SAN MARCOS, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivered his State of the State address Thursday night in San Marcos.
The governor talked about priorities in the legislative session.
The KHOU 11 VERIFY team fact-checked Abbott's claims as well as the claims made during the Democratic response.
THE CLAIM
Texas tops the nation in new jobs added. Since Abbott took office, 1.9 million new jobs were added.
THE SOURCE
WHAT WE FOUND
Texas added 650,000 jobs from December 2021 to December 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest employment report. That’s more than any other state. The 5% increase was also higher than any other state. And it is true that 1.9 million new jobs were added. There were 13.7 million people employed in December 2022, compared to 11.8 million in January 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
THE CLAIM
Texas is the No. 1 state for Fortune 500 headquarters and exports.
THE SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
Texas did have the most Fortune 500 companies in 2022 with 53, beating out both California and New York’s 51. It also had $376 billion in trade exports in 2021, according to the US Commerce Department, more than any other state.
THE CLAIM
Texas has been ranked the top state for business every year that Abbott has been governor.
THE SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
Whether Texas is the top state for business cannot be verified. There are several groups that rank state’s climates for business, and Texas falls short on many of them. It’s ranked 13th for the nonprofit Tax Foundation’s state business tax climate by the Texas Foundation; and Forbes ranked Texas 34th for best state to start a business. However, Chief Executive magazine does rank Texas No. 1 based on a survey of CEOs. It’s been ranked No. 1 for 18 years.
THE CLAIM
Texans produced the largest budget surplus in state history.
THE SOURCE
WHAT WE FOUND
Texas is projected to have $188.2 billion in general revenue over the 2024-25 biennium, which would include a historic $32.7 billion surplus.
THE CLAIM
Texas is No. 1 for National Blue Ribbon schools.
THE SOURCE
WHAT WE FOUND
Texas has 31. California is second with 29.
THE CLAIM
America is suffering the worst illegal immigration in the history of our country.
THE SOURCE
WHAT WE FOUND
It’s true that the number of migrant encounters at the Mexico border has surged recently. U.S. Border Patrol reported 2.2 million apprehensions and expulsions of migrants in the fiscal year 2022. That’s the highest since 1960, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection historic data. The second-highest fiscal year was 2021 with 1.66 million encounters. Prior to that, it was 2020 with 1.64 million apprehensions.
THE CLAIM
Texas has seized enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman and child in the United States.
THE SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. With about 450,000 milligrams in a pound, it would take less than 1,500 pounds of fentanyl to kill the U.S. population of 333 million people. The Texas CBP operations seized that much in 2021 and 2022, but it’s unclear if Abbott is referring to them or a specific time period.
Democratic response
THE CLAIM
Texas teachers are some of the lowest paid in the country.
THE SOURCE
WHAT WE FOUND
Texas teachers were paid an average of $57,641 in the 2020-21 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s 28th in the country for average teacher pay and lower than the national average of $65,090.
THE CLAIM
The waitlist for pediatric disabled Texans to get a Medicaid waiver is now up to 26 years, simply because Abbott and Texas Republicans refuse to do the right thing and finally expand Medicaid.
THE SOURCE
WHAT WE FOUND
Medicaid waiver waitlists can last years, but Texas Health and Human Services data show that most people wait eight years on the list. The oldest waitlist they have is 16 years for Home and Community-based Services.