from Austin, Texas, who is a member of the Democratic Party, strongly condemned the school choice program proposed by the Governor.
“Voucher scams are not school choice,” Talarico stated. “It’s the schools’ choice because private schools can deny admission to any kid for any reason they want. So how is it ‘choice’ when the private school has all the power in the equation? How is it ‘choice’ when a majority of counties in the state of Texas don’t have a single private school?”
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The issue of school choice is anticipated to be the most contentious topic this session. The governor has stated that he has the votes to get it passed in the House this year.
According to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the Texas Senate will approve its bill this Wednesday.
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