Incoming Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick vowed Thursday to keep even his most fiercely conservative promises, saying Texans are counting "on Republicans to lead."
Patrick, who will oversee the state Senate, also pledged to drop funding for the state public integrity unit, which investigates wrongdoing by elected officials, in the next Texas budget.
That's the unit for which outgoing Gov. Rick Perry faces two felony counts for abuse of power after he publicly threatened and then carried out a veto of $7.5 million in state funding in 2013. That followed the unit's Democratic head, Rosemary Lehmberg, refusing to resign in the wake of her conviction and jail sentence for drunken driving.
Patrick instead suggested a special prosecutor in new Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton's office.
Patrick, the tea party favorite from Houston, also promised hefty tax cuts.
During an Austin news conference, Patrick said he'll push to scrap a popular 2001 Texas law offering in-state university tuition to the children of people who came to the U.S. illegally.
Patrick called doing so "a question of fairness for American citizens."
