Updates from the Capitol

We’re finally approaching the part of the legislative session when the House floor debates are getting longer, and bills are moving quicker. This is when all the advance work turns into bills that become law – or are killed.

This is the time in session when it moves into overdrive. My team and I continue to work tirelessly on behalf of House District 132!

Below is a summary of the information you’ll find in this newsletter. As always, there are resources on COVID-19 vaccines and additional information.

• Legislative Session Update
• COVID Vaccine Information
• District Update

Artwork from the District

We are excited to now be showcasing some beautiful artwork from students of our district (representing both Katy ISD and Cy-Fair ISD), which are currently in our Capitol office. The top piece is an oil painting created by an eighth grade student. The middle work is a visionary depiction of Katy’s renowned rice dryers — actually made from grains of rice. Our third piece is done entirely in pencil by a ninth-grader at Bridgeland High School . We have one more piece that we hope to hang next week. These works of art demonstrate some of the amazing talent of our district’s students.

Legislative Update

I have been working hard to represent you this legislative session. I have filed 40 bills and 6 House Joint Resolutions.

HB 1569, which will protect home owners from having their religious displays removed by their home owners’ associations. A version of this bill [SB 581 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt] passed the senate 31-0. We have a hearing scheduled on my bill this coming Tuesday (April 13) in the House Committee on Business & Industry.

HB 1705, which will freeze all property taxes for homeowners over 65 years old.

HB 2294, which will lower your property taxes by having the amount of your home’s property value that doesn’t get taxed (the “homestead exemption”) automatically rise whenever your appraisal rises.

HB 2304, which will limit the growth of state government spending to the growth in the state’s population plus inflation. This bill will ensure that Texas government stays the same size relative to the economy and doesn’t take up an increasing portion of your family’ s income.

HB 2364, which will prevent the city of Houston from controlling the use of your property by including you in the city’s “extra-territorial jurisdiction” (ETJ). Currently, most of our district is in Houston’ s ETJ, which allows the city to block you from using your property as you see fit, even if you don’t live in the city or get to vote for the mayor and council.

HB 3241, which will not allow any governments to close any businesses without properly compensating the business owners for the lost patronage.

I have also been working with Rep. Briscoe Cain, Chairman of the House Elections Committee, on the election integrity bill – HB 6 – that will ensure that Texas elections are fair. Last week we heard 22 hours of testimony on that bill in the committee. HB 6 was voted out of the Elections Committee this week and will soon move to the House floor to be voted on by the whole chamber.

To read and follow the rest of my bill package, follow this link to “Bill

Authored”: https://house.texas.gov/members/member-page/?district=132

All legislation will be referred to a committee, which can hold a hearing or “kill” the bill in committee by taking no action on it. If the bill passes out of the committee, then it heads to the “calendars” committee, which decides whether to set it for a floor vote.

If you would like to watch committee hearings on a live stream, you can follow this link: https://house.texas.gov/video-audio/ or https://senate.texas.gov/av-live.php

Texas House Legislative Update

The Texas House continues to make progress on important issues this session with the passage of great legislation.

Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed six key bills to reform ERCOT to better prepare Texas’ electric grid for future severe weather events. House Bills 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, and 17 all represent essential fixes and key consumer protections to ensure Texans aren’t devastated by another breakdown in the system.

HB 5 addresses the state’s plan to expand broadband (high-speed internet).

HB 1239 protects religious freedoms by prohibiting the closure of houses of worship by governmental entities.

HB 390 further promotes the goal of ending human trafficking by training hotel workers to know what to look out for when people are being trafficked. I serve on the Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, which also passed a bill (HB 3295) to make it easier for counties to prosecute illegal massage parlors where women and girls are being trafficked.

Vehicle Title & Registration waiver will be ending April 14th.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced that the temporary waiver for vehicle title and registrations, following the Governor’s executive orders related to COVID-19, will be ending on April 14th. You will want to make sure your registration is up to date if you didn’t update it during the pandemic pause on registration renewals.

Please go to TxDMV.gov or www.Texas.gov to renew expired vehicle registrations.

COVID-19 Vaccine Information

All adults in Texas over the age of 16 may sign-up to get a COVID-19 vaccine. If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to find the nearest provider to sign up.

 

House District 132

It was an honor to speak with the Katy Chamber of Commerce on April 2nd! We had a very productive conversation updating my fellow neighbors on the progress of my bills and the legislature’s key priorities.

Every year, Katy ISD selects two principals who have gone above and beyond in demonstrating leadership and dedication to their students, staff, administration, and community.

This year’s honor goes to Morton Ranch Elementary Principal, Deborah “Deb” Hubble, and Memorial Parkway Junior High Principal, Emily Craig.

I would like to congratulate these two incredible Principals for their continued service to our community.

Contact Me

I am your State Representative, but I am also your neighbor. If there is anything I can do to help you, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

If you’d like to get in contact with our office, please feel free to go onto my webpage and click the “Email” button to fill out the form. The page can be found here: https://house.texas.gov/members/member-page/?district=132

You can also call our Capitol office at 512-463-0528 or our Katy district office at 281-492-0684. Our district office is located in the Houston Community College building at 1550 Foxlake Drive. We aren’t there right now, because HCC has closed the campus on Fridays and weekends.

I encourage everyone to stay connected this session on legislation, committee hearings, and floor debates through the following website: https://capitol.texas.gov/

Thank you and God Bless Texas,