Abbott promueve agenda de asequibilidad en parada de vivienda en Socorro

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott visited a housing development in Socorro on Wednesday to promote his "Keep Texas Affordable" reelection campaign platform, addressing what he called barriers to home ownership, insurance costs and property taxes.

Abbott spoke to roughly 50 people gathered in a model home in the 900 block of Andrew Arroyos Drive, according to El Paso Matters. He thanked builders and others involved in the affordable housing project and outlined existing state laws and proposed legislation intended to reduce costs for residents.

Among his priorities: property tax cuts, lower home and auto insurance premiums, and capped co-pays for prescription drugs. Abbott said his "Essential Benefits Health Insurance Plan" would eliminate certain health insurance mandates, which he claimed could add approximately one million more Texans to insurance rolls while cutting premiums by nearly 20 percent. He also proposed a "good driver" discount for auto insurance.

On prescription costs, Abbott noted that Texas already capped insulin co-pays at $25 monthly for residents with state-regulated insurance plans. He said he wants similar caps for inhalers and epinephrine, estimating annual family savings of $120 for inhalers and at least $650 for epinephrine.

Abbott praised recent zoning changes signed into law in August 2025—Senate Bills 15 and 840—that reduced lot size requirements and eliminated restrictions on parking setbacks, and allowed apartments and mixed-use construction in areas previously zoned only for retail and commercial use. He proposed additional legislation to accelerate permit and inspection processes by allowing licensed third-party inspectors and preapproved home designs. Abbott warned that municipalities circumventing these measures could face withheld sales tax revenue. He cited El Paso and Socorro as models for efficient permitting.

Democratic gubernatorial opponent Gina Hinojosa countered that Abbott's proposals should have been introduced or implemented during his tenure as governor since 2014. "Greg Abbott is the face of 30 years of corrupt, establishment control in Austin that has driven up costs for working families," Hinojosa said in an email to El Paso Matters. She proposed ending what she called the "Greg Abbott Corruption Tax" and directing resources to public schools.

A March study by the Peña El Paso Realty Group found that a family of four in El Paso needs $80,000-$100,000 annually to cover basic expenses and savings. The report noted that El Paso's cost of living runs 15 to 20 percent below the national average.