He is risen! With the Easter holiday upon us, many of us will join together with family and friends to search for Easter eggs, enjoy an Easter lunch, or maybe take a long nap on Sunday afternoon. While these are all part of the Easter tradition, I hope you and your family will make time... Read More

With so much going on at your State Capitol this week, I thought it best to jump right into our legislative update… Legislative Update In one of the busiest weeks to date, we had a number of legislative developments that I want to bring you up to speed on. I recently presented House Bill 1681... Read More

While public education reform and property tax relief have been the focus of the Texas House from the very beginning of the 86th Legislative Session, this week my colleagues and I finally had the opportunity to bring House Bill 3 to the floor for a vote. I’m pleased to report that after hours of debate,... Read More

With every legislative session, there comes a whole host of new ideas, opportunities, and priorities. Given the unique challenges facing each member’s district and the thousands of proposals to address our state’s most pressing issues, it’s sometimes difficult to determine which issues will rise to the top of the heap.  One of the best barometers... Read More

Spring has officially arrived and so has county fair season!  Like many of you, I love spending time at our county fairs supporting our youth and visiting with friends and neighbors from parts near and far. These events build such a sense of community and provide a unique opportunity to observe the hard work of... Read More

With many schools on Spring Break, it was great seeing so many young people visiting their Texas Capitol. I recently had the privilege of keynoting an address to a dedicated group of 4-H students who were in Austin this week for their legislative day at the Capitol. Rather than using their time away from school... Read More

This past week was a frenzy with the bill filing deadline looming on March 8th and lawmakers working feverishly to get their bills in the hopper before the cut-off date. Now that the constitutionally required 60 day waiting period is over for passing bills, the Texas House will begin to take action as a collective... Read More

AUSTIN – Today, in a bipartisan and overwhelming fashion, the Texas House rolled out it’s long-awaited school finance plan, House Bill 3. This legislation is the product of over 12 months of extensive consideration from the Texas Commission on Public School Finance, as well as members of the Public Education Committee, superintendents, and teachers, including... Read More

As I often say in this column, I love seeing folks visit their State Capitol during the session. This past week I once again had the pleasure of welcoming a number of constituents, including a group from Leon County who made their way to Austin for their first ever Leon County Day at the Capitol.... Read More

As we approach the 183rd Texas Independence Day on March 2nd, it’s important to take a moment to appreciate how fortunate we are to live in a state that cherishes the values and beliefs we all hold dear. I recently had the pleasure of joining with hundreds of my fellow legislators, and many others, for... Read More