On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) held a bill signing ceremony.
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00:00Hey, buddy. What a great crowd. I saw a few cowboy hats, so I knew I was in West Texas.
00:07We had to have all of you here. We're thrilled to welcome the governor back.
00:11The Permian Basin, what we like to call the land out of the high sky and where the sky is the limit.
00:17It's a land of purpose, a land of promise.
00:20It's a place of unlimited opportunity for all who dream big, work hard, and never give up.
00:26I like to call the people of West Texas people with a compassionate heart and a rocket engine.
00:34I know firsthand this because the promise of the Permian brought me here 50 years ago.
00:40Since then, I've witnessed an extraordinary transformation in the oil and gas industry that has propelled Texas
00:45to become a driver for the Texas economy, natural resource for the United States, and indeed the world.
00:52I like to call it the largest secure supply of energy in the world, which it is.
00:58But it is the people of West Texas that make it truly special.
01:03Our people represent an innovative and entrepreneurial and optimistic positive spirit that defines the state of Texas.
01:11The Permian Strategic Partnership exists to harness the promise of the Permian for the people of West Texas today
01:17and for generations to come.
01:20The Governor said a number of years ago when he came out here and saw the promises,
01:24you've got to go out to West Texas and build cities, and that's what we're doing.
01:29Since 2019, PSP has looked to the horizon to improve the quality of life for all who live and work
01:37across these four critical areas of education, health care, workforce, and infrastructures,
01:44which, of course, is safer roads for everybody.
01:47Together, we are building a foundation for enduring success,
01:51one that ensures every child, every family, every worker in West Texas can thrive.
01:55And nothing we have accomplished for the people of West Texas would have been possible
02:01without the support, the statesmanship, the leadership of our great Governor, Greg Abbott.
02:09That includes projects like the Beacon, a visionary new development that will extend,
02:14and not only extend, will transform health care all across the Permian Basin.
02:20The Beacon represents a defining moment for the future of the Permian Basin.
02:24And for the prosperity of workers and families who are the backbone of what is possible in West Texas.
02:32Governor, you've been a friend of PSP and to me personally for many years.
02:37We are grateful for your strong support for your Permian Basin and for the oil and gas industry out here,
02:44but for your vision of Texas for tomorrow.
02:47Because of your amazing leadership and your statesmanship,
02:52along with the collaboration of member companies and our state and local officials,
02:57the promise of Permian shines as a brighter future for all who call West Texas home.
03:04We're thrilled that you're here.
03:06We're thrilled you come back to the Permian Basin, the land of the high sky.
03:10Thank you, Mr. Governor, very much.
03:13Appreciate you.
03:13Thank you all, and thank you, Don, for what you said.
03:26Thank you for your friendship.
03:27As you know, we've been friends for more years than we can count.
03:30Exactly.
03:30And I thank you for your friendship, but also thank you for your leadership.
03:36I'm sure you know, but you don't know enough, how present Don Evans was in the legislature, in the Capitol.
03:44I couldn't go out my door without seeing Don Evans.
03:47He was there to see me.
03:49He was there to see my chief of staff.
03:50He was there to see your members, whatever the case may be.
03:52He was a salesman on call every single day, it seemed like, in the Texas Capitol.
03:58He had a mission, and that is to get across the finish line some of the things we're going to be talking about today.
04:05But as you know, it's not like his first rodeo.
04:08He's been doing this for a long time.
04:10He's brought map after map after map to me and let it out on a conference table,
04:14showing me what the future vision of Midland looks like.
04:18And as you pointed out, this is a, today is a defining moment for the Permian Basin,
04:28for the future of this region, as well as for the future of Texas.
04:32So the past in the Permian Basin is full of the richest history we have in the state of Texas.
04:40But we are on the threshold of the biggest promising future this region has ever seen,
04:47in part because of what Donna's worked on, Dan and so many other people here,
04:54but also because of the daily tireless work by your representatives right up here,
04:59who got to it and got these pieces of legislation done into my desk,
05:07and it makes a very big difference.
05:09So today is a big day for the Permian Basin.
05:13But let me put that in some type of context.
05:18The reality that you know, but importantly for you to know,
05:21the reality that we know in Austin, Texas,
05:23and that is the Permian Basin is the lifeblood of Texas.
05:29It's the lifeblood that quite literally powers our engines,
05:32but equally literally that powers our economy.
05:35And because of that pinnacle role,
05:40it's very important that the state respond to the challenges that you deal with,
05:46to issues that are important to you,
05:48as well as to respond in ways that craft a future
05:53that's going to be brighter not just for you,
05:55but for your kids and your grandkids
05:57and for other people who may be moving here in the future.
06:00And in that regard, you all are fortunate to have representatives
06:06who deliver on solutions to the problems you face,
06:11so give it up for Speaker Craddock, Senator Sparks,
06:14and Representative Landgraf, and Representative Darby
06:16for everything they have done to get things across the finish line.
06:19I'll give you one example that you all know a lot about
06:30and we've learned a lot about.
06:33Many of you all have complained about oil field theft,
06:36and for a good reason.
06:38It's on the rise and it's very costly.
06:41Your senator and representatives got three laws to my desk to fix that.
06:47The first is House Bill 48 by Representative Darby
06:51and sponsored by Senator Sparks.
06:53It establishes an oil field theft prevention unit
06:56to be located in the Texas Department of Public Safety.
07:00The second is Senate Bill 498 by Senator Sparks,
07:05sponsored in the House by Representative Landgraf.
07:07It establishes the Theft of Petroleum Products Task Force.
07:12And the third is Senate Bill 1806 by Senator Sparks
07:15and sponsored in the House by Chairman Craddock.
07:18And it authorizes local law enforcement
07:20to confiscate petroleum products that are alleged to have been stolen.
07:25It creates a program to inspect oil and gas tankers for possible theft.
07:31And it increases criminal penalties for theft of petroleum products in Texas.
07:37Bottom line, they're bringing the full weight of the law
07:41to crack down on oil theft in the Permian Basin.
07:46Once again, give it up for Senator Sparks, Representative Craddock,
07:49Darby and Landgraf, for cracking down on oil theft here in Texas.
08:01So that is all talk.
08:03Now it's about to become long.
08:04It's the fifth, right?
08:10It is the fifth.
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08:55The crackdown on oil theft in Texas is now law.
09:25So another thing that is very important to the future of Midland, very important to the future of the Permian Basin,
09:36something that Don and so many others, I'm looking across the room, a lot of you all talked to me about this very issue,
09:45and that is you'll want to see the region experience more economic development, to see the economy grow.
09:52And having been the governor of the state, it's ranked number one in the United States for economic development,
10:01not once, not twice, but actually 13 years in a row, Texas has been the national champion for economic development.
10:12I've had the opportunity to see what works and what doesn't work,
10:16what the demands are by those who want to be on the development side of economic development,
10:22but also the items that are going to attract people here that are going to be the byproduct of economic development.
10:29And some of the elements that are essential to be able to achieve that are more hotels and convention centers.
10:38Just one easy example that doesn't relate to Midland at all, but relates to what we saw happen in Austin, Texas.
10:46Austin, Texas has been a magnet for both economic development but also for tourism.
10:50But they were hindered for many years because they were limited in the size of their convention center.
10:57And as a result, they lost convention after convention after convention after convention to other cities across the United States
11:03because the convention center was not accommodative of what was needed.
11:08Same thing might be said for the Midland area.
11:12Y'all could be hosting all kinds of conventions and more conventions
11:15and be a greater attraction for all kinds of economic development if you have more hotel space
11:21and a bigger, better convention center.
11:25And that is exactly what Senator Sparks and Chair Craddock went to work on.
11:29I'm going to sign Senate Bill 529 by Senator Sparks and supported in the House by Chair Craddock
11:37that will help Midland to boost hotel and convention projects
11:41and to attract more tourists and businesses to your great city.
12:04Senate Bill 529,
12:05the Economic Development Magnet is now law in the state of Texas.
12:16I've got one last thing to sign.
12:18Let me give you some explanation about it.
12:20So many of y'all are familiar with the concept of a budget, a state budget.
12:28The state budget is massive.
12:30It's in size and in pages.
12:33I don't even know how many pages it has.
12:35It's longer than War and Peace.
12:37It has a whole lot to it.
12:40And the power of the governor, the governor has several options.
12:44The governor can sign that budget bill, can veto that budget bill,
12:49or alternatively has the ability to line item veto one of the items in there and say,
12:57I'm not going to allow funding for this project.
13:00And what I'm going to do today is the opposite of that.
13:05I'm going to line item sign a component of the budget that funded a project that's near and dear to your heart.
13:16I have right here, I'm going to show it to you.
13:21This is the, you can't see it from where you are.
13:25If you can, you're a hawk.
13:30This is the verbiage of what the funding does that's contained in here.
13:35And in fact, on this line right here is the amount of funding.
13:40I'm not going to read this to you.
13:41You'd fall asleep just in that short period of time.
13:43But I'm funding an item.
13:46I'm signing funding for an item that funds an historic $123 million investment in the Beacon Project.
14:07Y'all know the details of this.
14:09I understand that they recite all the details in school and kids are required to recite it in class every day.
14:15But I'll just add this.
14:17It's going to transform the entire Permian Basin region for decades if not a century.
14:23It's going to attract new visitors and new residents.
14:26It's going to encourage more people to call Midland and the Permian Basin home.
14:31It's going to provide substantial economic growth for decades in the future for the region.
14:37In addition to thanking these members for getting this done, the perpetual work of Don Evans to make sure it got to the finish line.
14:45I also want to thank other participants in this.
14:48And if you're in the room, I want you to wave a hand so everyone will get to see you.
14:55But I thank the Texas Tech and University of Texas Systems for being a part of this very important Beacon Project.
15:03Are y'all here?
15:09They're not here today.
15:11I'll tell you why.
15:11Last night I signed the NIL bill, and they're busy recruiting athletes right now.
15:18But I do want to thank not just the leaders of this table and more than just Don.
15:26This was an all-in effort by everybody in this room and people not in this room.
15:32This was a project that meant so much to the people of this entire region.
15:37You planted a flag.
15:38I said, we need this for the future of this region.
15:42And because of your all-in position on this, it made the difference.
15:51Got it across the finish line.
15:53For a couple people in the room, I know that there was a dare to of uncertainty and hand-wringing.
15:59There was never any doubt.
16:03You have no idea how many other projects.
16:06We're a whole lot closer than that.
16:07But I am proud to take this and line item sign and approve this $123 million project.
16:19That one's for you.
16:35$123 million is coming your way.
16:38So next to speak is Chairman Craddock.
16:53Governor, we're elated to have you in Midland and West Texas.
16:57And I'm glad you were so confident on that.
16:59If I had talked to you, I probably got more sleep during that.
17:04We are glad and thank you for all the help you gave and the lieutenant governor and the speaker.
17:09But you and the lieutenant governor both, you all were there from the very start when we first showed you all the concept.
17:16And we appreciate that very much.
17:18And oil field theft is something that desperately needed to be done.
17:24And you, I guess you needed to do what you needed to do, and that was to push.
17:30And your office did a great job on all of these things.
17:33And I'll tell you this.
17:36The Beacon deal has been a dream of a lot of people.
17:39Our community put $100 million in the last couple of years to build the first mental health facility.
17:49And now we have 200 beds out there.
17:52And that's pretty tough for a community like us.
17:55And Don's group and a lot of people in this room contributed and helped raise it.
18:00And we want to say thank you for that.
18:03This is going to be part of it.
18:05And it's just going to change West Texas.
18:08And as you probably already know, we've got a couple of new facilities coming with it, MD Anderson and Texas Children's.
18:17And I think just those alone, think about instead of having to go from the Permian Basin all the way to Houston,
18:24if you can just stay at home and be treated.
18:27That's a big part of it to me.
18:29And so to me, they're all important, but that's huge.
18:32And the two hotels, one is, of course, for downtown, for the hotel where the Civic Center is.
18:39They're going to expand it.
18:40And then the other is out to where we're building this medical facility.
18:44And I appreciate it.
18:46And I know a lot of them didn't get passed at the end, but we're glad ours did.
18:50And very thankful for your office and for you personally because you did a lot for us.
18:55In fact, we've been glad to have you as part of our delegation.
19:00An honorary member.
19:01Right, yeah.
19:02Kind of like Don, we don't pay.
19:04But we're glad to shake your head a visit with you.
19:08But anyway, thank you again, and thanks for coming here today.
19:11It's a big deal for us, and it's a big deal for our community.
19:15Appreciate it.
19:15And now Senator Sparks.
19:23Yeah, I too want to thank you for making the trip out here.
19:27We're really honored to have you in West Texas.
19:30And we're just thankful that you understand how valuable West Texas is to the entire state of Texas.
19:37You know, one of the things that's a challenge is helping the rest of our legislators understand how much and what we do across not just the Permian Basin,
19:50but all of District 31 up through Lubbock and the whole panhandle when you add agriculture into what we do.
19:58And, you know, there's just not many of them because they've all grown up in the city.
20:02They don't really understand what we do very well and the culture.
20:07And why it's necessary to continue to fund projects like the Convention Center.
20:13Dan Hoard, appreciate your help on that.
20:17And how difficult a challenge it is to attract good workers, whether it's in the medical field,
20:25whether it's in the oil and gas industry, and all of the other service industries.
20:30It's a challenge.
20:31And so thank you for your investment in making sure that the rest of Texas understands how critical our area is to the overall good of the full state of Texas.
20:44I'd also like to say my staff, a number of my staff, made the trip out here from Austin.
20:51If you'd raise your hand.
20:53Raise your hand.
20:54Yeah, these are some of the folks that worked hard on not just oil field theft bills,
21:05but a lot of other things for District 31 and really the overall health of Texas.
21:11I'd like to thank Commissioner Craddock and the work that she did in helping us design some of the oil field theft stuff.
21:21You know, I appreciate the law enforcement that's here today.
21:24I know I saw Sheriff Kreiner here earlier.
21:27I know there's a number of others.
21:30And even the security folks that are working with our oil companies right now.
21:35And PBPA.
21:36I saw PBPA was here as well.
21:39Ben Shepard and Mike Lanzano.
21:42Because really it was a full effort in figuring out what are the things that we need in order to give our law enforcement
21:51and our railroad commission the tools that they need to help improve oil field theft.
21:57And so with that, there's a lot of other folks that we could thank.
22:00I appreciate Representative Van Graaff and Speaker Craddock and Representative Darby as well.
22:08Because it literally is a team effort.
22:10I mean, it looks more like a rugby session sometimes, but couldn't do it without everybody's input.
22:18So thank you very much.
22:19You got it.
22:21And now Representative Landgraaff.
22:29Well, Governor, thank you again for being back here in the Permian Basin.
22:32You're always welcome here.
22:34Like Speaker Craddock said, we consider you to be one of our own.
22:37And we appreciate that you recognize the contributions that the Permian Basin,
22:41the oil and gas industry make to the state of Texas and the people of Texas.
22:46And we're very proud of the role that we play as the energy-producing epicenter of the free world.
22:52And we know that that allows the state of Texas to derive so many benefits.
22:57But for you to, for the last decade that you've been in office, to recognize that, to celebrate that, and support us as we do everything that we can to keep the Texas miracle going,
23:08we really do appreciate the fact that you're signing these bills that are very critical to make sure that we have a sustained industry,
23:14that we crack down on oil field theft is incredibly important to us, and also the fact that you're allowing us to invest in ourselves with some of these precious state resources
23:24so that we're not just a good place to work and a good place to start a business, but this can also be a good place to live and a good place to raise a family.
23:32And that's very important to us, and the fact that you're here celebrating that with us is something that we appreciate very much.
23:38So I'm proud to be part of Team West Texas, Team Permian Basin.
23:43We're thrilled with so many of the great victories that we've scored, not only for our constituents here in the Permian Basin this session,
23:49but for all the people of Texas.
23:51And, Governor, your leadership really led the way, along with Speaker Burroughs, Lieutenant Governor Patrick as well.
23:57But it all starts at the top, and we really do appreciate your vision for the state.
24:02Thank you for being here.
24:02I know we have some other announcements that are going to be forthcoming, but this is a great start, and there's more where this came from.
24:08Exactly.
24:09Well, thanks for that.
24:15One last thing.
24:18You know, when you were talking about the future of the Permian Basin,
24:22and you listed, among other things, being a good place to live and to raise a family,
24:28it brought to mind what I did yesterday.
24:31Actually, it brought to mind what I've heard from you and others for the past few years.
24:36So Don and others have been in my ear for quite some time about needing to do more for education and the schools here.
24:46And in case you missed it, yesterday, I signed the largest school funding bill in the history of the state of Texas,
24:54$8.5 billion of funding for our schools across the state of Texas.
25:00Importantly, about half of that funding is for teacher pay raises.
25:10Maybe the most important component of making sure that children are going to get a good education is to have good teachers in the classroom.
25:24And an aspect about that, actually, a study was done about why is it that some teachers were leaving their profession.
25:30And there were two reasons that were far and above all the others.
25:36One was pay, but the other was classroom disorder.
25:41And so in addition to the bill I signed yesterday, which is one that provided that funding,
25:47I will be signing another one that enhances discipline in the classroom.
25:53So teachers are going to be able to better maintain order in the classrooms.
25:57Bottom line is we look forward to a future where it's going to be a lot easier to attract
26:03and keep the best teachers into your classrooms across the Permian Basin area.
26:15With that, we'll take a few questions.
26:20Or not.
26:21Go ahead.
26:22So what measurable changes should Texans expect to see over the next year as a result of this organization?
26:27Of all these?
26:28Of all of them, yeah.
26:29So one of the most measurable, you're going to see in front of your eyes in slow motion economic development in action,
26:39in part because of the large funding, but also because of the law enforcement tools that go into place there.
26:44It restores order and creates order in your community.
26:48And whether it be the hospitals that are going in, the health care that's going to be provided,
26:54the better schools you're going to have, it's really going to boost the entire region.
27:00And hopefully soon you'll have hotels that are construction, hotels will be filled, convention centers will be filled,
27:06and there will be a bustling community.
27:09And so, you know, we talk about hotels and convention centers.
27:14But think of everything that goes along with that.
27:17You'll have restaurants, coffee shops, some other things that will go along with it.
27:22So you'll see a very vibrant community as well as a very livable community.
27:29As great as your communities already are, I think the best is yet to come.
27:39All right.
27:40Well, listen, thank you all for being here.
27:42Thank you all for being here.
27:43But to put a punctuation point on something that Don and I said to each other when I first came in,
27:49we would not be at this table today had it not been for every one of you and your friends,
27:56your compatriots in this area advocating for what was needed in the Permian Basin area
28:02and your representatives delivered for you and for the future of the Permian Basin.
28:09Thank you all.
28:09God bless you all.
28:10And God bless the great state of Texas.