Jeff’s Track Record

This session the state did what every other family and business in Texas has been doing – tightened its belt. Jeff was proud to support a budget this session that not only funded the priorities of the state but did so without creating any new tax revenue and even decreased the budget by $13.5 billion from the previous cycle. Among these priorities was more than $1 billion allocated for border security and $46.5 billion for public education. Additionally, the state allocated over $34 billion towards health care including funding for women’s health programs and mental and behavioral health programs.

The 87^th Legislative session was just 6 weeks underway when Winter Storm Uri hit and drastically changed the direction and focus of every legislator – including Jeff. His office fielded thousands of emails and phone calls and he was dedicated to provided real time updates and meaningful communication with his constituents. Immediately upon returning to Austin, Jeff and his colleagues got to work zeroing in on what caused our electric grid to fail and worked with experts and stakeholders to come up with real, substantive solutions. The legislature passed many bills that dealt with a multitude of issues including reforming EROCT and the PUC, ensuring the reliability and resiliency of the ERCOT grid, providing the funding mechanism necessary to ensure winterization of Texas’ grids, protecting consumers from sky-high electric bills and preserving customer choice and access to different energy sources.

Jeff believes that Texans know much better how to steward their hard-earned money than any politician in Austin. That’s why he’s been on the front lines in the fight to keep taxes low – working diligently against efforts to impose a state income on Texas workers. In 2019, he authored and passed the enabling legislation for Prop 4 – a constitutional amendment banning the imposition of a state income tax on individuals.  Texans overwhelmingly agreed, and Prop 4 passed with nearly 75% of the vote.

Jeff believes strongly that securing and safeguarding your fundamental rights and liberties is one of the most important duties of the legislature. That’s why he was proud to co-author House Bill 1927 ensuring that law-abiding Texans ages 21 or older can carry a handgun for self-defense and protection of their families without a state issued license. Additionally, Jeff supported HB 2622 naming Texas a Second Amendment Sanctuary State thus providing an additional layer of protection against federal overreach.

With three kids in public school, Jeff knows firsthand the importance of investing in the future Texans of tomorrow. During the 86^th Legislative Session, Jeff co-authored and fought for House Bill 3 which invested $12 billion into the Texas public education system. And this year, the legislature continued their commitment by fully funding those investments, increased the state’s contribution rates for the Teacher’s Retirement System, , and lowered the high-stakes nature of the STAAR exams for 5^th and 8^th grade students.  Jeff knows that preparing for the Texas of tomorrow means investing in the Texas children of today.

Time and time again, Jeff has been devoted to advancing and supporting legislation that protects your religious freedom. That’s why Jeff authored SJR 27, along with Senator Kelly Hancock, which will amend the Texas Constitution to prohibit any government official from ever closing our churches or houses of worship. While religious services were deemed essential in Texas, we saw far too many political subdivisions attempting to shut down places of worship or place such severe restrictions on religious gatherings that they were effectively banned. This amendment will be offered in a statewide proposition election this November to be voted on by the people of Texas. In times of crisis, we should unleash the church, not hinder it.

Perhaps more than any other issue, Jeff is passionately committed to protecting innocent life in Texas. And his record is clear. This session, Jeff co-authored SB 8 – The Texas Heartbeat Act. This legislation prohibits abortion after a heartbeat is detected further protecting pre-born babies. Additionally, Jeff supported HB 1280 which will ban abortion procedures in Texas upon the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Not only are Jeff and his wife Becky committed creating a culture of life but they are also committed to coming along side and supporting women, in word and deed, by providing loving options to women who are facing unplanned pregnancies.

In order to address our growing infrastructure demands, Jeff was proud to support $26.5 billion to the Department of Transportation in our state budget for highway planning, design, construction and maintenance. Additionally, Jeff co-authored House Bill 5 which expands broadband services to rural and underserved areas across Texas. If we learned anything through the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the importance of reliable internet to accommodate school, work and even tele-health visits.

With great resilience, Texans have been fighting to rebuild their lives, businesses, and livelihoods. But they shouldn’t also have to fight frivolous lawsuits. That’s why Jeff was proud to author and sponsor Senate Bill 6 which provides strong COVID liability protections for Texas businesses, schools, churches, medical professionals, first responders and more. Each of these heroes fought through the uncertainties of this past year so they could continue to teach us, take care of us and minister to us. And now they can rest easy knowing they won’t be subjected to abusive lawsuits. Jeff further supported small businesses by ensuring they were not taxed for receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans and created a stopgap solution to ensure that Texas’ unemployment fund remains solvent without crushing Texas small businesses that pay into the fund.

A strong advocate for women’s health, Jeff has been instrumental in reinforcing the “Healthy Texas Women” program, which is designed to provide preventative healthcare support and services, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, for eligible women all across the Lone Star State. Through his efforts, $352.6 million of existing revenue was directed to Women’s Health Programs – an increase of over $10 million. He also supported legislation which provides six months of Medicaid coverage for new moms and two consecutive 6-month periods of Medicaid coverage for children. Importantly, Jeff co-authored legislation that expanded access to telehealth, telemedicine, and teledentistry services to improve health outcomes.

A strong Texas depends on a safe Texas. In addition to supporting much-needed state funding to help secure our border, Jeff has worked collaboratively with law enforcement to author and pass legislation cracking down on criminals who threaten our communities. As Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Texas Criminal Justice Reform Caucus, Jeff has helped to lead the charge in the Texas House to ensure our criminal justice system is fair, smart and tough. He co-authored legislation this session that eliminates financial barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals re-entering society and reformed sentencing and parole eligibility for juveniles. Jeff also voted for legislation that supports our men and women in blue and provides corrective solutions for municipalities who do not appropriately fund their police.