Gov. Greg Abbott touted Texas’ strong economy in his State of the State address Sunday, where he also laid out a list of priorities he wants Texas lawmakers to focus on in the months ahead. These include creating a school voucher-like program and lowering Texans’ property taxes.
“Texas is the most powerful economy in America. 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,” said Abbott, speaking from Arnold Oil Company in Austin.
The speech, which the governor gives every two years in the early days of Texas’ biennial legislative session, marks the third time Abbott delivered the address from somewhere other than the state Capitol.
It was also Abbott’s last State of the State before he is up for reelection in 2026. The governor, who first assumed office in 2015, spent much of his time recounting what he viewed as his — and the state’s — most impressive accomplishments during his decade in office, including its efforts on technology, innovation and border security.
“Texas is the blueprint for America’s future,” the governor said.
The most consequential aspect of the address was Abbott’s official announcement of his “emergency items” for the 89th Legislative session. Under the Texas Constitution, state lawmakers can only vote on bills related to the governor’s emergency items during the first 60 days they’re in session.
Given that the legislature’s regular meetings are only 140 days every two years, Abbott’s emergency items provide a preview of what Texans could expect coming out of the Statehouse in the next several weeks.
In all, Gov. Abbott announced seven emergency items in his State of the State address.
Abbott calls for additional “property tax relief” for Texans
Property taxes were Abbott’s first item on the docket in his list of emergency items, similar to what he instructed lawmakers to work on in his 2023 priority list.
This time around, though, he’s setting his sights on $10 billion in tax relief.
“We know that many Texans face an affordability crisis,” he said. “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.”
A bill that passed during a 2023 special legislative session was aimed at providing significantly lower bills for property owners. The bill also raised the homestead exemption for homeowners from $40,000 to $100,000.
But on Sunday, Abbott said the state’s past efforts didn’t go far enough. He pointed to Harris county, which Abbott said used “loopholes” to offset the tax relief Texans were supposed to see. “Loopholes that increase your property taxes must be banned,” he said. “No taxing entity should be able to raise your property taxes without a two-thirds approval by voters.”
Emphasis on teacher pay and creating a school voucher-like plan for Texas
As expected by most watchers of Texas politics, Gov. Abbott made what he called school choice an emergency item, instructing lawmakers to pass legislation creating Education Savings Accounts, or ESAs. This voucher-like program would provide Texas families with public funds to subsidize the cost of private education.
“Government-mandated schools cannot meet the unique needs of every student,” Abbott said. “But Texas can provide families with choices to meet those needs.”
This was also an emergency item for Abbott during the legislature's last session in 2023. But resistance from Texas Democrats and some rural Republicans stalled the proposal in the regular session and several special sessions. In response, Abbott backed pro-voucher candidates in the 2024 election, and now says he has the votes to pass an ESA bill.
The Texas Senate already passed Senate Bill 2, its version of a voucher plan, out of committee last week, which means the legislation could clear the full Senate in the days ahead.
Abbott also acknowledged what Texas teachers have been saying for years – they aren’t making as much as they should – and declared “teacher pay” an emergency item.
“We must fund and train the best teachers. That starts with giving our teachers a pay raise this Session,” he said. “Additionally, we must reward the best teachers by putting them on a path to earn a six-figure salary.”
Gov. Abbott also called for curriculum improvements, “high-level” instruction and an emphasis on fundamentals.
“However, schools must not push woke agendas on our kids. Schools are for education, not indoctrination,” Abbott said.
A “generational investment” in water
Abbott is looking to “Texas-size” last session’s billion dollar investment to water infrastructure. The governor spoke of the burgeoning water scarcity across the state — citing the difficulty for farmers in the Rio Grande Valley and West Texas to water their crops.
“We will make the largest investment in water in the history of Texas,” he said. “We will tap into new water supplies and repair pipes to save billions of gallons of water each year.”
With collaboration between the two chambers in Sen. Charles Perry and Rep. Cody Harris, Abbott intends on securing Texas water for the next 50 years by tapping into new water supplies.
Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy for Texas 2036, called the 2023 legislative session “successful” and anticipated the emphasis of water infrastructure again this time around.
In a recent conversation with Texas Standard, Mazur said addressing Texas’ proclivity to drought means more funding set aside to create more wells and reservoirs. He called the one billion invested last session a “drop in the bucket.”
Bail reform, career training and creating Texas Cyber Command are also emergency items
Gov. Abbott’s additional emergency items covered a range of topics, including some he's addressed before.
Last session, he made “ending ‘revolving door’ bail” an emergency item, and the governor continued his focus on that issue, making “bail reform” an emergency item for lawmakers in 2025.
“We must deny bail to criminals charged with capital murder and other heinous violent crimes. Illegal immigrants who are arrested should be considered a flight risk, denied bail, and turned over to ICE,” Abbott said.
He also admonished “activist judges” who he said had too much discretion on who could receive bail.
Picking up on his emphasis on education, the governor also made “career training” an emergency item.
“Vital to education is expanding career training. Many of the most in-demand jobs are careers like welders, plumbers, and electricians,” said Abbott. “To prepare students for these careers, high schools must provide more career training programs so students can go from graduation directly into a good-paying job,” he said.
Additionally, Abbott called on lawmakers to “create Texas Cyber Command” in collaboration with the University of Texas at San Antonio, citing the city’s large concentration of cybersecurity professionals.
“We must harness those assets to protect against threats from China, Iran, Russia, and other foreign enemies, " he said. “They could cripple our power, water, and communications with cyberattacks. We must use cutting-edge capabilities to secure our state.”
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