DALLAS — Inside Texas Politics spoke to the chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus immediately after Gov. Greg Abbott’s State of the State address, and Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer said he was disappointed by the event’s venue.
The governor delivered his speech at a private business outside Austin instead of before a joint legislative session at the Texas Capitol.
“This is my 11th State of the State speech. They’ve always been here. You don’t have to go through security detectors and turn in your phone and sign a non-disclosure agreement. I mean, that’s not the way we should have our public discourse,” Martinez Fischer told Inside Texas Politics.
The San Antonio Democrat also said he was disappointed in the substance of the governor’s address, calling it political instead.
Martinez Fischer said the state’s historic budget surplus is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to solve many problems at once.
“What’s surprising is we had all this theatre, to not talk about solutions,” Martinez Fischer said. “I’ve been in office 21 years now. There are $59 billion in our bank. And you would think we’d use that money to fix things.”
More Inside Texas Politics coverage: