What to expect during Governor Greg Abbott's State of the State Address
AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) – Governor Greg Abbott delivers his State of the State address Thursday evening.
He will be in San Marcos, south of Austin, at a Chamber of Commerce venue.
Two years ago, he was also away from the Texas Capitol, at a remote site because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the reasons his address is significant is because this is where the Governor lays out his priority issues or emergency items for state lawmakers.
The legislators are allowed to start debate and pass bills that involve his emergency items on an expedited basis.
The rest of the other bills filed, and there are more than four-thousand of them, cannot be approved until after the 60th day of the legislative session.
While the Governor's office hasn't said what Abbott's emergency items will be, we do expect them to be priorities that he expressed during his inauguration at the Capitol last month and during his re-election campaign.
The Governor has said his top issue is giving homeowners and small to medium-sized businesses a break on their property taxes.
The state's budget surplus is a record – nearly $33 billion, and the Governor has said he wants to spend half that on property tax relief.
The Governor has also focused on border security, school safety, and protecting citizens against the dangerous and illegal drug of fentanyl.
He has also called for continuing to build the state's electric grid to accommodate growth for the next 40 years and going after criminals caught with guns.
Texas Democrats will have a response on video to the Governor's address.