Public Opinion and the Lt. Governor’s Priority Bills for the 86th Legislature

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick released 30 priority bills for the current legislative session Friday, conveniently mapped onto the numbering of Senate Bills 1-30. We published a similar list when Governor Abbott used the power of the governorship to shape the legislative agenda with his declaration of emergency items in February, prior to the most recent University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll. The overlap between the Lt. Governor’s priorities and those previously announced by the governor means that several of the items below provide a useful update for that post, too. (To that end, we’ve included the questions from the February poll that were based on the Governor’s emergency items under SB 1.)

The items below reproduce the grouping in the Lt. Governor’s announcement (hence the quotation marks). You can search for specific items on this page using the bill number – we have data relevant to most but not all items. The bill numbers in each entry link to each bill history at the Texas Legislature Online site. 

"Taxpayer Protections"

SB 1 – State Budget (Here)

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categoryTotal
Property taxes23%
Public school funding21%
Increasing teacher salaries13%
Mental health services11%
Emergency preparedness11%
School safety12%
Don't know/No opinion8%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Property taxes10%20%36%
Public school funding30%18%15%
Increasing teacher salaries17%7%11%
Mental health services16%12%7%
Emergency preparedness7%12%13%
School safety12%17%11%
Don't know/No opinion7%14%8%

SB 2 – Property Tax Reform (Results: here, here, here, here, here, and here)

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categoryTotal
Too much58%
Too little6%
About the right amount23%
Don't know/no opinion14%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Too much48%57%66%
Too little8%6%4%
About the right amount24%17%23%
Don't know/no opinion20%20%8%

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categoryTotal
Strongly support51%
Somewhat support21%
Somewhat oppose6%
Strongly oppose5%
Don't know/No opinion17%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Strongly support36%46%66%
Somewhat support26%21%18%
Somewhat oppose9%6%3%
Strongly oppose6%12%2%
Don't know/No opinion22%16%11%

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categoryTotal
Yes52%
No29%
Don't know/No opinion19%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Yes53%52%51%
No27%26%32%
Don't know/No opinion20%22%18%

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categoryTotal
Yes69%
No14%
Don't know/No opinion17%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Yes64%61%76%
No16%19%10%
Don't know/No opinion19%20%14%

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categoryTotal
Yes23%
No55%
Don't know/No opinion22%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Yes32%14%16%
No45%64%63%
Don't know/No opinion23%22%21%

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categoryTotal
Yes21%
No54%
Don't know/No opinion24%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Yes30%13%15%
No44%60%63%
Don't know/No opinion26%27%22%

SB 5 – Increase the Homestead Exemption (Here)

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categorycolumn-1
Enough to make a difference to most Texas families29%
Not enough to make a difference56%
Don't know/No opinion14%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Enough to make a difference to most Texas families25%20%35%
Not enough to make a difference63%47%53%
Don't know/No opinion12%33%12%

SB 30 – Taxpayers Right to Know – Bond Transparency (Here)

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categoryTotal
Mostly careful with people's tax dollars OR42%
Mostly careless with people's tax dollars41%
Don't know17%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Mostly careful with people's tax dollars OR43%28%45%
Mostly careless with people's tax dollars40%52%39%
Don't know17%20%16%

"Life, Liberty and Conservative Texas Values"

SB 9 – Enhance Election Security (Results)

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categoryTotal
Never18%
Rarely22%
Sometimes23%
Frequently28%
Don't know/No opinion10%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Never29%18%7%
Rarely39%12%9%
Sometimes14%28%29%
Frequently8%26%47%
Don't know/No opinion10%16%8%

SB 13 – Ethics Reform (Results: here, here, and here)

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categoryTotal
Political corruption/leadership15%
Border security13%
Immigration12%
Health care8%
Federal spending/national debt5%
Moral decline5%

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categoryTotal
Border security20%
Immigration16%
Health care8%
Political corruption/leadership7%
Education7%
Gun control/gun violence5%

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categorycolumn-1
Such a law is appropriate because it allows people to judge potential conflicts of interest58%
Such a law is an invasion of privacy that goes too far23%
Haven't thought about it enough to have an opinion20%

SB 17 – Protecting Religious Liberties (Results)

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categoryTotal
Agree30%
Disagree51%
Don't know/no opinion19%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Agree14%26%45%
Disagree68%48%34%
Don't know/no opinion18%26%20%

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categoryExtremely importantSomewhat importantNot very importantNot at all important
Agree45%26%22%8%
Disagree32%49%68%83%
Don't know/no opinion23%25%10%9%

SB 19 – Protecting Second Amendment Rights (Results)

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categoryTotal
More strict49%
Less strict17%
Left as they are now30%
Don't know/no opinion4%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
More strict83%45%19%
Less strict3%23%29%
Left as they are now11%29%48%
Don't know/no opinion3%3%4%

SB 22 – Defund Abortion Providers; SB 23 – Texas Born-Alive Infant Protection Act; SB 24 – Alternatives to Abortion Information Act (Results: here and here)

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categoryTotal
More strict41%
Less strict32%
Left as they are now20%
Don't know/No opinion8%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
More strict15%31%66%
Less strict58%30%9%
Left as they are now18%30%19%
Don't know/No opinion8%9%6%

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categoryTotal
Never permitted15%
Only in cases of rape/incest/danger29%
Must clearly establish need12%
Should be personal choice39%
Don't know5%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Never permitted6%3%25%
Only in cases of rape/incest/danger16%17%43%
Must clearly establish need10%13%14%
Should be personal choice64%61%15%
Don't know4%6%4%

"Protecting Texas’ Future"

SB 3 – Across-the-Board Pay Raise for Teachers; SB 4 – School Finance Reform (Here)

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categoryTotal
Low teacher pay17%
Public school system funding17%
Public education financing9%
Unequal resources among schools9%
School accountability8%
Quality of teachers8%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Low teacher pay22%19%12%
Public school system funding24%12%11%
Public education financing10%5%9%
Unequal resources among schools13%5%5%
School accountability2%12%13%
Quality of teachers4%10%11%

SB 6 – Disaster Response Act; SB 7 – Flood Disaster Plan – Matching Fund; SB 8 – Statewide Flood Plan (Results: here and here)

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categoryTotal
Approve strongly29%
Approve somewhat31%
Neither approve nor disapprove17%
Disapprove somewhat10%
Disapprove strongly5%
Don't know8%

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categoryTotal
Yes45%
No42%
Don't know/no opinion13%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Yes80%37%16%
No8%46%72%
Don't know/no opinion13%17%12%

SB 10 – Student Targeted Mental Health; SB 11 – School Safety Act (Here)

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categoryTotal
Insufficient restrictions17%
Poor enforcement6%
Insufficient school security8%
Insufficient mental health resources14%
Poor parenting18%
Media attention6%
Drug use1%
Violence in popular culture7%
Failure to identify potential shooters8%
School building design1%
Bullying13%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Insufficient restrictions34%9%2%
Poor enforcement9%3%3%
Insufficient school security5%4%10%
Insufficient mental health resources17%12%12%
Poor parenting10%21%26%
Media attention5%5%8%
Drug use1%0%2%
Violence in popular culture3%12%10%
Failure to identify potential shooters5%9%12%
School building design1%2%2%
Bullying10%23%14%