NEW: Gina Hinojosa Launches $1,500 Corruption Tax Refund Checks as Part of “Money in Your Pocket” Economic Agenda

July 7, 2026

Texas Tribune: “Hinojosa has embraced populist policy in her challenge to Abbott, whom she has accused of working on behalf of GOP megadonors at the expense of everyday Texans.”

Houston, TX – Today, Democratic nominee for Texas Governor Gina Hinojosa launched her new economic policy proposal as part of her “Money in Your Pocket” tour. Hinojosa’s plan includes issuing all Texas households $1,500 Corruption Tax Refund checks to provide relief for working families and account for the cost of Greg Abbott’s corruption.

“Texans have lost trust in our government, and for good reason – Greg Abbott has hoarded our money while we struggle with the costs of healthcare, groceries, gas, and housing,” said Hinojosa. “This proposal is about restoring that trust by putting money back in people’s pockets, especially at a time when Texans are hurting. The government is more of a burden than a help to people – that changes when I’m governor. We can come together in a bipartisan way to do this for Texans.”

While Texans struggle with everyday costs, Greg Abbott is cashing checks from donors and hoarding $27 billion in taxpayer money in the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund, which has ballooned from $10 billion over the last five years.

Gina Hinojosa knows that Texans can spend their money better than the government can. On Day 1 in office, she will issue a proclamation declaring the affordability crisis in Texas an emergency and call on the legislature to deliver a bill providing the one-time, $1,500 checks to Texas households. These checks will come from taxpayer dollars in the Economic Stabilization Fund, while keeping a full, fiscally responsible $10 billion reserve for future emergencies.

Read more below.

Texas Tribune: Gina Hinojosa proposes sending every Texas household $1,500 in her bid to oust Greg Abbott

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor, is promising to send each Texas household a $1,500 check drawn from the state’s rainy day fund if she defeats Gov. Greg Abbott this November.
“Texans are just struggling to take care of basics right now,” Hinojosa said in an interview Monday. “This idea just is common sense. It is money that is our money. It’s there. It should go to the people who work hard in this state who need it.”
The $1,500 one-time rebate program — which Hinojosa dubbed a “corruption tax refund” — would cost the state $17 billion, her campaign estimated. It would be drawn from Texas’ rainy day fund — which is formally known as the Economic Stabilization Fund and serves essentially as a state savings account — which stood at a record $24.8 billion as of November 2025.
Hinojosa’s rebate proposal — which would require legislative approval — would draw down roughly two-thirds of the current account and leave around $10 billion in reserves. Her campaign pointed to estimates by the comptroller’s office that the fund will grow by roughly $2.5 billion to $3 billion a year, and historical trends that kept the account at around $10 billion for several years before swelling after 2022.
“It’s never been hoarded the way it currently is,” she said, adding, “We cannot find an economist who says it makes sense for us to be sitting on this money. It is irresponsible. This money should be in our economy in Texas.”
Hinojosa has embraced populist policy in her challenge to Abbott, whom she has accused of working on behalf of GOP megadonors at the expense of everyday Texans. She rolled out the rebate proposal at a Houston grocery store Tuesday, kicking off a week of campaign stops around the state meant to illustrate how $1,500 checks could help working people.
In announcing the proposal, Hinojosa charged Abbott with “hoarding” money in the rainy day fund and framed the idea as one that would give struggling Texans relief while maintaining necessary reserves in the state’s savings account. Her campaign said she would declare the “affordability crisis” an emergency item on the first day of her term, enabling state lawmakers to act on the rebate proposal as soon as the legislative session begins in January.
“There is one fight in this country, and the fight is this: Is this going to be a state that is by and for the people, or is this the billionaires’ world and we just live here?” Hinojosa said. “This helps to give Texans what they need right now to be able to afford to live and thrive in Texas.”
“We are paying into a system that is working against us, and I can’t think of anything else where we would all come together and have the votes to spend that kind of money to benefit real Texans,” she said. “I can’t imagine any politician voting against $1,500 to their constituents.”

Houston Chronicle: Democrat Gina Hinojosa wants to send $1,500 to every Texas household

“People are struggling. People need help. It’s an emergency situation,” Hinojosa said in an interview, pointing to statistics showing the state leads the nation in bankruptcies and rates of uninsured. “My agenda is to put money in your pocket. Texans know how to spend money better than the government. That’s our money. It’s there. It should go to Texans.”
Hinojosa argues there is more than enough money in the fund to send some back to taxpayers. The state’s reserves have grown from $6 billion in 2013, the year before Abbott took office, to an expected $27 billion by the end of this fiscal year. The Comptroller’s office has projected the fund to grow by at least $2.5 billion per year, as well.
Plus, she said, sending money to voters would be a political win for members of both parties: “I would be surprised if any legislator voted against sending a $1,500 check to their constituents.”
“It’s all money that is going into the government, and it’s coming out of the government to mostly benefit Greg Abbott’s donors and global corporations,” she said. “I’m pulling it out to benefit Texans.”

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