Governor Greg Abbott delivered the state of the state speech today, and as expected declared a set of emergency items, enabling the legislature to move bills on these subjects through the legislative process more quickly. These items are school finance reform and increasing teacher pay; school safety; mental health; property tax reform (with a seeming nod toward electing tax appraisers); and disaster response.
Abbott’s emphasis on public education and reforming the property tax system largely echoed priorities already under discussion by the state’s political leaders as the legislative session has unfolded. He ended with an embrace of the seeming Era of Good Feeling that state leaders keep declaring in the Capitol in the wake of the 2018 election ("I am inspired by the comradery and collaboration that have infused this session. I feel it myself."). The causes and reality of this narrative beyond waving at the 2018 election results deserve to be examined more closely; for now, here are some touchpoints in public opinion for the emergency items that the governor has declared in his bid to set the legislative agenda.
School Finance Reform & Increasing Teacher Pay (Link to more graphics)
School Safety (Link to more graphics)
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Insufficient restrictions | 17% |
| Poor enforcement | 6% |
| Insufficient school security | 8% |
| Insufficient mental health resources | 14% |
| Poor parenting | 18% |
| Media attention | 6% |
| Drug use | 1% |
| Violence in popular culture | 7% |
| Failure to identify potential shooters | 8% |
| School building design | 1% |
| Bullying | 13% |
| category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insufficient restrictions | 34% | 9% | 2% |
| Poor enforcement | 9% | 3% | 3% |
| Insufficient school security | 5% | 4% | 10% |
| Insufficient mental health resources | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Poor parenting | 10% | 21% | 26% |
| Media attention | 5% | 5% | 8% |
| Drug use | 1% | 0% | 2% |
| Violence in popular culture | 3% | 12% | 10% |
| Failure to identify potential shooters | 5% | 9% | 12% |
| School building design | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Bullying | 10% | 23% | 14% |
Mental health (Link to more graphics here, here, and here)
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Very satisfied | 7% |
| Somewhat satisfied | 28% |
| Not very satisfied | 27% |
| Not at all satisfied | 31% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 6% |
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| A great deal | 49% |
| A fair amount | 33% |
| Not much | 10% |
| Not at all | 3% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 5% |
| category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| A great deal | 52% | 43% | 48% |
| A fair amount | 34% | 26% | 33% |
| Not much | 9% | 12% | 11% |
| Not at all | 1% | 5% | 3% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 3% | 13% | 4% |
| category | column-1 |
|---|---|
| A great deal | 55% |
| A fair amount | 30% |
| Not much | 7% |
| Not at all | 3% |
| Don't know /No opinion | 5% |
| category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| A great deal | 54% | 56% | 59% |
| A fair amount | 33% | 28% | 27% |
| Not much | 6% | 7% | 8% |
| Not at all | 4% | 6% | 1% |
| Don't know /No opinion | 3% | 3% | 5% |
Property Tax Reform (Link to more graphics)
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Strongly support | 48% |
| Somewhat support | 29% |
| Somewhat oppose | 7% |
| Strongly oppose | 7% |
| Don't know | 8% |
| category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly support | 30% | 54% | 65% |
| Somewhat support | 32% | 29% | 26% |
| Somewhat oppose | 13% | 3% | 3% |
| Strongly oppose | 12% | 6% | 2% |
| Don't know | 12% | 7% | 4% |
| category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly support | 37% | 51% | 59% |
| Somewhat support | 27% | 30% | 29% |
| Somewhat oppose | 10% | 7% | 3% |
| Strongly oppose | 12% | 5% | 4% |
| Don't know | 14% | 6% | 4% |
Disaster Response (Link to more graphics)
| category | Total |
|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 29% |
| Approve somewhat | 31% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 17% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 10% |
| Disapprove strongly | 5% |
| Don't know | 8% |