SB: Key takeaways from Abbott and Patrick's inaugural addresses
Whether it was screaming “We love God!” or reciting all the words to “Texas Our Texas,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday stressed culture wars and the economic success of the state in their respective inaugural addresses. Yes, they’re the baddest hombres to ever patrol the border. We all get the message. But even some Republican lawmakers are privately grumbling about how expensive Operation Lonestar has become at a time when record numbers of undocumented people are crossing the Texas-Mexico border regardless of how much state taxpayers are shelling out. And some sort of property tax plan will come into focus eventually. Much of what was said sounded like pablum from campaign speeches but there was also some nuance worth exploring. So, let’s do it.
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Whether it was screaming “We love God!” or reciting all the words to “Texas Our Texas,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday stressed culture wars and the economic success of the state in their respective inaugural addresses.
Yes, they’re the baddest hombres to ever patrol the border. We all get the message. But even some Republican lawmakers are privately grumbling about how expensive Operation Lonestar has become at a time when record numbers of undocumented people are crossing the Texas-Mexico border regardless of how much state taxpayers are shelling out. And some sort of property tax plan will come into focus eventually. Much of what was said sounded like pablum from campaign speeches but there was also some nuance worth exploring.
So, let’s do it.
Patrick made the opening bid on property taxes. For the first time since he and Abbott secured reelection, Lt. Gov. Patrick was the first get specific about what he’d like to see on property taxes. Patrick said that when the Texas Senate ’s first version of the budget is unveiled this week, it will include a proposal to raise the homestead exemption to $70,000. He said adjustments to business taxes are in the offing as well.
Abbott has said nothing quite as specific, choosing instead to stick with this campaign rhetoric: “That money does not belong to the government…we will use that budget surplus to provide the largest property tax cut in the history of the state of Texas." A record surplus, along with Phelan and Hegar’s prodding, led Abbott to do an about face on infrastructure investment. When Comptroller Glenn Hegar laid out the revenue estimate, his comments included some pretty specific suggestions for how state leadership might want to invest some of the cash. Those ideas include things that would promote healthy economic growth into the future like funding for infrastructure, thoughtful electricity grid improvements, and workforce development. In previous sessions, Hegar hasn’t been as vocal with his thoughts on how budget writers should craft the state’s 24-month spending plan.
In his opening speech of the session, Speaker Dade Phelan also prioritized infrastructure spending in addition to tax relief.
Just two years ago, Abbott told the Rotary Club of San Antonio that “this generation of roads that [ Texas Transportation Commission Chairman] Bruce Bugg is in charge of building is probably the last major buildout of roads we’ll have in the state of Texas, even considering the fact that Texas is the fastest-growing state in America.”
Today, Abbott said lawmakers need to invest in roads, ports, and water infrastructure. He noted that by the year 2050, Texas’ population is expected to hit 50 million people. Abbott moved a bit toward Patrick on the electricity grid. Yes, Abbott today praised the performance of the electricity grid during cold snaps following Winter Storm Uri .
But Abbott is no longer saying anything like “Everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas.” That was his claim when signing reforms passed in the 2021 session. Instead, Abbott today said this session will see lawmakers make investments to “build a grid that will power our state not just for the next four years but the next 40 years." That was after Patrick, in his inaugural address, said “We will add more megawatts of thermal power” and “strengthen the grid.”
On school vouchers, Patrick acknowledged a need to “protect” rural schools. Sharp QR readers will recall that on the campaign trail, Gov. Abbott offered full throated support for a school voucher program while Patrick chose to be more nuanced. Today, that dynamic was nearly reversed as Patrick offered a full endorsement of “school choice” while acknowledging lawmakers will have to craft legislation that carves out rural school districts.
“The governor and I are all in for school choice,” Patrick said. But, speaking for Abbott, Patrick added “The governor and I will have a plan to protect those schools financially.” As of now, that would be the secret plan to fight vouchers’ economic impact in rural Texas.
When running for reelection last year, Patrick vowed on the radio in West Texas that rural schools would be exempt from any voucher plan that might pass the Texas Senate . But exempting certain schools from a voucher program would not prevent rural areas from losing funds when money is diverted from a school finance system aimed at equity in education spread across 254 counties and two time zones in regions that are economically, racially, and geographically diverse.
Some activists are already calling Patrick a “RINO ” for “trying to exclude rural families from School Choice.” You have to love this conflict already, don’t you?
Abbott was less robust today on vouchers, giving a nod to supporters by arguing that “parents deserve the freedom to choose the education that is best for their child.”
Oh, and staying on the subject of education : After the deadliest school shooting in state history – and more mass shootings on his watch than any previous Chief Executive Officer of Texas – there was of course no mention of any gun regulations but instead a vague promise that “We will not end this session without making our schools safer.” Patrick is done with being subdued about his third term. Over the past couple months, many observers have said Patrick has seemed less than enthusiastic about this next legislative session.
In his December news conference, Patrick was deferential to members of the Legislature as he said they would be the ones to craft a vision for the next century of Texas history. He didn’t necessarily contradict that today but he was at times shouting about Christian faith and the need to drive “socialist” college professors out of Texas.
Patrick has yet to declare who his chairmen will be – a subject at the heart of much chatter in Austin recently, especially the last few weeks – and has not yet unveiled his list of 30 priority items for the Senate, which will no doubt include items as thoughtful as the Star-Spangled Banner Act of 2021.