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Greg Abbott on Technology |
Biotech. Defense tech. Wearable tech. Clean tech. Technologies developed in Texas are changing the world in which we live. The Dallas, Houston and Austin areas are now known as three of the world's premiere "knowledge capitals." And get this: Midland beats the San Francisco area in the percentage of jobs created by startups. And, we continue to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.
For example, Texas now has more public high schools ranked in the top 100 than any other state. We have the fourth highest high school graduation rate in America. We are second among Hispanic and African-American students, and first among economically disadvantaged students. And the No. 1 public high school in America is in Dallas Independent School District.
My budget adds more than $4 billion a year to build more roads in Texas without raising taxes, fees, tolls or debt. This funding comes from 3 places: One is the funding received from Proposition 1. Two, it ends diversions of state highway funds-- tax dollars paid for roads should be spent on roads. Third, my plan constitutionally dedicates one-half of the existing motor vehicle sales tax to fund roads.
The plan--including the constitutional amendment--is needed to ensure TxDOT has the sustainable, recurring and predictable revenue needed to plan large-scale, multi-year construction projects. Regardless of the priorities that may exist in this Capitol, the voters made unequivocally clear their priority--they want roads funded.
