Gov. Greg Abbott announced a slew of emergency actions in his annual State of the State address Sunday, including hopes for billions of dollars in funding toward school choice, property tax relief and water infrastructure investment.

In addition to the state legislators and Texas Supreme Court justices who were in attendance, the Governor invited many guests to the address, which was held at Arnold Oil Company in Austin. Guests included Operation Lone Star military personnel, students that followed career training pathways in high school and families of individuals killed by undocumented immigrants. 

The seven emergency actions outlined in the address were school choice, property tax relief, water investment, bail reform, raising teacher pay, expansions to career training and the establishment of the Texas Cyber Command. While the legislature typically has a 60-day embargo on passing legislation, bills related to the Governor’s seven emergency items bypass this and can be passed early.

“We love our state,” Abbott said in the address. “It means something to be a Texan. No state offers the opportunity that Texas provides.”

School Choice

School choice was one of the most anticipated actions focused on in the speech. Abbott announced goals to pass $1 billion in initial funding for Education Savings Accounts while increasing funding for charter school facilities and expanding public school transfer accessibility. The topic drew a standing ovation from some members of the audience and was met with heavy applause.

“Government-mandated schools cannot meet the unique needs of every student,” Abbott said. “But Texas can provide families with choices to meet those needs. … We will continue to fully fund our schools as well as provide teachers with a pay raise while also giving parents the choice they deserve.”

Vouchers failed in the House last session, which led to major changes in Republican member makeup in the chamber after Abbott vowed retaliation. Now, vouchers have a strong chance of passing in some form, and the Senate is expected to vote on a bill this week.

Property Tax Relief

The Governor said he hopes to use at least $10 billion of the state’s $24 billion surplus for property tax relief. He also wants the legislature to take action to require a 2/3 supermajority from voters on all tax increases, local bond issues and tax rate elections. 

“No taxing entity should be able to raise your property taxes without a two-thirds approval by voters,” Abbott said. “No approval, no new taxes.”

Water Investment

In the midst of a renewed statewide drought disaster declaration, Abbott highlighted water as a priority, vowing the largest one-time water investment in Texas history and $1 billion annually in funding for 10 years. He also announced plans to create a dedicated funding stream for infrastructure over the next few decades. 

“Many communities have leaking and broken water lines; agriculture producers in the Rio Grande Valley and West Texas do not have enough water to grow their crops,” Abbott said. “Last session, we invested $1 billion in water projects and infrastructure. This session, we will Texas-size that investment.”

Raising Teacher Pay

The Governor plans to increase teacher salaries through direct allotment and create training and retention-focused programs while investing $750 million to expand the Teacher Incentive Allotment, a pathway program for select Texas teachers to earn up to six figure salaries. 

Expanded Career Training

Abbott also prioritized career training, with intentions to increase funding toward those programs in Texas schools.

“Many of the most in-demand jobs are careers like welders, plumbers and electricians,” Abbott said. “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.”

Bail Reform

Bail reform is a central concern for Abbott this session. He announced plans to require judges to deny bail for violent offenders and those accused of capital murder or a sexual offense of a child.

Texas Cyber Command

Abbott also intends to create the Texas Cyber Command to detect potential cyber threats and prepare for cyberattacks. It will be based in San Antonio and partner with UTSA.

“San Antonio is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of cybersecurity experts,” Abbott said. “We must use cutting-edge capabilities to secure our state.”

Additional priorities

Outside of the emergency items, the Governor addressed immigration, wildfires, healthcare, foreign policy, gender identity and DEI in K-12 schools and higher education, among other topics. 

“College professors have increasingly pushed woke agendas — they have too much influence over who is hired to educate our kids,” Abbott said. “We must also expand the ban on DEI in our public universities. We must purge it from every corner of our schools and return the focus to merit.”

Democrats’ Response

After the speech, a short video with Democratic priorities was played. The party highlighted reproductive rights, education, energy, unions and the workforce as issues affecting Texans. Members of the audience booed at multiple points during the video, and some Democratic representatives left the venue.

The Travis County Democratic Party also held a press conference at a local union office minutes away from the address venue to combat some of the Governor’s narratives. Rep. Sheryl Cole (D-Austin) and Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) were both outspoken about the Governor’s remarks on DEI in higher education.

“I think that we, besides being angry, are going to have to work at other avenues to ensure that our diverse population is educated,” Cole said.

Texas House Democratic Caucus chair Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) addressed vouchers alongside Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) and Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin).

“Governor Abbott keeps mentioning that school choice solves (problems in public education) — how?” Wu said. “He was willing to hold our public schools hostage last (session). And not only did he hold them hostage — he shot the hostages. The school system is about to collapse because of what Gov. Abbott did.”

The day after the event, the Texas House Democratic Caucus held a press conference near Palmer Lane Elementary in Pflugerville. Abbott signed the School Finance Reform bill at the public school roughly six years ago, vowing to increase funding toward public education. Democrats pointed out Monday that the school is now at risk of closing.

Looking Ahead

Since the address, pieces of legislation relating to some of the emergency items have already been proposed. Votes are expected to begin as soon as this week. 

“Ultimately, our task this session is to be guardians of freedom,” Abbott said in the final moments of the speech. “It is freedom that will make Texas stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever in the history of our great state.”