Issue Update: The 86th Legislative Session
 The 86th Legislative Session Click on the graphics for updates from the 86th Legislative Session.                Â
Issue Update: The 86th Legislative Session Read More »
El Paso
On Saturday, 20 people, shopping for groceries and back-to-school supplies, lost their lives in a hate-fueled act of white supremacy and domestic terrorism. It was just reported that two of the more than two dozen wounded in this heinous attack have also died, bringing the number of victims to 22. And amazingly, though it’s only been 48
Humanitarian crisis in Texas
On Friday, I joined several of my colleagues in Austin for a House committee hearing focused on the humanitarian crisis at our southern border. For six hours, we heard from state agency heads, officials from border counties and representatives from immigrant-rights organizations. We discussed the treatment of detained children, the separation of families and the bleak conditions at many
Humanitarian crisis in Texas Read More »
16 new laws & a veto
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last email update and during that time, several of my bills were signed into law, an important local project was funded and one measure fell victim to the governor’s veto. I’ll start off with the bills we had signed into law. For the sake of brevity, I’ll touch on some
16 new laws & a veto Read More »
Good to be home
It is good to be home. 140 days does not seem like a long time – but when it comes in the form of a Texas legislative session, it’s a really long time! The 86th session of the Legislature ended Monday and overall, it was successful. The Legislature passed a needed school finance measure that will put more dollars in
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes
On Saturday, in a joint session of the Texas Legislature, we honored the lives of five brave fallen Texans, including two from Arlington: Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lee Smith and Army Specialist Allen Stigler, a resident of House District 101 and a graduate of Timberview High School. Please take a moment today to remember
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Read More »
Sierra
Yesterday, the Senate passed HB 449, my bill that would require a college transcript notation if a student is determined ineligible to re-enroll because of a serious code of conduct violation including sexual assault, terroristic threats, burglary or drug charges. This bill has taken over three years to get to this point and I know we
Property Taxes
Yesterday, the House debated and ultimately passed Senate Bill (SB) 2, which deals with property taxes. I want to provide property tax relief — however, this bill does not do that. WHAT THE BILL DOES This measure limits the ability of cities and counties to fund vital services, including public safety – police, firefighters and
Historic School Funding
On Wednesday, in a near-unanimous vote (one member voted no), the House passed HB 3 to address the most critical issue facing our state: public education. It’s a pretty long bill, around 170 pages, so I won’t go through every major point, but here are a handful of highlights: I am particularly proud of the last bullet. There’s
Historic School Funding Read More »
