As the most corrupt Governor in state history, Greg Abbott has rolled out the welcome mat for big tech and the ultra-rich to walk all over Texans. The largest tax breaks for data centers in the country. Secretly siphoning state funds for Flock cameras. Policies that attack our personal freedom and children’s futures set by out-of-state billionaires. Risking our environment, grid, public schools, and privacy, for who? While everyday Texans work harder than ever to get by, Abbott’s billionaire donors and allies get richer and exert even more influence on the Governor’s priorities and our personal lives. This election, we have to tell Abbott to hit the road.
At a Texas State Senate hearing in July, lawmakers said the sales-tax exemption, championed and signed into law by Abbott in 2015, cost the state $3.3 billion in foregone taxes for the 2028/2029 budget cycle. Meanwhile, Texans pay the price– in our property taxes, electricity bills, and access to water.
In 2023, lawmakers added a $1 fee to car insurance to cover catalytic converter theft. It was recently revealed that a small state agency, the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, has devoted at least $30 million of that fee toward installing 3,200 cameras for the Flock surveillance network across the state. Miguel Rodriguez, chair of the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, said during an August 2023 meeting that he hoped to use proceeds from the fee increase to “cover the entire state” with cameras. 6 out of 7 MVCPA board members are Abbott appointees.
Greg Abbott passed his school voucher scam before taking millions of dollars from Jeff Yass, an out-of-state billionaire with a financial interest in vouchers. The voucher bill stole $1B from Texas’ neighborhood public schools and gave it to unaccountable private schools. Over 100 schools are closing across Texas, with more at risk, and over 150 school districts have gone down to four days a week. Why dismantle beloved neighborhood schools? So Abbott can have more campaign cash!
Just in time for the upcoming election, Abbott is trying to roll back his unpopular positions on data centers and Flock cameras. Don’t believe him. Any data center moratorium will end the day AFTER the election. State agencies might not be able to install more Flock cameras, but they can still use the existing network. Abbott is on the same side he's always been on: his.
We can’t give Greg Abbott a bigger platform to continue pushing extreme policies that undermine our freedom to make personal health decisions and dictate what's best for our bodies and our futures.
Donate to fund the movement to protect reproductive health care and rights in Texas.