Voucher bill nears approval

Gov. Greg Abbott continues to push his top legislative priority, a universal school choice plan that allows public dollars to be spent for privateschool tuition, The Dallas Morning News reported.

“We’re going to get this across the finish line,” Abbott said during a Capitol news conference. “When we do, Texans will see that when it comes to education, it’s not one or the other. It’s not either public schools or school choice. We can do both.”

The Senate version of what is popularly known as a voucher plan passed in February. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said last week that chamber’s proposal would likely be approved this week.

Critics point to a similar plan passed in Arizona, which has grown more than 10-fold since being implemented. They also point out private school options are limited in rural areas and for low-income families.

The state’s Legislative Budget Board projects costs for an education savings account program would increase from $1 billion in 2027 to about $4 billion in 2030, a project Abbott said was “based on nothing but fiction.”

Senate bill would curb home insurance rates without approval Lawmakers in the Texas Senate are considering a measure that would require home insurers to get approval from regulators before increasing rates more than 10%, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would also create a three-member commission to oversee the Texas Department of Insurance. The veteran legislator and others have accused the agency of failing to prioritize consumers.

Homeowner insurance rates have skyrocketed in recent years, up an average 21% in 2023, double the average hikes of previous years. Insurers currently can file rate increases with the state and immediately put them in effect. TDI has not denied a single rate filing out of 22,000 submitted since 2017, according to a Hearst Newspapers analysis.

“That’s a question mark I have regarding how aggressively TDI is overseeing rate changes,” Schwertner said.

In a recent hearing, insurers defended their rates, blaming the state’s extreme weather and saying the present system has enabled Texas to have a “highly competitive market,” according to Scot Kibbe, the vice president of state government relations at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.