Abbott has ambitious plans for lawmakers

Gov. Greg Abbott’s office hasn’t overflowed with major policy announcements lately, but he made up for it Tuesday.

He submitted his proposed 2016-17 state budget, which includes ordering most state agencies to cut their spending by 3 percent and advocates a new, lower constitutional limit on general revenue spending increases.

He would spend $99.4 billion in general revenue during the next biennium. That’s up from the $95.2 billion in the current budget, less than the $101.5 billion proposed by Senate leaders and just a bit more than the $98.8 billion recommended by House Speaker Joe Straus.

Straus did not include tax cuts in his budget, unlike Abbott (nearly $4.5 billion) and the Senate ($4 billion). Tax cuts have momentum, but Straus left that for House members to tackle.

Abbott also laid out a legislative agenda in his first State of the State address, including “emergency” designations for measures on five key topics:

▪ Early education, including “high-quality” pre-kindergarten programs and “world-class literacy and math” training for teachers in pre-k through third grade.

▪ Initiatives to “enhance research programs and attract nationally recognized researchers and Nobel laureates to Texas universities.”

▪ Border security, to include keeping National Guard troops on the border assisting Department of Public Safety officers until “DPS has the permanent resources needed to secure our border.”

▪ Transportation spending that will include dedicating half of the current motor vehicle sales tax to fund roads.

▪ Ethics reform “requiring elected officials to disclose contacts they have with public entities, prohibiting lawmakers from voting on legislation from which they could profit and more disclosure of campaign finance information.”

Abbott also said he wants to allow school districts to opt out of parts of the Education Code, permit more school choice, make college more affordable and accessible, exclude veterans from fees to register a new business and from the state franchise tax for the first five years, increase the number of medical residency programs, reduce the state’s debt and approve open carry of handguns.

Then it was noon and time for lunch.

This story was originally published February 17, 2015 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Abbott has ambitious plans for lawmakers."