Texas Democratic Leader Says Gov. Abbott’s Statement Disappointing

DALLAS – Inside Texas Politics spoke to Texas House Democratic Caucus chairman immediately after Gov. Greg Abbott’s State of the Union address, and Rep. Trey Martinez Fisher said he was disappointed with the venue.

The governor gave a speech in private business outside of Austin, not before a joint legislative session at the Texas Capitol.

“This is my 11th State of the Union speech. They have always been here. You don’t have to go through security detectors, turn in your phone, and sign a non-disclosure agreement. I mean, we shouldn’t conduct our public discourse in this way,” Martinez Fischer told Inside Texas Politics.

The San Antonio Democrat also said he was disappointed with the content of the governor’s address, calling it political.

Martinez Fischer said that the historical state budget surplus is a unique opportunity to solve many problems at the same time.

“The amazing thing is that we had all this theater not to talk about decisions,” Martinez Fischer said. “I have been in the office for 21 years. There are 59 billion dollars in our bank. And you would think that we would use this money to fix everything.”

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