Texas Legislature: Education policy is major priority for both parties
AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas legislative session begins Tuesday, Jan. 14, and education policy will be a major priority for both Republicans and Democrats. Lawmakers have a slew of other agenda items as well. But before any of it can happen, the House will need to elect a speaker.
Texas House Democrats framed their legislative priorities on Monday, one day ahead of the start of the 89th legislative session.
"Every Texas child should have access to a quality public education," said Democratic State Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin.
Democratic members are pushing the importance of increasing public school funding, after a measure to do that fell short last session.
"We had a $33 billion budget surplus, and Greg Abbott spent zero of that historic surplus on our students," said Democratic State Rep. James Talarico of Austin. "It's unconscionable."
"There are 79 votes in favor in the Texas House. It takes 76 votes to get it passed," said Abbott.
AISD budget deficit and the Texas legislature
The new legislative session starts soon. All this month, 7 On Your Side will be taking a look at some of the big issues at the state capitol. Among them is education after the legislature failed to pass a school funding measures during the last session. As a result, districts across Central Texas are finding themselves "in the red," including Austin ISD
"We're going to have a program that will allow Texans to take their money and use it where they need to help their child," said Republican State Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston.
But Democrats are saying not so fast.
"We're going to fight vouchers," said Talarico.
"Vouchers are the priority of Gov. Abbott and out of state billionaires, and until I see a groundswell of Texans supporting vouchers, I think it'll be an uphill battle," said Hinojosa.
Democrats are also pushing for more clarity on exceptions to Texas' near-total abortion ban.
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"So we can ensure that those who have pregnancy complications will be able to get the healthcare that they need to have," said Democratic State Rep. Donna Howard of Austin.
For Republicans, a ban on THC endorsed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is expected to be a priority.
"We got to do something. It's just a kind of wild, wild West. There is no oversight. There is no regulation," said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. "We can't have that."
Both sides, meanwhile, are voicing support for more affordable housing.
"We know right here in Central Texas it is the worst," said Democratic State Rep. Sheryl Cole of Austin.
Both Democrats and Republicans are also proposing to strengthen the Texas power grid, in the wake of the deadly 2021 winter storm, and Hurricane Beryl last year.
"The demand we are going to face by 2030," said Gov. Abbott. "We got to add a lot of power to out grid to meet that demand."
"Fixing the power grid ensures that families can stay safe during those extreme outages," said Democratic State Rep. Erin Zwiener of Driftwood. "And it also keeps costs lower for Texans."
But before any of that can happen, the House needs a speaker.
"We're kind of at a stalemate right now. You've got two Republicans who have declared their candidacies for Speaker," said Scott Braddock, editor of QuorumReport.com. Takes 76 votes to win. Neither side has it."
With Republicans still divided when it comes to the speaker's race, it's unclear how long it will take to actually elect a leader in the House.
The session officially begins Tuesday at noon.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak