Gov. Greg Abbott will lay out his legislative priorities Sunday night during his biennial State of the State address giving lawmakers marching orders on what topics he wants them to fast-track this session.

Two years ago, Abbott was able to push through bills to reduce the property taxes of millions of Texans after promising the “largest property tax cuts in state history” during his 2022 reelection campaign. But he was foiled in perhaps his biggest priority: passing a school voucher-like program that would allow the use of public dollars to go toward private education.

Passing that legislation, which the governor’s office refers to as “school choice” or education savings accounts, will likely be among Abbott’s top priorities this session, following his heavy involvement in last year’s Republican primaries in which he campaigned against House GOP lawmakers who opposed his proposal.

Eleven of those Republicans were replaced by new lawmakers who said they support Abbott’s plans for passing a school voucher program.

The governor said in November that the elections had left him with a net of 79 “hardcore” voucher supporters in the House — more than the simple majority of 76 needed to pass a bill… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Trump imposes new tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China in new phase of trade war (NPR)

A new global trade war has begun. President Trump signed executive orders Saturday, imposing 25% taxes on most imports from two of the country's biggest trading partners: Canada and Mexico. Goods from China will be charged a 10% tax.

The tariffs take effect on Tuesday. Trump said in a social media post he's taking the action in an effort to address the illegal flow of drugs and immigrants across the United States' northern and southern borders.

In another post Sunday morning, Trump said the tariffs were also meant to address the trade deficits that the U.S. has with a number of foreign countries.

➡️ What's the role of Austin Police in Trump’s immigration orders? Here’s what APD Chief Lisa Davis says. (KUT)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “targeted enforcement actions” in Austin have raised questions about how the federal government is operating in the city — and to what extent local government is involved.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis spoke with KUT's Jennifer Stayton on Morning Edition about what APD is and isn’t doing related to immigration.

Below is a transcript of the conversation. It has been lightly edited for clarity… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Dell Technologies moves to end remote work (Austin Business Journal)

Add Dell Technologies Inc. to the list of companies poised to end remote work by mandating that employees show up to their offices five days a week.

Employees living within about an hour’s drive of Dell offices are expected to be at their desks full-time beginning March 3, according to a report in Business Insider that cited an internal email written by founder and CEO Michael Dell.

A spokesperson for the Round Rock-based company didn’t dispute the authenticity of the email in response to questions from the Austin Business Journal.

“We continually evolve our business so we're set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners,” the spokesperson said. “That includes more in-person connections to drive market leadership.”

Dell, which had about 120,000 workers worldwide as of February 2023, is a major employer in the Austin metro, although the precise size of its local workforce has been unclear since it underwent a couple of rounds of layoffs globally over the past two years… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

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