Texas Governor Greg Abbott set out his priorities in this week's state of the state address, but what's getting attention are the things he left out.Noticeably absent from the speech was talk of transportation funding, despite an aging infrastructure and jam-packed Interstate 35.
Also missing was any mention of the so-called bathroom bill.
Chuck Smith, who heads Equality Texas, says the governor must be listening to the business community, which has railed against SB 6.
"The state of Texas does not need bathroom legislation and the fact that Gov. Abbott did not mention it in his state of the state... I'm going to take it as a sign that he sees it as a red herring," he tells Newsradio 1200 WOAI.
Smith says the business community has been vocal in their opposition of the bill, which would limit transgender bathroom use.
One study estimated the losses to the state's economy, if passed, would top $8.5 billion annually.
"Were we to pursue bathroom legislation, that economic damage would happen on a scale larger than North Carolina."Wired magazine pegged North Carolina's financial hit at more than $395 million, after they passed their version of the bathroom bill.
The governor's omission of the bathroom bill in his state of the state mirrors the opinion of Texas House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio, who previously denounced it.
"Many people where I come from get concerned about anything that can slow down the overall job-creating machine,” he told a gathering of the Texas Association of Business.
“I think we should be very careful about doing something that can make Texas less competitive for investment, jobs and the highly skilled workforce needed to compete.”
Roads have been a key part of the Governor's platform the last two sessions, with lawmakers approving two major voter-approved Constitutional Amendments to earmark more tax revenue for highway projects.
But with the Rainy Day Fund, which is fed largely by oil and gas severance taxes which are in short supply, and after two successful sessions dealing with transportation issues, Abbott left that out of this year's speech.
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