2/25/2024 0 Comments Hands off government![]() There are a lot of interests across the Lone Star State wanting a little piece of that action. Judging by the $27 billion budget surplus, business has been pretty good in Texas. So, I don't know how much of an empty threat it is when businesses say they will be taking their business elsewhere if Texas lawmakers pursue these really conservative policies. We still have plenty of industries focusing on expanding their presence in Texas or moving here to do so. But so far, the economy is still booming. We did see some businesses push back against the state's pretty extreme abortion ban. But we did see that fight play out a little bit during the pandemic over vaccine and mask mandates, with the governor pulling back on efforts to require mask mandates. Texas does pride itself on being a very business friendly state and hands off government when it comes to the economy. Do you think we're going to see anything like that emerge, Niki? I'm thinking back to a couple of sessions in which the so-called bathroom bill emerged, and then there was a push back from corporations and businesses out of concern that it might hurt Texas economically if lawmakers were to move forward. The bread and butter issues may well collide with these other culture war issues. So, I think we'll have to see how much of a focus that issue is this session versus the more bread and butter issues of lowering property taxes and tackling public school funding. We've already seen a number of bills filed to target the rights of transgender children, as well as battles in the classroom and in libraries over what books should be made available to children, with a lot of focus being on removing subject matter that validates LGBTQ identities. I think the so-called culture war issue that will really take center stage this legislative session is surrounding LGBTQ rights and also education -how curriculum on the topics of race and sexuality can be discussed in the classroom. Niki Griswold: From what I've seen so far. How much do you think that this legislative session is going to differ from the previous session, Niki? There seemed to be a lot of socially conservative hot button issues. That was the thing about the previous legislative session. So, I think we'll probably expect to see another pretty conservative session. They've grown their majorities in both the House and in the Senate. James Barragán: If, in 2020, Republicans felt like they had a mandate to go and push all the social conservative legislation that they felt the voters wanted, I don't see how this will be any different. I'm curious how much you see this session being a contrast with the previous legislative session, which went into several overtimes. Texas Standard: This could be a very exciting session. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity: Listen to the story above or read the transcript below. To take a closer look at what to expect, the Standard was joined by political journalists Niki Griswold, state politics reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, and James Barragán, politics reporter for the Texas Tribune. Property taxes, gun control and the power grid are among the top issues on the agenda for state lawmakers. There's just over a week left before the start of the 2023 Texas Legislative session.
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