1. Fresh off court victory, Gov. Abbott sets goals in State of State
2. Gov. Abbott says his focus is on education
3. Abbott expected to stress border security in State of State

Gov. Greg Abbott layed out a sweeping challenge to Texas House and Senate members regarding his priorities, from “open carry” to ethics reforms, for the remainder of the Legistlative Session.

Two East Texas Senators received “shout outs” from Gov. Greg Abbott during his State of the State speech on Tuesday.

The governor set five “emergency items” he wants legislators to focus on during this Legislative Session — early education for pre-K through third grade; higher education; transportation; border security and ethics reforms — but mentioned Sens. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, and Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, during his pep-talk for lawmakers.

Abbott declared the state was “strong,” when he began his first address to a gathering of Texas House and Senate members as governor. But he also set broad challenges for the 181 members beyond those emergency calls.

“The state of Texas is strong and together we can make it stronger,” Abbott said to the assembly.

Texas’ spot as the top job producer in the nation improved in 2014, Abbott said, as the state bested itself by producing more jobs than during any year in history. He said Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported an 11 percent increase in sales tax revenue for January to an all-time record and that the state continued with 58 consecutive months of year-over-year sales tax growth.

Abbott said Texans have created a strong, diverse economy and are the reasons why Texas leads the nation as a beacon of individual liberty and economic opportunity.

“Our job is to keep it that way,” Abbott said.

Abbott said legislators’ work begins with education.

The first emergency item of Abbott’s fledgling gubernatorial tenure will focus on early education initiatives to ensure students are up to speed in basics such as math and literacy by third grade. Abbott called for more local control, including allowing school districts to “opt out” of portions of the education code to allow communities to plan to their needs.

He said local control also should include more options for parents. Abbott cited open-enrollment program in Grand Prairie that has resulted in higher student achievement and graduation rates.

“Our parents deserve these choices,” Abbott said. “Our students deserve these results.”

But Abbott stopped short of calling for school vouchers to bridge the cost for parents who want to send their children to private schools.

Abbott also identified higher education initiatives, including more support for schools with two-year trade/skill certification programs and providing $500 million to improve Texas universities’ research standing.

The money would be used to enhance programs and attract nationally recognized researchers and Nobel laureates to Texas universities.

Transportation was Abbott’s third emergency item.

Nichols said he appreciated Abbott identifying transportation funding as an emergency issue in his budget. He said he strongly supports Abbott’s plan to invest existing tax revenues back into the highway system.

Nichols filed legislation to constitutionally dedicate a portion of the existing sales tax on new and used automobiles, estimated at $2 billion annually, to the State Highway Fund.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. (Dan) Patrick and my colleagues in the Legislature on this and other issues during this legislative session,” he said in a statement.

Eltife said it was good to hear Abbott mention state debt, which has doubled over the past decade. He’s hopeful that legislators and state leaders will press the issue during the session.

State debt “is something I’ve harped on since being here, and I am happy he agrees we need a plan to address it,” he said.

Eltife said Abbott “rightfully” emphasized priorities many Texans consider important but that it’s not clear how to solve them.

Eltife worries dedicating more than $4 billion additionally to roads and $4.2 billion to tax relief will mean other pressing needs, such as addressing $7.5 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, additional billions of dollars needed for transportation and water investment, and more than $1 billion in state facility maintenance deferments, could be neglected.

“I cannot support tax cuts until I know we have a plan in place to solve these problems,” Eltife said. “I want to see us deal with these issues first and then cut taxes, but we cannot kick the can down the road any longer.”

Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, agreed there are pressing needs to address but that he believes the $7 billion surplus expected could go a long way in meeting current needs and allow room to return tax dollars to Texans.

“It’s not good to sit on money,” he said. “It needs to go toward debt, liabilities or tax relief.”

Schaefer agreed with Abbott’s emergency call for more border security and to maintain the Texas National Guard’s presence along the border until his $500 million plan is implemented. Abbott called for 500 new Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, more Texas Rangers to investigate corruption, more technology and more funding for local law enforcement along the border.

Democrats noted Abbott steered clear of divisive social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, but that didn’t make his message any less partisan.

“I disagree with having the National Guard there a day longer,” said Democratic state Rep. Alfonso “Poncho” Nevarez, who represents the border town of Eagle Pass. “They’re just spent, physically, and they don’t really have a clear idea of what they need to be doing.”

They also lambasted his plan to double border security and said his calls for $4 billion in tax cuts will hurt revenues to the very public schools that Abbott said he wants to improve.

Abbott also outlined an emergency call for multiple ethics reforms, such as requiring officials to disclose dealings with public entities and prohibiting lawmakers from voting on bills from which they could profit. Abbott said transparency would strengthen the state’s bond with constituents while rejection of reforms would “raise suspicions about who we truly serve — ourselves, or the people of Texas.”

Schaefer said the State of the State was very positive and that Abbott has energized the governor’s office. He called the address “positive.”

“I’m encouraged to hear his commitments,” Schaefer said.