AUSTIN—Gov. Greg Abbott outlined seven emergency priorities in his State of the State address, giving lawmakers their first set of issues to tackle immediately.
During the first 60 days of a legislative session, lawmakers are barred from passing legislation unless it is designated as an emergency item by the governor. Abbott’s decision to deliver his address less than three weeks into the session reflects a faster pace than in some past years.
Rather than speaking at the State Capitol, as had been tradition before 2021, Abbott gave his address at the Arnold Oil Company warehouse in Austin, creating an environment that felt more like a political rally.
“Texas is the most powerful economy in America,” Abbott told the crowd of supporters and lawmakers. “Ranked as the best state for doing business for 20 years, Texas is number one for the most new jobs, number one for economic development, and number one as the best state to start a new business.”
But Abbott said more must be done.
School choice, to no surprise, is among the top issues Abbott has tasked lawmakers with addressing. “Government-mandated schools cannot meet the unique needs of every student. But Texas can provide families with choices to meet those needs,” Abbott said.
School choice was Abbott’s top priority last session but was killed in the Texas House. In response, Abbott campaigned against many Republican incumbents who opposed school choice in the last primary elections, leading to major turnover in the House. Now, both chambers appear poised to pass some form of school choice legislation, with the House and Senate each budgeting $1 billion in their upcoming proposals for an education savings account program.
The Senate has already advanced a proposal through its Education Committee and is expected to pass it in the full chamber later this week.
Coupled with school choice, Abbott is also pushing for an increase in teacher pay. “We must reward the best teachers by putting them on a path to earn a six-figure salary,” Abbott said.
He is calling for a direct appropriation to increase teacher salaries and an expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment by $750 million to boost merit pay. While school choice and teacher pay were among Abbott’s top priorities, he also called for an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in K-12 education, arguing that Texas schools should focus on education, not divisive political agendas.
Abbott also urged lawmakers to prioritize property tax relief, calling for at least $10 billion of the state’s $24 billion surplus to accelerate tax rate compression for school district M&O taxes. He also wants to increase the business personal property tax exemption to $100,000. “Last session, we slashed your property taxes. But for many Texans, those cuts were wiped out by local taxing authorities that hiked your property taxes even more. That must end this session,” Abbott said.
To that end, he called for an end to “loopholes” used by local governments—such as those in Harris County—to increase property taxes. He also proposed requiring a two-thirds voter approval for local tax increases and moving bond and other debt measures to the November general election ballot.
Bail reform was also on Abbott’s emergency agenda. He called for legislation requiring judges to deny bail for violent offenders and mandating that bail be denied in cases involving capital murder or sexual offenses against children.
“No one can benefit from a better education or a booming economy if they are not safe,” said Abbott.
Among Abbott’s other emergency items were an additional $1 billion annually for 10 years to improve Texas’ water infrastructure, expanded career training programs to strengthen the state’s workforce, and Texas Cyber Command, a cybersecurity initiative aimed at protecting Texas from foreign threats.
”We must harness those assets to protect against threats from China, Iran, Russia, and other foreign enemies. They could cripple our power, water, and communications with cyberattacks. We must use cutting-edge capabilities to secure our state,” said Abbott.
While not labeled as an emergency item, Abbott urged the legislature to ban hostile foreign nations and their agents from purchasing Texas land.
“It is freedom that will make Texas stronger, safer, and more prosperous than ever in the history of our great state,” Abbott concluded.
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