Gov. Greg Abbott prepares to take oath for a 3rd time as Texas legislative session begins
AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) -- It is inauguration eve in Texas. On Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick will take their oath of office on the steps of the Capitol in Austin for the third time.
The setup is familiar: a big stage, a large audience, and Governor Abbott at the center of it all.
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In 2015, the inauguration was on the south steps, and Abbott was hopeful.
"As goes Texas, so goes America. And as goes America, so goes the world," he said eight years ago.
The state was working with a $113 billion budget. Abbott's focus was infrastructure ahead of what might be difficult economic times.
"There is more we must do," he said at the time. "More for the families who are stuck in traffic. More for our parched towns thirsty for water."
Eight years later, the budget is a staggering $190 billion with a more than $32 billion surplus, and there are still infrastructure issues, namely the state's power grid, which, as we know, may not stand up to extreme demand in hot or cold weather.
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Legislators plan to work on that during the 88th legislative session as they may have issues related to school safety in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Uvalde in May 2022.
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Four years ago, Governor Abbott hosted families affected by the 2018 Santa Fe deadly school shooting, and in that address, he spoke about the need to do more.
"I know that we can do even more for our fellow Texans, more to educate the next generation of students and to keep them safe at school," Gov. Abbott said in 2019.
Issues about which Governor Abbott spoke about four and eight years ago may play a part in his address Tuesday, possibly.
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ABC13 has learned the speech will be vague about policy. That will come in the state of the state address next month. But it will be what the governor's team calls aspirational and focus on the state's future.
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