texas

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Take Oath of Office

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick were sworn-in Tuesday for their second term in office.

The 11 a.m. inaugural ceremony for the Republican lawmakers took place on the steps of the state Capitol.

On Sunday's edition of Lone Star Politics, Abbott said Texans should expect big results out of his second term.

"We had a press conference earlier this week with myself, the lieutenant governor and the speaker, where we wanted to make very clear that we're gonna step up and tackle some of these enormous issues that have been facing the state of Texas stretching back into the last decade, including property tax reform as well as school finance reform. We are intent on getting these problems fixed."

During his speech, which you can read and hear here, Abbott pledged to make that happen.

"The eyes of Texas are upon us.  We have the opportunity and the obligation to get this right.  We can and we will better fund education in Texas," said Abbott. He also said in the speech,"Our students deserve better, our teachers deserve better, our taxpayers deserve better."

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had a message for lawmakers.

"The people who elected the House members here, or the Senate members here, they did not elect you whether you are an incumbent coming back, or a freshman, to come here and focus on the small things. They had hopes and dreams, and your actions over the next 140 days will determine whether their hopes and dreams become reality," said Patrick.

The formal swearing-in ceremony was followed by a barbecue lunch and the Texas Inaugural Ball later Tuesday night.

Keep up with the latest in Austin with NBC 5's Julie Fine as she tweets live from the inauguration.[[284363921,R]]

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