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Abbott Photo Tells Story on Priorities
in State Where Older White Men Rule
Capitol Inside
May 6, 2025
A picture can be a worth a thousand words and even more in the world of cell phones and social media. But a singular photograph that Governor Greg Abbott post on X on Monday night tells the story of the Texas Legislature's regular session
and the people who running the show in Austin in 2025.
The picture in question shows 10 white men who and one woman who's also white gathered at a table where Abbott said they were "hammering out details on property tax relief and other conservative priorities" that lawmakers apparently plan to pass before the session ends less than four weeks from now.
The group included the governor at the head of the table that featured Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows to his immediate left and right. The budget and education committee chairs in the Capitol's east wing - State Senators Joan Huffman of Houston and Brandon Creighton of Conroe - are seated on the same row with Patrick with their counterpart State Reps. Greg Bonnen of Friendswood and Brad Buckley of Salado across the table on the same side with the speaker.
The speaker is the photo's only elected official who's not midway through their 50s or substantially older. Patrick is the group's senior member at the age of 75.
The demographics in the Abbott meeting graphic help explain why the agenda that emerges from the regular session won't reflect the real concerns and needs that almost all Texans share versus measures that are tailored for one segment of the population at everyone else's expense.
Legislation will pass with overwhelming bipartisan support when it's a legitimate priority for Texans in general. But none of the lawmakers at the table in the picture with the governor were Democrats.
There were no Hispanics, Blacks or Asian-Americans at the table with Abbott in the photo. Abbott could have summoned Latinos who serve as the vice-chairs of the budget-writing committees in the House and Senate to the meeting with the panels' top leaders.
But neither State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa of McAllen or State Rep. Mary Gonzalez of Clint were present at the table to discuss details on a state spending plan that's a universal priority or the bills that Abbott declined to identify.
Property taxes are a prime example of an issue that's a priority for all Texans including who those who pay landlords' tax bills with checks for rent every month. School vouchers are the epitome of an issue that's not a priority for the lion's share of people who are Texas residents.
Patrick appears to be learning the hard way that a prohibition on all products made from cannabis isn't a priority outside the Senate chamber. Patrick declared a total
THC ban to be his third highest personal priority for the regular session. But the House rewrite for Senate Bill 3 would allow retail sales of Delta-9 and beverages with THC to continue at hemp dispensaries that proliferated rapidly after the Legislature legalized them accidentally in 2019.
Regulating the THC dispensaries after six years in business could be classified as a true priority. A ban based on religious views doesn't fit that bill. The Republicans' proposed Ten Commandment mandate for Texas public schools hardly qualifies as a priority for Texans in general. The Southern Baptists and the Christian Life Commission wouldn't be opposing the commandments requirement for the second consecutive regular session if it were a real priority.
Mike Hailey is the Capitol Inside editor and publisher. His column Hailey's Comment appears irregularly in Capitol Inside
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