House Speaker Dustin Burrows on lowering taxes, school choice, Texas Lottery | Texas: The Issue is

AUSTIN, Texas - Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) was elected House speaker when the 89th Texas Legislature gathered for the first time in January.

Burrows won the speakership with support from both sides of the aisle, something that upset some in his own party.

As the session gets rolling, Burrows will be tasked to navigate the House through some tough issues and possible contentious debates.

He sat down with FOX 7's Rudy Koski for Texas: This Issue Is to discuss those challenges.

Property Tax Plan

The state Senate has already passed Senate Bill 4, which would increase the homestead exemption to $140,000 and lower or eliminate the property tax bills of Texans.

A House bill would extend some of those property tax benefits to businesses as well.

What they're saying:

Rep. Dustin Burrows: "It is the economic engine of Texas and a particularly small business. So our tax relief package really helps them. And you talk about every dollar they save in property taxes, money that they're going to have to reinvest in their company, to grow it, to hire more employees. And I think we can get a heck of a return on our investment."

Rudy Koski: And you have a companion bill that's running that will also help in regard to inventory?

Burrows: "The exemption in there for businesses, small businesses, that's who's really the beneficiary of it. It is fantastic. It puts us second in the entire country and Texas goes big or, you know, that's what we do.

School Choice

The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 2 earlier this month. That bill would establish savings accounts for families to use public money for private education.

House Bill 3 is similar to Senate Bill 2 in that both bills would require a $1 billion investment from the state to establish the accounts.

Under both bills, families chosen for the program would be allowed to use the funds on private school tuition, textbooks, transportation and other education expenses.

The bills start to move away from each other when it comes to who is considered for the accounts and how much each student would receive.

While Senate Bill 2 would add a flat $10,000 to a student's savings account, the House version sets the number at "85 percent of the estimated statewide average amount of state and local funding per student in average daily attendance for the applicable school year."

The other difference is in how the programs choose who gets a spot if more applications are received.

What they're saying:

Koski: The other big piece of legislation is the school choice legislation, the ESAs. The House is doing it a little bit different from the Senate. Why go a different direction? Why not just rubber stamp the Senate plan and call it a day?

Burrows: Well, look, the chambers were not designed to rubber stamp each other's pieces of legislation. The House committee chair on public education has filed his version of the bill. It's a great bill. It provides a lot of parental choice. We're really excited about that. It's going to move through the committee process, where every member on the public education committee and the public is going to have an opportunity to comment on it and look for ways to improve it.

Koski: You're focusing more on families with kids who have disabilities. And then you start getting into these other sections. Is that why you think you have the better plan?

Burrows: Exactly the House bill sets aside what I think is more resources available to those families that have those needs, and I think is going to really help them. 

Teacher Pay

Earlier this week, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 26, aimed at improving teacher pay and retention.

READ MORE: Texas Senate passes SB 26 aiming to give raises to teachers

The bill would grant independent school districts with 5,000 or fewer students a teacher pay raise starting at $5,000.

Teachers with five or more years of experience would get $10,000.

In larger districts, the pay raise would start at $2,500 and increase to $5,500 for teachers with experience.

What they're saying:

Koski: "Teacher pay is always the big one. As we get back into regards to wheels coming off, wheels coming off last session with teacher pay. What do you envision being the plan? Do you like the Senate plan?" 

Burrows: "So, I like House Bill 2. I think it's a comprehensive, great school finance plan. It invests over $9 billion in public education and provides for teacher pay. Teacher incentive allotments, all sorts of wonderful things."

Texas Lottery

Lawmakers and officials have been calling for an investigation into the lottery after an $83.5 million ticket was sold in Austin through an app called Jackpocket which has the same owner as the store where the ticket was sold.

The Texas Senate passed a bill banning all online and in-app purchases of Texas Lottery tickets.

Now the bill is heading to the House.

What they're saying:

Koski: "The hot topic under the Capitol dome for the past two weeks. The lottery. Where do you stand on this issue?"

Burrows: "Look, I have concerns. I'm glad that the governor and lieutenant governor have raised them. I know there's an investigation going on. I look forward to the results of the investigation."

Winning House Speaker 

Burrows became House Speaker by defeating Rep. David Cook (R-Mansfield). 

Democrats sided with Burrows to push him over the top, riling some Republic

What they're saying:

Koski: "Getting the job, the speaker, was not exactly easy. And since then, there's been a lot of pushback from some members of the Republican Party that you're working too closely with Democrats. Can you mend those fences? Do you want to mend those fences?"

Burrows: "Look, my door is open to everybody who wants to make Texas better. And I think that all of the Republicans and you've seen this, you know, over time, the Republicans who maybe on day one weren't 100% supportive. I think they're starting to become very supportive."

Koski: "Should you be working with Democrats? Do you regret giving them committee chairs? Subcommittee chairs?"

Burrows: "Well, they don't have committee chairs. They do not have committee chairs. It's the first time in Texas history we actually have the most number of Republican chairs in the history of Texas. The focus is taking the 120 members. They want to be here and actually get to work in making sure that they are productive for their communities and represent their people."

Burrows also touched on what he wants the legacy of this session to be, the bill he's most involved with and growing a beard.

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