State’s Top Elected Officials Take Oaths Of Office At Inauguration

CAPITAL Highlights

AUSTIN — Public officials and private citizens gathered at the south steps of the state Capitol on Jan. 15 to for a day’s worth of inaugural events, most notably the administering of oaths of office to Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who were reelected to four-year terms in November.

In his inaugural address, Gov. Abbott predicted the 86th regular session of the Texas Legislature, which convened on Jan. 8, would be “transformative.” He said that with the help of Lt. Gov. Patrick and newly elected House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, leadership would “usher in a new era for children, teachers and taxpayers.”

“We must finally rein in skyrocketing property taxes in Texas,” Abbott said. “To fix this, Texas must limit the ability of taxing authorities to raise your property taxes. At the same time, Texas must end unfunded mandates on cities and counties. And taxpayers should be given the power to fire their property tax appraiser.”

Abbott touched on a list of other topics, such as job growth, the state’s low unemployment rate, the importance of public education and public education reform, the need for teacher pay raises and better teacher retirement, enhanced school safety and progress in natural disaster recovery efforts.

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