(The Center Square) – At his state of the state address Sunday in Austin, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott laid out his legislative priorities. They range from property tax reform to school choice to imposing the death penalty for child murderers.
Speaking before members of the state legislature and 800 members of the public in the audience, Abbott laid out his agenda for the 89th legislative session. He listed more than a dozen emergency items that the legislature must pass.
First on the list is property tax reform to close a loophole in current law enabling local jurisdictions to jack up property taxes.
“I want at least $10 billion in new property tax relief,” Abbott said. “But that will only work if local authorities cannot use loopholes to jack up your property taxes. … Loopholes that increase your property taxes must be banned. No tax entities should be able to raise your property taxes without a two-thirds approval by voters. No approval, no new taxes.”
Second is affordable housing – including slashing regulations, speeding up the permitting process, and offering a one-year tax exemption on home improvements like heating and air conditioning.
Third is increasing funding for mental health care, for seniors, for those with disabilities, maternal care and rural facilities.
The fourth expands on the legislature’s $1 billion dedicated to water projects and infrastructure to address water supply shortages, improve old water lines and support agricultural needs especially in the Rio Grande Valley. Texans in the valley haven’t had enough water to grow their crops due to Mexico not keeping up its end of a water treaty, The Center Square reported. While the Trump administration and Congress are expected to address the issue, the Texas legislature is expected to allocate another $1 billion.
“This session we will Texas-size that investment. We will make the largest investment in water in the history of Texas. We will tap into new water supplies and repair pipes to save billions of gallons of water each year,” he said.
Fifth is increasing the supply of power. In the last four years, power was increased by 35%, Abbott said. “As a result, Texas ranks number one for electric power generation, with more than California and New York combined. And we’re not done yet.”
Last year, Abbott signed a bill into law to add 10,000 megawatts of power to the grid. This year, more will be added, including prioritizing nuclear energy.
Abbott’s sixth legislative priority addresses a range of education issues, including school choice, teacher pay raises, eliminating woke ideology from public schools, expanding career training programs and investing $500 million in additional school safety measures.
“Government mandated schools cannot meet the unique needs of every student,” Abbott said. “But Texas can provide families with choices to meet those needs. The majority of Texans support school choice. We will continue to fully fund public schools and raise teacher pay, while also giving parents the choice they deserve.”
He also said Education Savings Accounts have already succeeded in Texas after he created a pilot program for students with special needs in 2020. In 2021, the program was expanded, which provides $1,500 grants for tutors and other support.
His educational legislative priority also expands banning “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI) policies in public universities in Texas, saying, “We must purge it from every corner of our schools and return the focus to merit.”
Bail reform is also a legislative priority, he said, including eliminating parole for criminals convicted of child trafficking, for those charged with capital murder and other violent crimes. Illegal foreign nationals arrested for violent crimes “should be considered a flight risk, denied bail and turned over to ICE,” Abbott said. “We must also require cities and counties … to fully cooperate with these efforts,” he said, referring to 287 (g).
Abbott also cited examples of Texans being killed by illegal foreign nationals, including law enforcement officers, saying, “Lawmakers must choose – support the safety of the citizens they represent, or the criminals who kill them.”
He’s also demanding that legislation be passed to impose the death penalty on anyone convicted of murdering a 12-year-old child like Houstonian Jocelyn Nungaray, who was allegedly killed by Venezuelan men illegally in the country, The Center Square reported. Her mother, Alexis, joined Abbott at his address, as did others he mentioned.
Other legislative priorities include changing the law to remove and prosecute squatters and protect private property rights; increasing resources for firefighters; improving resources to protect Texans from cybercrimes, including creating a new Texas Cyber Command to protect Texans from threats posed by China, Iran, Russia and others.
Another legislative priority is to protect Texans from foreign adversary infiltration, including banning noncitizens from serving in state and local government and prohibiting foreign nations and their agents from purchasing Texas land.
Another is election integrity, he said, adding that he supports the attorney general prosecuting election violations, which will require a constitutional amendment.
Abbott also highlighted the state’s border security efforts through Operation Lone Star, saying Texas’ efforts have been “so successful the Trump administration is using it as a model to secure the border.”
Most of his legislative priorities are addressed in the proposed budgets of the Texas Senate and House, which both include $1 billion allocated to Texas’ first ESA program, The Center Square reported.
