Texas
Texas House, Senate propose new money for school choice, extra funding for public schools, & more property tax relief
AUSTIN – The Texas House and Senate released their proposed budgets for 2026 and 2027, and lawmakers told CBS News Texas they liked how similar the two chambers’ spending plans are.
“It’s encouraging to have this start and see how close we really are together on the one piece of legislation that we have to pass,” said state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-N. Richland Hills.
State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Dallas, who’s also the vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, agreed.
“It’s a good start. The intent is very good that the House and the Senate are starting to work together,” Plesa said.
There’s new money proposed for public schools, teacher pay raises, and property tax relief. There’s also a plan to use taxpayer dollars so some students can attend private schools.
While there’s a lot of disagreement over that, there are many areas where lawmakers are in sync.
“I’m happy to see that there’s money in there for public education,” Plesa said. “I’m happy to see that there’s money in there for cybersecurity and for health care expansion.”
Each chamber has proposed about $5 billion in new money for public schools. That includes an extra $4,000 for all public school teachers and an additional $6,000 for rural educators.
There’s also about $6.5 billion in additional money for property tax relief on top of what was passed two years ago. That may include what the Senate has proposed, which is an increase in the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 for most homeowners. For seniors, the exemption would rise from $110,000 to $150,000.
Hancock praised this proposal.
“I think it’s a great start and what we’ve got to find is the fairest and most equitable way to return people’s money to them,” Hancock said.
But there’s disagreement over the $1 billion proposed in each chamber’s budget for taxpayer-funded education savings accounts so students can attend private school.
Plesa said she is unhappy about this plan and promised to fight it.
“Well, it’s going to be a billion-dollar fight. So, we need to make sure that when we’re talking about taxpayer money, that’s your money. That’s our constituents’ money that has accountability to it, that has some oversight to it,” Plesa said.
Hancock, however, said he is pleased to see the amount of money proposed at this stage.
“I’m glad to see it at the $1 billion mark because I had heard numbers around $500 million, $700 million. The governor and I spoke a couple of weeks ago, and my concern that I expressed to him is that you know we’ve fought so hard for school choice. I just want to make sure that it’s robust enough,” Hancock said.
This disagreement over school choice or vouchers will likely be the biggest battle this legislative session. The Senate will pass it, just like last session, and in the House, Gov. Abbott has said he now has the votes to get it passed. Both chambers have each proposed spending $6.5 billion on border security to keep current operations going as the state waits to see how the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to secure the border.
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Alabama basketball had every chance to beat Texas on Saturday. Time and time again, UA pulled it close, only to blow the opportunity to win.
Instead, the Crimson Tide fell 92-88, dropping to 1-2 to begin SEC play, and taking its second straight defeat. Afterward, Nate Oats went off on his team.
“We got guys that don’t care enough to lock in and follow a game plan,” Oats said during his postgame press conference. “Losing doesn’t bother them enough yet. I don’t know how many losses it’s going to take ‘till it bothers them, but it’s bothering me. It bothers the coaching staff, and as soon as it starts bothering the players enough, I’m sure they’ll change.”
On the defensive end, Alabama couldn’t get enough stops when it needed to. Texas’ Jordan Pope led all scorers with 28 points, tying his career high.
Dailyn Swain and Tramon Mark had 18 each for the Longhorns. UT averaged 1.314 points per possession.
Alabama’s defensive efficiency dropped to 79th in the nation following the loss according to KenPom.
“All of it starts with effort,” Oats said of the defensive issues. “Want to. Competitive edge. Guys who just don’t want to lose, they’re gonna give you everything they got. Guys are apparently too comfortable with losing right now because they’re not giving us everything they got on that end of the floor. SO I think it starts with having guys that just refuse to lose, to start with.
“From there it goes to guys in the moment having some personal pride on stopping their man. Too many blow-bys.Too many isolation plays were just beat one-on-one. Guys not locked in on the help side.”
Another issue for Alabama late in the game was poor free-throw shooting. UA hit 11-of-12 attempts in the first half, but went just 8-for-15 from the line in the second, which became crucial as the referees made their presence known late.
Oats was asked what went wrong from the charity stripe.
“When you’re worried about the wrong stuff,” Oats said. “When you’re locked in, you’re locked in. When you’re locked into defense, all you care about is winning the game. And when you’re locked in on the defensive end, then you go to the line and you’re locked in and you’re just focused on winning the game, you’re gonna step up and you’re gonna make your free throws.
“And when you’re worried about a lot of stuff that’s a distraction and you’re worried about stats and some other stuff and you’re not locked in, that’s when you get to the line and you miss. Especially when you’re a good shooter. Guys that should be making free throws at a high level.”
Alabama travels to Mississippi State on Tuesday to try and get back on track, before a Saturday trip to Oklahoma. Oats did offer some hope that his team would improve, drawn from the team that just beaten the Crimson Tide.
Texas coach Sean Miller had called out his team after its previous loss to Tennessee.
“It bothered Texas,” Oats said. “Texas lost two in a row and started 0-2 (in the SEC). That team looked a lot different than the team that played at Tennessee. So it obviously bothered them enough to change. So hopefully at some point it bothers our guys enough that they’ll invest on the defensive end of the floor.”
Tristan Jernigan, a Texas A&M sophomore linebacker who was a four-star prospect in high school, has signed with Cal out of the transfer portal.
Jernigan comes to Berkeley with three years of eligibility after seeing action in just two games this season. He played against Notre Dame without any stats and had three tackles, including one tackle for loss, against Samford.
He is the second members of the Aggies’ squad to join the Bears, following defensive end Solomon Williams, who signed last Sunday.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder from Tupelo, Miss., also drew interest from Tennessee, Memphis, Louisville, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Baylor and San Diego State.
Jernigan played eight games as a true freshman in 2024, primarily on special teams. He had 11 tackles, including five against McNeese State, and was named the team’s defensive scout team player of the year.
At Tupelo High School, Jernigan had 177 tackles with 11.5 sacks his final two seasons. Those teams compiled a two-year record of 22-4 with a Class 6A state semifinal appearance as a junior in 2022.
He was rated by 247 Sports as the No. 28 linebacker prospect in the class and the No. 9 recruit in the state of Mississippi.
He is not related to former Cal linebacker Myles Jernigan, who was from Grand Prairie, Texas, and spent five years in Berkeley through the 2023 season.
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DALLAS – Starting in February, some American Airlines passengers will have the option of eating authentic Texas barbecue as their in-flight meal.
The airline said they’ll be partnering with Pecan Lodge restaurant to serve Texas barbecue on board.
American Airlines to serve Texas BBQ
The meals will be available to first-class passengers on flights from DFW International Airport to LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The meals will be available for preorder starting on Jan. 11 through aa.com or American’s mobile app.
What they’re saying:
“As we celebrate American’s centennial anniversary in 2026, we’re looking forward to delighting our customers in new ways that honor unique regional tastes, beginning right here in our home state through one of the most beloved barbecue restaurants in Texas,” said Rhonda Crawford, American’s SVP of Customer Experience Design and Strategy. “Our customers deserve nothing but the best, and Pecan Lodge is certainly that.”
Pecan Lodge meals
February offering: Pecan Lodge barbecue platter
Smoked brisket and smoked sausage, paired with creamy mac and cheese, crisp coleslaw and a side of pickles, onions and barbecue sauce
March offering: Smoked chopped brisket sandwich
Chopped brisket on a fresh brioche bun, served with roasted green beans, creamy potato salad and a side of pickles, onions and barbecue sauce
The Source: Information in this article comes from American Airlines.
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