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STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS
Gov. Greg Abbott last week signed a $1 billion private-school voucher bill into law in front of a large crowd at the Governor’s Mansion, the San Antonio Express-News and other media outlets reported. Abbott called the new law the biggest legislative win of his time in the governor’s office and touted the new program as the largest in the nation.
“Today is the culmination of a movement that has swept across our state and across our country,” Abbott said. “It’s time we put our children on a pathway to have the No. 1-ranked education system in the United States of America.”
The new voucher law will give Texas students $10,000 a year that can be used toward private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks and other educational expenses.
Abbott was joined on stage by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dustin Burrows and several private school leaders. Meanwhile, across the street from the mansion, Democratic legislators, union officials and public educators gathered to express their opposition to vouchers.
“Today,bigmoneywonand the students of Texas lost,” said state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin. “Remember this day next time a school closes in your neighborhood. Remember this day next time a beloved teacher quits because they can’t support their family on their salary.”
Bailcrackdownbillstrugglingin theHouse
Another of Abbott’s priorities is facing stiff opposition in the House from enough Democratic members to jeopardize its passage, according to the Houston Chronicle. The bail-crackdown bill would prohibit pretrial release of defendants accused of certain violent offenses. In addition, voters would have to approve it as a constitutional amendment.
As of late last week, not enough Democrats support the bill, which requires passage by a supermajority. At least 12 Democrats would have to side with Republican legislators for the bail bills to pass. Senate Joint Resolution 5 would allow judges to deny bail to anyone accused of a violent crime or sexual offense, while Senate Joint Resolution 1 would prevent judges from granting bail for undocumented immigrants charged with a felony.
“This is not a right or left issue,” Abbott said. “This is not and should not be a Republican or a Democrat issue. This is a public-safety issue, plain and simple.”
Both measures easily passed the Senate in February.
House Democrats assail the proposals as unconstitutional and have offered alternative bail reform proposals.
“Dan Patrick and Greg Abbott don’t actually want to fix crime — they want to run on it next year,” state Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston and chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement.
Statemayrestrainnewlarge-energy users
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas predicts the state’s energy needs will nearly double in six years, The Texas Tribune reported, prompting one West Texas legislator to sponsor Senate Bill 6. That measure, sponsored by state Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, would put guardrails on the state’s energy market meant to help ERCOT better forecast future electricity needs.
