Governor Abbott pushes for tougher laws on criminals, securing border, and school choice in state address

HOUSTON - School choice in Texas, securing the border, and fighting the rise in drugs and crime – these were some of Governor Abbott’s biggest topics in his State of the State Address Thursday night.

Abbott started by praising the state’s economic growth and that nearly $50 billion in state surplus money the legislature will go through in this year’s session. The Governor says some of those funds will go towards increasing pay to Texas teachers. He also wants to make school choice available to all Texas students and assures that public schools will be fully funded. 

"Parents deserve access to curriculum, to school libraries, and to what their children are being taught," says Abbott. "We will do that with our parental Bill of Rights." 

Those opposed to school choice have argued the measure would actually strip funding from public schools. 

Another highly mentioned item was securing the state’s border. Abbott called out President Biden’s current policies, and urged the need to pump billions of dollars more into security measures. He also called for tougher gun laws in the state. 

"Most gun crimes are committed by criminals who possess guns illegally," says Abbott. "We need to leave prosecutors and judges with no choice but to punish those criminals and remove them and their guns from our streets. I want a mandatory minimum sentence for criminals who illegally possess guns of 10 years behind bars."

The Governor made a point to mention Harris County’s reputation of offering low bail to repeat offenders. 

"Harris County's revolving bail practice is literally killing people in just two years. More than 100 people were murdered in Houston by criminals who were let out on multiple felony bonds," says Abbott. "This session we must shut and lock that revolving door by passing laws that keep dangerous criminals behind bars and holding accountable the judges who let them out." 

MORE BOND STORIES IN OUR SERIES "BREAKING BOND"

San Antonio Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of the House Democratic Caucus released a statement shortly after the Governor’s address which reads in part: 

"This is an unprecedented legislative session with nearly $59 billion in the bank, and we heard little from the Governor on his priorities on how we should allocate this budget. While there is some common ground, most of the items the Governor noted are nothing new. But more importantly, not a word from the Governor on Uvalde. Not a word on healthcare. And not a word on inflation.

"At the end of the day, you can listen to what someone says, but to know the truth, look at what they’ve done. After 30 years of total Republican control of Texas, our property taxes, our college tuition, our insurance and energy bills are all higher than ever before."