Texas Democrats Say Gov. Abbott’s Position Doesn’t Qualify

A group of Texas Democrats say Gov. Greg Abbott’s address to the state was short and simply repeated what they’ve heard before.

The House Chamber at the Texas Capitol was not used for Abbott’s performance Thursday night and remained empty Friday, but the group was under the Capitol’s dome to say they were not impressed by the governor’s change of venue to the San Marcos production site or that he said.

“I heard that red meat, red meat for his MAGA base. That’s what he served,” said Ron Reynolds, chairman of the Texas black legislature.

State Representative Jin Woo (R-Houston) first described what he heard as a familiar campaign speech and then made another comparison.

“We just could just reproduce something from the past. It’s like a band that has one good song and just keeps playing. She never had new ideas, she never had new songs. ” Wu said.

In his speech, Abbott outlined seven urgent issues for lawmakers to consider immediately:

    “Hard-working Texans have run the biggest budget surplus in Texas history, and that money belongs to you, the taxpayers,” Abbott said Thursday night.

    Texas House Democratic Caucus Chairman Trey Martinez Fisher suggested that the governor’s priorities were not aligned.

    “We have a unique opportunity to make smart investments, make strategic decisions like the Texans, to share the responsibility. So before we squander it on projects we love and tax cuts that don’t affect everyone in Texas, we need to fix things. it affects all of us,” said Fischer (San Antonio State).

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    Along with increased funding for education, Democrats said Abbott’s call for tougher penalties for gun crimes is not enough. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) noted the specific gun control measures they want to take in response to the Uvalde school shooting.

    “And, in particular, a bill to raise the age for purchasing assault weapons. From 18 to 21…raise the age to 21 for the 21 lives lost at Robb’s elementary school. This is the easiest one. Should be the simplest, most reasonable request of these poor families to our government, our governor, this body,” Hinojosa said.

    The group also wants the governor to spend more money on health issues like maternal mortality. Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) noted that the funding approved by lawmakers last session has not yet reached the people who need it.

    In terms of insurance needs, they reiterated the call for the governor to expand Medicaid using excess federal funding. Democrats applauded the governor for wanting to make it easier to get Narcan, which is used to help people with fentanyl overdoses, and for wanting to invest more money in mental health programs.

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    texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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