Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will lay out his priorities for the current legislative session in tonight’s State of the State address.
Lawmakers and grassroots activists are hoping their own agendas will get some attention in the governor’s remarks.
The governor's speech could include topics from COVID response to police funding to budget priorities. Republican state party leadership hopes their agenda will also be front and center.
“Our Republican delegates and voters gave us eight priorities, voted on at our convention this past summer, to officially support as a party,” the Republican Party of Texas’ legislative priorities report stated.
The list includes religious freedom, making abortion illegal and protecting confederate monuments. The report from the State Republican Executive Committee does not mention COVID-19 response.
Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Abhi Rahman said the party hopes the governor addresses concerns that affect everyday Texans rather than partisan issues or national politics.
“We hope that he’s honest with his State of The State Response.” Rahman said. “We hope that he talks about the things that are actually going to affect people’s day to day lives.”
After a rocky start to the state vaccine rollout, Rahman said the governor should discuss plans to increase the vaccine supply.
“We hope that (Abbott) comes up with a strategy to end the coronavirus crisis — to get more vaccines to Texas and to make sure that our economy recovers,” Rahman said.
Abbott will be delivering his State Of The State Address at 7 p.m. Central time. The address will be televised live on Nexstar stations across Texas and broadcast on public radio stations across the state.
