AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick were each sworn in to office on Tuesday outside the state Capitol building in Austin during an inauguration ceremony.
“I want to thank Lieutenant Governor Patrick and Speaker Phelan for their leadership,” said Governor Abbott. “Thanks to the statewide officials and legislators. We will work together to keep Texas the land of opportunity.”
Lt. Gov. Patrick insisted that he and the Governor support legislation surrounding school choice during the ongoing legislative session. School choice would create an education savings account program that would allow parents to use state money to pay for private school. Critics believe the concept would detract from the public school system.
The Governor stressed an importance of focusing on securing schools and the border this session. He also touted the economy.
“Texas is great in so many ways,” said Abbott. “We are home to more Fortune 500 headquarters than any state in America. We are now the headquarters of headquarters. We consistently rank number one in economic development and lead the nation in job growth. We’re number one in semiconductor manufacturing. We have the world’s largest medical center. We export more products than any other state. Texas is providing opportunity that people cannot get anywhere else.”
The Governor pointed to a nearly $33 million dollar surplus when discussing the potential of achieving historic property tax relief.
“We will use that budget surplus to provide the largest property tax cut in the history of the State of Texas,” he insisted.
Governor Abbott and Lt. Gov Patrick are beginning their third terms in their respective positions.
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