Governor Abbott Vetoes House Bill 2466 (84R)
Pursuant to Article IV, Section 14 of the Texas Constitution, I, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, do hereby disapprove of and veto House Bill No. 2466 as passed by the Eighty-Fourth Texas Legislature, Regular Session, because of the following objections:
One way for government to grow is by the addition of large, high-profile new state programs. That kind of government growth is easy to spot and relatively simple to guard against. Perhaps more often, however, government growth takes place through the accumulation over time of many small additions to the bureaucratic state. Each one may seem like a benign, low-cost effort to address discrete problems thought to be facing society. But when viewed together, they amount to a massive expansion of the size, scope, and cost of government. Once in place, these programs tend only to get bigger and more costly. Many people come to rely on or become financially interested in the program's continued existence, which makes it difficult to reduce in size, much less eliminate.
House Blll2466 creates just such a program. Texas has been doing pretty well without a safety reimbursement program run by the Department of Insurance. To stay strong, we should resist the needless growth of government even in small ways.
Since the Eighty-Fourth Texas Legislature, Regular Session, by its adjournment has prevented the return of this bill, I am filing these objections in the office of the Secretary of State and giving notice thereof by this public proclamation according to the aforementioned constitutional provision.
GREG ABBOTT
Governor
View a PDF of the veto here