With Texas expecting a $24 billion budget surplus, the state's residents have some ideas about how the Legislature should spend it.
Key Findings
- Property tax relief for homeowners tops Texans' wish list for the state's $24 billion budget surplus. Raising teacher pay and expanding Medicaid round out the top three responses.
- A majority of Texans support giving parents public money for private school tuition. 72% support limiting that to low-income parents, but almost as many, 67%, would support a program open to all parents.
- Three out of four say the state should maintain or increase current levels of spending on border security.
A new survey from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston found that property tax relief for homeowners sits at the top of the wish list, followed by raises for public school teachers and expanding Medicaid coverage.
Half said homeowner property tax relief is one of their top three priorities, while 40% said the same about teacher pay raises and 34% included expanding Medicaid.
The survey also found a majority of Texans support legislation giving parents public money to use for private school tuition via education savings accounts (ESAs). More than seven out of 10, or 72%, support such programs for low-income parents, while 67% support making the program open to all parents.
"... we found that Texans want the Legislature to spend that money addressing a wide range of issues."
— Renée Cross, researcher and senior executive director of the Hobby School, University of Houston
Renée Cross, researcher and senior executive director of the Hobby School, said there is also support for investments in public school and water infrastructure, expanding funding for the Texas Energy Fund to add generating capacity to the Texas grid and shoring up rural hospitals.
"While there is some support for adding at least $7 billion of the surplus to the state's Rainy Day Fund, with 21% listing that as one of their top three priorities, overall, we found that Texans want the Legislature to spend that money addressing a wide range of issues," she said.
Survey respondents also weighed in on border security, with three out of four saying the state should spend more (40%) or the same amount (35%) as it has in recent years.
Mark P. Jones, political science fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and senior research fellow at the Hobby School, noted that Republican support for Texas border policies remains especially strong.
"In spite of Donald Trump now being in the White House, 56% of Republicans want to see the state spend more money than it spent on border security during the Biden presidency," he said. "Only 14% want to see the state spend less, with 30% in favor Texas continuing to spend the same amount as over the past four years."
Among the report's other findings:
- There is strong support for eliminating the state sales tax on four items: school textbooks (89%), HVAC systems for single-family homes (85%), pet food (77%) and firearm safety equipment (75%).
- Support for ESAs benefiting all parents is highest among Latino (70%) and white (70%) Republicans and lowest among white (52%) and Latino (61%) Democrats, with support from Black Democrats (66%) falling in between.
- Support for ESAs available to all parents is lowest among the oldest Texans, those belonging to the Silent Generation and Baby Boomer cohorts, in sharp contrast to the more than three-quarters of members of Gen Z who favor the legislation.
- 77% of Texans support "hold harmless" provisions to ensure small school districts aren't hurt by educational savings accounts for the first three years of any program.
The full report is available on the Hobby School website. The survey was conducted between January 13 and 21, in English and Spanish. The margin of error is +/-2.83%. Future reports in the series will focus on attitudes about immigration; gambling and marijuana; policies dealing with abortion, guns and transgender issues; and election reform.
Story by Jeannie Kever
