AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott said the state must act quickly to strengthen services for children, ban sanctuary cities, tighten ethics requirements for elected officials and lead the way in calling a meeting to consider changes to the U.S. Constitution.

Saying he wants to make Texas “an even broader patch of prosperity,” Abbott in a State of the State address Tuesday also called for property tax reform, making it a hate crime to attack law enforcement, and continuing state efforts to secure the Mexican border.

The Republican governor’s agenda drew mostly praise from lawmakers in his own party. His designation of four emergency items – on Child Protective Services, sanctuary cities, ethics reform and a constitutional convention – allows lawmakers to fastback debate and voting on those topics.

“I stood up and applauded most of the way through,” said Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville. “Even though we have a tight budget going forward, we have a great state. That’s the message.”

Democrats were quick to call out Abbott for missing opportunities, however.

“Some of what we heard today sounded more like a campaign speech and not like a State of the State address,” said Rep. Poncho Nevárez, D-Eagle Pass.

Abbott’s call for bolstering efforts to protect children — through investigation of abuse and neglect cases, as well as the foster care system — drew wide praise.

Noting the deaths of more than 100 children in the state system last year, he called for more workers, better training, smarter strategies and more accountability.

Katie Olse, executive director of the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services, said in a statement that Abbott’s “strong sense of urgency is welcome, and he has challenged the Legislature and all of us to do more to protect and enrich the lives of children and families.”

However, he also directed state agencies to impose an immediate hiring freeze. Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said there appear to be no exceptions.

“That is very concerning. We want to see the details,” he said.

Following a call for ethics reform, Abbott urged lawmakers to end the practice of automatic deduction of union dues from the paychecks of government workers, saying “taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to support the collection of union dues.”

Rick Levy, secretary-treasurer of the Texas AFL-CIO, said he’d rather have heard Abbott talking about issues that families discuss around the dinner table.

“He seemed to throw a bone to those who are on an idealogical crusade,” Levy said. “It was misguided.”

Turner also criticized Abbott’s effort to eliminate so-called sanctuary cities, which resist requests for cooperation from federal immigration officials.

Abbott last week said he would try to remove Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez and others who refuse to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally at the behest of immigration agents.

“I’m old enough to remember when Republicans said they supported local control, but they don’t any more,” Turner said. “We should respect the rights of local voters.”

Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, criticized Abbott for ignoring the rising cost of higher education, saying the state should invest in its future workforce, even if it means tapping a so-called rainy day fund worth about $7.5 billion.

“There is nothing sacred about the rainy day fund,” Howard said. “That is money stuck under the mattress.”

Nichols, a self-described fiscal conservative, didn’t rule out using the fund, which is projected to hit $12 billion by the end of the next biennium.

Nichols, an East Texas Republican, said one of his  priorities is addressing shortcomings in a mental health system that can leave those needing treatment in county jail holding cells.

Abbott said he wants an “entirely new system” of school funding, and he called for increased school choice.

Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, said not seeing that issue — one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top priorities — among Abbott’s emergency items was the biggest surprise of the speech.

Overall, he said, “I was pleased. Everything was straightforward.”

Others in Abbott’s party praised the governor’s emphasis on protection children.

“That should make us proud of our governor,” said Rep. DeWayne Burns, R-Cleburne.

Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, also applauded putting Child Protective Services on the emergency docket, but he added, “I’d like to see more emphasis on public education.

And while Abbott discussed ethics reform, Cook noted there have been few details to this point.

“It really is a blank page,” he said.

Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, a member of the finance committee that focused on supplementing Child Protective Services funding, said if Abbott’s list was limited on Tuesday, it was only because of time constraints.

“Gov. Abbott’s speech touched on a number of critical issues facing our state — several of which I have long supported — and I’m proud to be directly involved in the four key issues he declared as emergency items,” he said in an email.

“Still, time only allowed him to touch on a portion of the topics the Legislature must responsibly address this session, as we have much work ahead of us,” he said.

John Austin covers the Texas Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at jaustin@cnhi.com<mailto:jaustin@cnhi.com>