Global Courant 2023-05-30 11:00:33
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled agenda items for the state legislature’s first special session late Monday night — a list that included cutting property taxes and providing funds to secure the US-Mexico border wall.
On Twitter, Abbott said he would “sign into law that advances our state and the future of all Texans.”
The agenda included formally ending COVID restrictions and mandates; providing more than $5.1 billion for border security and the Texas National Guard; protection of female collegiate athletes and women’s participation in sports; and preventing children from undergoing life-altering sex mutilation.
Abbott also plans to label Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and allow fentanyl deaths to be prosecuted as homicide, he said.
FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS ‘PROUD TO HELP’ FIGHT TEXAS BORDER CRISIS, SAYS DESANTIS
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the agenda items for a special session on the evening of Monday, May 29, 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The Republican governor said his first priority would be “reducing property taxes and tackling illegal human trafficking”.
“We need to lower property taxes,” Abbott said. “In regular session, we added $17.6 billion to reduce property taxes. However, the legislature could not agree on how to allocate funds to meet this goal.”
He continued, “Texans want and need a path to eliminating property taxes. The best way to do that is to send property tax dollars to lower property taxes in schools.”
TEXAS CRACKDOWN ON DRAG PERFORMANCES WITH MINORS PRESENT REACHED GOV. ABBOTT’S DESK
Abbott also praised the work of the Texas legislature, but said additional special sessions would be held to advance his agenda.
“Despite these great achievements, more needs to be done for the people of Texas. Many critical points remain to be approved,” the governor wrote. “Several special sessions will be required. To ensure that each priority gets the time and attention it deserves to get into law, only a few will be added each session.”
The Texas legislature will vote on several agenda items, including lowering property taxes and additional funding for border security. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Earlier Monday, the governor of Texas spent Memorial Day paying tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice at an event at the Georgetown-Williamson County Veterans Memorial Plaza.
“Today we remember their sacrifice and honor their families,” he wrote on Twitter, sharing photos from the event. “Texas will never forget the price they paid so we can be free.”
In a separate tweet, he added, “Memorial Day reminds us that freedom isn’t free.”
And: “Today we remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the freedoms we enjoy every day in America. May God bless them and their families.”
