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Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick made a campaign stop in Lubbock on Wednesday, hoping to shore up support ahead of November\u2019s election.(KCBD Video)<\/p>\nLUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick made a campaign stop in Lubbock on Wednesday, hoping to shore up support ahead of November\u2019s election.<\/p>\n
Patrick is seeking his fourth term as the state\u2019s second highest executive official. He was first elected as Lieutenant Governor in 2014. Prior to that, he served in the Texas Senate for eight years.<\/p>\n
As the leader of the Texas Senate, the Lieutenant Governor is responsible for the flow of legislation into the chamber. If reelected, Patrick says his first priority come January is affordability through property tax relief. He said lowering the age to get payments frozen is something the Legislature can achieve next session.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s good enough for Denny\u2019s to say you\u2019re a senior at 55 for a discount on the grand slam breakfast, it\u2019s good enough for us,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cBy lowering the senior exemption to 55, it will save the average homeowner about $10,000 to $12,000 in that 55-65 range.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also wants to eliminate taxes schools use to pay for maintenance and operations, saying it is too big a burden on homeowners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to eliminate all school M&O taxes for every homeowner in the next two sessions,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cAlready, 39% of homeowners do not pay any more school M&O tax in the state when you combine every one. So we\u2019ve proven we can do it. Two more sessions, we\u2019ll wipe it out for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick said he\u2019s also focused on the state\u2019s electric grid and infrastructure. He said he has a plan to build more natural gas plants as data centers continue to put a strain on the ERCOT grid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve added 12 million people since 2000,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to add another 10 to 12 million in another 15 years. So we have to keep up with that infrastructure. And we can\u2019t rely on windmills and solar panels only. It\u2019s been holding, but if we don\u2019t continue to add more natural gas plants and more dispatchable power, we\u2019re going to continue to stress the grid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick said that grid strain is something he\u2019s paying close attention to, especially after a recent conversation with ERCOT\u2019s President and CEO, Pablo Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the grid is under pressure because of data centers. They\u2019re not at the point yet where they can put power back on the grid,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cWhen Vegas says we got pressure on the grid, my antenna goes up and I want to know why.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick made a campaign stop in Lubbock on Wednesday, hoping to shore up support ahead of November\u2019s election.(KCBD Video)<\/p>\n
Water and clean energy are key priorities of Patrick\u2019s Democratic opponent, Vikki Goodwin. Goodwin is the current Texas House representative for western Austin, a seat she\u2019s held since 2018.<\/p>\n
She attended the protest against data centers here in Lubbock back in July<\/a>, saying Texas has given too many incentives to data center developers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have this huge incentive for data centers and I want to make sure people understand what the situation is in Texas,\u201d Goodwin said. \u201cWe\u2019ve given $1 billion dollars worth of incentives to data centers in 2025 and that could grow to $3-3.5 billion in the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n Goodwin says Patrick has used his legislative power to serve his donors and enact an \u201cextreme agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n