Hinojosa Outlines Plans on Vouchers, Medicaid and Data Centers
Gina Hinojosa, Texas’ governor-elect, has pledged to pursue major changes on school vouchers, Medicaid, property taxes and data centers. Her plans would require action by the Legislature, and she acknowledged that some proposals could face obstacles there.
On education, Hinojosa said she would back legislation to remove the private-school element from Texas’ education savings account program. She opposed the 2025 law that created it and said public money should support public schools. She noted repeal would have to pass both legislative chambers before reaching her desk.
Hinojosa also said she would push to expand Medicaid, with a priority of ensuring every Texas child can get health care. She said Washington would pay the bulk of the expense. Her campaign has also promised support for rural hospitals and action against insurers that deny coverage in bad faith.
For households, she proposed a one-time $1,500 refund, drawing on the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which she said holds about $27 billion. Her plan would retain $10 billion and return the rest to Texans, but lawmakers would need to authorize the checks. She also wants to cut business subsidies and redirect the money saved toward lowering residential property taxes, ultimately eliminating them.
On data centers, Hinojosa wants a pause on new projects and an end to tax breaks, citing electricity costs and water concerns. She said the state loses more than $1 billion annually through an electricity sales-tax exemption. Lawmakers would need to approve the proposed changes.
Hinojosa Puts Public Schools and Health Care at Center of Agenda
Gina Hinojosa’s agenda puts public schools and access to health care ahead of private-school subsidies and tax breaks for large companies. The Texas governor-elect has said she would back legislation removing the private-school element of the state’s education savings account program and push to expand Medicaid.
Hinojosa opposed the 2025 law creating the voucher program, saying public money should remain in public schools. She has also acknowledged the limits of the governor’s power: repeal would need to clear both legislative chambers before reaching her desk. That makes the Legislature a crucial test for her promise to protect public education.
Her health-care plan would seek Medicaid expansion, with coverage for every Texas child a stated priority. Hinojosa said Washington would pay the bulk of the expense. She also wants to strengthen rural hospitals and address insurers’ bad-faith denials.
On affordability, Hinojosa proposes a one-time $1,500 refund from the Rainy Day Fund, retaining $10 billion of its roughly $27 billion balance. She also wants to cut business subsidies and redirect the money saved toward lowering, and ultimately eliminating, residential property taxes.
She has called for a pause on new data-center projects and an end to their tax breaks, pointing to electricity costs and communities’ concerns about water. Those changes, like her education and health-care plans, require legislative action.
Hinojosa’s Expansive Agenda Depends on Legislative Approval
Gina Hinojosa is proposing a broad expansion of state action, from Medicaid growth to a moratorium on new data centers. Texans should look closely at the distance between those promises and what the governor can deliver: the Legislature must approve many of them.
Her proposed $1,500 refund would draw from the Rainy Day Fund, which she put at about $27 billion. Hinojosa would keep $10 billion in reserve and return the remainder, but legislators would have to authorize the checks. Her goal of eliminating residential property taxes also depends on lawmakers changing the tax system and ending corporate subsidies.
Hinojosa would push to expand Medicaid, saying Washington would shoulder the greater part of the bill. She also wants stronger support for rural hospitals. These are substantial policy commitments, not changes she can enact alone.
On education, she would back legislation to remove the private-school element from the state’s education savings account program. She has conceded that repeal must pass the House and Senate before it can reach her desk. Her position puts the future of the program at the center of a legislative fight.
Hinojosa also wants to halt new data centers and end their tax breaks, citing electricity costs and water use. She says Texas forgoes more than $1 billion a year because of its electricity tax exemption. Whether her proposals become policy will depend on lawmakers, not promises made on the campaign trail.
Reported by KPRC 2 Click2Houston, CBS Texas, Newsweek, FOX 26 Houston.
