Issues

Ensuring our state is safe is a core competency of government – and it is a top priority for me as your advocate in Austin. Efforts to defund the Police will NOT be tolerated!

Texans know far better how to spend, save and steward their money than any politician in Austin. During the 86th legislative session, I was proud to author landmark legislation that effectively banned a state income tax in Texas. Additionally, I fought for legislation to help reduce your skyrocketing property tax burden.

Last session I continued to protect your hard earned money by approving a budget that was decreased by over $13 billion from the previous cycle and didn’t create any new tax revenue. We’ve achieved remarkable victories for Texas’ taxpayers – but there is more to do. Going forward, be assured that I will continue to aggressively support and work to advance legislation that protects your pocketbook, limits the size and scope of government, reduces excessive spending and keeps taxes low.

Investing in our children is the best investment we can make. With three children in the public schools myself, nothing is more important to me. During the 86th legislative session, I was proud to fight for and pass House Bill 3 which modernized our school finance formulas, promoted local control, supported teacher pay raises, reduced Robin Hood and recapture and directed money straight to the classroom where it does the most good. And this past session, we continued our commitment by fully funding that investment to public education.

Businesses and people are flocking to Texas – and it’s not by mistake! We have aggressively implemented free-market, taxpayer-friendly policies where businesses can thrive, resulting in more quality, high-paying jobs for Texans. We must work collectively to protect the policies that have made Texas an economic powerhouse, while advancing smart reforms that lower taxes, ensure regulations are fair and predictable and crack down on abusive, frivolous lawsuits. And we must remain ever vigilant to stop job-killing legislation that stifles innovation and investment.

While healthcare and prescription drug costs continue to skyrocket, we must work collaboratively to find a “Texas Solution” that expands coverage to vulnerable Texans currently without health insurance, safeguards protections for pre-existing conditions and protects the doctor-patient relationship.  This past session I was proud to co-author HB 4 which broadly expanded tele-health services for reimbursement, including preventative health, case management, physical therapy, and more. We also established a self-replenishing fund for prescription rebates to give 3 million Texans access to low-cost medications. This program will serve the uninsured and under-insured.

We must continue to be on the front lines in the fight for the pre-born Texans who can’t fight for themselves, while working to support and care for the women and families who find themselves facing the sometimes harsh reality of an unplanned pregnancy.

We must provide better options for expectant mothers other than terminating an innocent life, including providing access to prenatal and postpartum care, human trafficking and abuse assistance and necessities such as employment, childcare, safe or affordable housing resources and assistance for insurance or Medicaid.

All Texas teachers should feel supported, protected, and well-compensated for their essential role in educating the future generations of Texans.

We must continue to invest in education, ensuring your taxpayer dollars are getting to the classroom – where they do the most good. And we should keep advancing sound policies that strengthen our system of education. That means fully funding the teacher retirement system as well as ensuring they receive the compensation they deserve.

The primary function of Government, at all levels, is to protect and safeguard your fundamental rights. While limited government has a role – time and again we’ve seen that government action and bureaucracy often creates more problems than it seeks to solve. Bottom line: I believe in you – the people of Texas – and I trust you to make the best decisions for yourselves, your families and your businesses. Without reservation, I will continue to work on the frontlines to safeguard your fundamental freedoms, including your right to worship, to assemble, to speak, to petition your government, to keep and bear arms and to protect your property rights.

Whether it’s providing tax relief or employment resources to our returning or wounded veterans, or ensuring additional training, tools, resources and support for our fire fighters and police officers, we must do everything in our power to actively and aggressively support our Texas heroes. After all, it’s the least we can do for the men and women who literally put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free.

A father of three children, I am deeply moved by the horrible tragedy of human trafficking. Traffickers should get a one-way ticket to jail. With legislation I passed during the 86th legislative session, that is exactly what will happen.

But punishing the victimizers isn’t enough. The scars of sexual abuse never go away. We must support the victims of sexual abuse and assault in every form. Last session, we funded the testing of all Texas rape kits, made it mandatory for law enforcement to track every sexual predator they investigate, and extended the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse.