AUSTIN, Texas — This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott delivered his State of the State address to the Texas Legislature, declaring five emergency items:
- School finance reform and increasing teacher pay
- School safety
- Texas Mental Health Care Consortium
- Property tax reform
- Disaster preparedness and recovery
When the Governor declares an emergency item, lawmakers can bypass the rule in the Texas constitution that states they have to wait 60 days before voting on a bill, if it's related to one of the five items.
In Texas This Week, we're breaking down the Governor's emergency items.
Governor Abbott's State of the State Address started out as most do: he bragged about the state's accomplishments.
Nearly every day, about 1,000 people move to Texas. Simply put, Gov. Abbott said that's because of the way we do business in the Lone Star State.
"They were fed up with big government policies that increasingly run their lives and impose burdensome regulations. They were taxed out of their states that some of their families had lived in for generations. The cost of doing business imposed by heavy-handed interest groups simply became too oppressive. They needed an escape. They longed for freedom. They wanted hope. They found it in Texas. Now listen, I know we may not be perfect, but to all the newcomers I talk to, they think that Texas is a governmental Holy Grail. The newcomers, they have joined together with long-time Texan, and together we have forged what has become the most powerful state in the United States of America," Gov. Abbot said. "For example, Texas leads the nation in new job creation. And we have the fastest growing economy in America. A by-product of this success is a prosperity that touches every corner of our state. For example, Texas recorded its lowest unemployment ever. And wages are rising. If you dig even deeper into the stats, you're going to see that we also lead the nation in jobs created by African-American business owners and by Hispanic women business owners. And get this: Texas is now number one in America for women entrepreneurs."
Gov. Abbott also said Texas is number one in oil and gas production. It has led the nation in exports for 16 years straight. And for the past five years, Texas has led the nation in tech exports. You get the point: Texas is doing very well.
So, let's get to those emergency items, the things the Governor really wants fixed this session -- starting with education.
"Our mission begins with our students," Gov. Abbott said. "Yes, we are graduating more students from high school than ever before, but we have more students graduating who simply are not ready for college or a career. Here's the problem: only about 40 percent of third graders are actually reading at the third grade level by the time they finish the third grade. And not surprisingly, less than 40 percent of students who took the SAT or the ACT were actually prepared for college. To improve this, we must target education funding to help our students achieve in school. That starts with our teachers in the classroom. Now, other than parents, no one plays a more vital role to our students' education than our teachers. So, Texas must recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers to educate our students. This session, we must pay our teachers more."
"We must provide incentives to put effective teachers in the schools and classrooms where they are needed the most," Gov. Abbott added. "And we must create a pathway for the best teachers to earn a six-figure salary."
The will to fix school finance is there, but the question this session will be is the money? Yes, the economy is doing well. In fact, the comptroller told lawmakers they can build the next two-year budget with $119 billion. That's eight percent more than last session.
But, there are other things the state has to pay for. For instance, last session, lawmakers didn't fully fund Medicaid. And if lawmakers change the school finance formulas and pass one of the other priorities -- property tax reform -- the state will have to put in a lot more money.
So, we'll be watching to see how the numbers work.
Gov. Abbott's next issue is school safety.
"No student should be afraid to go to school. No parent should be fearful when dropping their child off at school. Texas must act now to make our schools safer," Gov. Abbott said. "After the horrific shooting that took place at Santa Fe High School, I held round tables here at the Capitol. Round tables with parents, with students, with educators, with law enforcement and with mental health experts. We developed innovative solutions to better protect our students and our teachers. It's time to turn ideas into solutions."
While Governor Abbott didn't go into specifics, he did talk about addressing mental health as one way to make schools safer, specifically discussing a bill by Senator Jane Nelson of Flower Mound as an emergency item.
"Many of our universities already have mental health programs. Programs like the telemedicine wellness project at Texas Tech. It partners with school districts in West Texas to identify and remove students who pose a potential threat. And it provides students with the help they need. Well, school districts across the entire state deserve access to these very same services," Gov. Abbott said. "And listen, as we all know, mental health issues are not just confined to our schools. They touch our entire society. Well, to better address these needs, Senator Nelson provides a broad-based plan. A plan that creates a Mental Health Care Consortium to collaborate on statewide mental health needs. And in typical Texas fashion, her idea is big and it is bold. And to ensure it has enough time to become law this session, I am declaring it an emergency item."
That was the first time some lawmakers heard of the bill. While it usually takes a few sessions for bills to pass, with the governor's support, we'll see how far the bill will go this session.
And speaking of bills that take a few sessions to pass, that brings us to the next emergency item: property tax reform.
"Listen, if we are going to keep Texas the economic engine of America, we must rein in a property tax system that punishes families and businesses. And prevents younger Texans from being able to achieve their dream of homeownership," Gov. Abbott told lawmakers. "We can no longer sit idly by while property owners are reduced to tenants of their own property with taxing authorities playing the role of landlord. Our constituents are counting on us. Now, I applaud both the House and the Senate for working together in unprecedented fashion on identical bills that limit the ability of taxing authorities to raise your taxes."
"It is important to emphasize and for everybody to know, that along with this property tax reform, Texas will also be making new investments in education and investments in reducing the burden of Robin Hood in our state," Gov. Abbott added.
The identical property tax reform bills the Governor mentioned, House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2, would reduce the rate taxing entities can increase your property taxes without the possibility of an election from eight percent to 2.5 percent. The bills would also give taxpayers the ability to fire the property tax appraiser and elect someone else.
Some lawmakers are concerned the bills would limit a city or county's ability to fund public safety, parks or libraries. As the bills are written now, they wouldn't apply to all areas in Texas, just to taxing jurisdictions that collect more than $15 million a year. So, some say it's not fair.
That brings us to the governor's final emergency item.
"To help our communities and residents harmed by Hurricane Harvey, Texas has already committed more than a billion dollars. Additionally, the federal government has appropriated more than $30 billion in aid. But, I think we all know, more resources are needed if we are going to help Texans rebuild," Gov. Abbott said. "So, I commend both the House and the Senate, which have already proposed using 'Rainy Day Funds' to help rebuild Texas. Rebuild stronger and more resilient than before disaster struck. And I think that we also all agree that we must apply the lessons of Harvey to improve the way Texas responds to natural disasters. For example, I support ideas proposed by Senator Perry and by Representative Phelan. What they propose is to extend disaster solutions beyond just funding and to extend it beyond just the coastal region. And, in addition to that, we must create a system that cuts through all of the red tape that slows the recovery process."
Lawmakers have already started work on bills related to all of the emergency items. Now, we will just have to see how far those bills get in the remaining days before the end of May.