Dear Friends,  

I would like to thank you for the privilege of allowing me to be your State Senator and your voice in our State Capitol.  Please remember that my staff and I are always available to answer your questions, concerns, and to serve you and your family.

The 80th Legislative Session was very successful in limiting government spending, increasing our individual liberties, and promoting traditional family values.  Conservatives can be very proud of these successes, despite a few losses, such as the voter identification bill and the eminent domain reform bill which the Governor needlessly vetoed.

In the state’s budget, Texans received a record $14.2 billion in school district property tax reduction.  This was the first state budget in which a surplus was not used to grow government, rather $2.5 billion was left un-appropriated to continue property tax reductions in the future and another $4.3 billion was left in the State's rainy day fund.  Taxpayer gained another victory in the elimination of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund tax, thus saving Texans over $200 million a year.  In actual new state spending, the new budget will increase 2.65% per year over the previous state budget, even though our state’s population grew by almost 9% in the last two years. 

 A few other major successes of the last session include: overturning the Governor's HPV vaccine mandate, placing a moratorium on comprehensive development agreements (the Trans Texas Corridor), enacting a hard ten percent appraisal cap so that your property taxes can no longer increase up to thirty percent in a single year, extending the no-call list in Texas to cell phones, providing students in public schools greater freedom of expression concerning their religious views on school campuses, ensuring taxpayers have greater transparency over state spending, allowing high schools to offer elective courses on the Bible, implementing tougher penalties for repeat child molesters, increasing funding for our state parks system, adopting penalties for businesses that employ illegal workers, and improving our second amendment rights so that Texans may defend themselves with deadly force in their homes, cars, and workplace.

If you have questions about the last legislative session or any other questions, please give us a call.  Thank you again for the honor of serving you and your family in the Texas Senate.