Texas Gov. Greg Abbott insisted Monday that he would accept nothing less than a robust, universal school choice voucher program, and he resisted calls to join the plan with blanket increases in public school funding.

School choice is expected to be one of the most hotly contested items on the table in the 89th Texas Legislature. FOX 7's Rudy Koski talks to supporters and opponents of SB 2 about the bill.

Texans also heard from their fellow citizens as part of the Democratic Party’s response to Abbott’s speech, with state Democrats enlisting a public school educator, an OB/GYN, electricians’ union representative and the state’s Democratic chair to represent what the party hoped to project as the voice of everyday Texans.

Budget estimates released Tuesday showed the cost of the Texas Senate’s “school choice” bill would nearly quadruple in four years. The analysis from the Legislative Budget Board came shortly before GOP lawmakers gave the proposal – Senate Bill 2 – a cozy reception in the Senate’s Education K-16 Committee.