State legislators vowed to refocus on bread-and-butter issues, such as affordability and public education, and expressed hope for bipartisanship in the upcoming legislative session during a Thursday discussion hosted by The Texas Tribune.
“A number of people who are fed up and want to see something different, they want to see us focus on the economy, they want to see us focus on issues that are going to move our state forward, not attack each other,” Rep. Venton Jones said at the event in Dallas
Jones, a Dallas Democrat, and his Republican colleague Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano both named core voter issues, including lowering property taxes and regulating data centers, as targets for the next session.
With the balance of power in the House after the Nov. 3 election far from certain, both touted their commitment to bipartisanship. “Unlike Washington, where the system is broken, and there’s a literal physical aisle that divides Republicans and Democrats in Washington … that’s not true in the Texas House of Representatives,” Leach said.
Still, while the two agreed on restricting public students’ cellphone usage in classrooms, a need for clarity on data center regulation and greater investment for transportation infrastructure, they differed on issues like school vouchers and property taxes.
While Leach praised school vouchers for empowering parents to choose educational options that suit their kids best, Venton said the $1 billion Texas has invested in vouchers could’ve been better spent on public schools. On property taxes, Leach called for limits on the power of local entities to raise property taxes while Venton argued for more control in the hands of local government.
The event’s second panel focused on Y’all Street, the growing financial hub in Dallas. Panelists discussed Texas’ Senate Bill 29, passed last year as part of a strategy to attract companies leaving Delaware, which in recent decades had been a hub for companies to set up their legal headquarters. Panelist John Sepehri, an attorney and lobbyist, praised SB 29 for making Texas a more stable and enticing regulatory environment.
State Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, an architect of SB 29, said bringing businesses to Texas will give companies access to capital earlier and create thousands of jobs in North Texas.
He also outlined an ambitious vision for Texas’ role in global finance, which involved building out Y’all Street and encouraging large companies to both headquarter and incorporate in the state. “In ten years, mark my words, Texas … will be the financial capital of the United States,” he said. “We will surpass New York.”
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