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This is the second entry in our series on the proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. This election will be on November 3rd. I warned you some of these are a bit dry to study. Nevertheless, they are all important.

PROPOSTION 2

“The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a 100 percent or totally disabled veteran who died before the law authorizing a residence homestead exemption for such a veteran took effect.”

DIGEST: Proposition 2 would extend the current homestead property tax exemption that applies to the surviving spouse of a totally disabled veteran who died on or after January 1, 2010, to include the surviving spouse of a totally disabled veteran who: 1) died before January 1, 2010; and 2) would have qualified for the full exemption on the homestead’s entire value if it had been available to totally disabled veterans at that time. A surviving spouse who otherwise qualified would be entitled to an exemption of the same portion of the market value of the same property to which the disabled veteran’s exemption would have applied.

SUPPORTERS SAY: This will provide a valuable form of tax relief for families of deceased disabled veterans. Any fiscal impact on a single taxing district would be minimal. Current law unintentionally creates two classes of surviving spouses and treats them differently depending on when their spouses died. This amendment recognizes the sacrifice by a 100 percent or totally disabled veteran and the person’s surviving spouse as the same regardless of the date on which the disabled veteran died.

OPPONENTS SAY: The Legislative Budget Board’s fiscal note indicates that school districts, municipalities, counties, and other special taxing districts (such as hospitals) will lose some tax revenue under the enactment of this proposition.

MY RECOMMENDATION: SUPPORT

OTHER NEWS

This weekend I attended the Texas State Guard Leadership Conference at Camp Swift. About 100 senior officers and NCOs attended. We discussed the TXSG’s mission and vision. Pictured below I am giving a legislative budget update to Major General Nichols, Texas Adjutant General, Major General Jake Betty and his senior command staff. You can learn more about the TXSG at https://www.txmf.us/

LOCAL EVENTS

Thursday, October 1 – Monthly Parker County Republican Party meeting at 7:00 pm in Strain Community Room at Weatherford College

Saturday, October 3 – Red Boot Soiree hosted by Bush Legacy Republican Women

Saturday, January 23 – 2016 Red Gala hosted by Wise Republican Women and Wise County Republican Party with Keynote Address by Lt. Col. Allen West. Buy tickets onlineHERE.

Today we’ll begin a series on the amendments to the Texas Constitution that will be up before the voters on November 3rd. We’ll take up a different amendment each week for seven weeks. I will try to give you both the pros and cons.

I hope this will provide a good overview to help you prepare for election day. I have to warn you though, some of these amendments are a bit dry but they are all important.

PROP 1 BALLOT LANGUAGE: “The constitutional amendment increasing the amount of the residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes from $15,000 to $25,000, providing for a reduction of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for those purposes on the homestead of an elderly or disabled person to reflect the increased exemption amount, authorizing the legislature to prohibit a political subdivision that has adopted an optional residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation from reducing the amount of or repealing the exemption, and prohibiting the enactment of a law that imposes a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property.”

DIGEST: Proposition 1 would increase the mandatory homestead exemption from $15,000 to $25,000. The taxable value of homesteads owned by the elderly or people who are disabled also would be correspondingly reduced. These provisions would take effect January 1, 2015, and would apply only to a tax year beginning on or after that date.

SUPPORTERS SAY: The property tax is one of the most onerous taxes. In areas of rapid economic growth where demand for housing is strong, homeowners, especially those living on fixed incomes, may be priced out of their homes by rising property taxes. The amount of the mandatory school district residence homestead exemption has not been updated since 1997, while appraisals have continued to increase. This amendment provides much needed tax relief by increasing the amount of the homestead exemption, reducing the amount of taxes paid by a homeowner. By making this effective for 2015 taxes, it ensures that relief is felt immediately. It also promotes economic growth by allowing homeowners to retain more of their money.

OPPONENTS SAY:The homestead exemption increase will only nominally provide property tax relief for homeowners. The exemption will reduce property taxes for the average homeowner by about $126 a year. The homestead exemption increase provides no benefit for those who rent homes. Property taxes are a local matter. The best way to control local property taxes is for voters to hold local officials accountable.

OTHER NEWS

LEGISLATION TO LIFT CRUDE OIL BAN
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee this week voted to advance a bill repealing the ban on crude oil exports from the United States. I strongly support this legislative and advocated for repeal of the ban in a letter to the Texas’ congressional delegation last month. Lifting the 1970’s oil embargo is critical for Texas as we have one-third of U.S. crude oil reserves and we are the top producer. Allowing Texas to compete in worldwide markets will promote energy independence and dramatically expand economic development.

STAR OF TEXAS MEMORIAL CEREMONY AND AWARDS
On September 10, I participated in the Star of Texas memorial ceremony hosted by Gov. Greg Abbott. The Star of Texas awards honor first responders who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Pictured below is Sgt. Shane Drake of Fort Worth PD and his wonderful family. Sgt. Drake is still recovering from his wounds. I served at FWPD for 15 years and was proud to see the Drake family recognized.

State Representative Phil King represents Parker and Wise counties in the Texas House of Representatives.

Texas continues to lead the nation in pro-life legislation including the Sonogram bill in 2011, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, and HB2 in 2013 (which was probably the most sweeping pro-life legislation in our nation since Roe v. Wade). Earlier this year, your Texas Legislature passed additional bills defending life.

HB 3994: Requires a woman seeking an elective abortion to provide a valid government photo ID to confirm she is not a minor. Since 2000, the state of Texas has required that minors seeking abortions do so with parental consent, or else must be granted judicial bypass from this requirement. House Bill 3994 tightens this process by requiring that a woman seeking an abortion present to the abortion provider a valid government-issued photo ID to confirm that she is of-age to legally seek an elective abortion without parental consent or judicial bypass. The bill also amends and strengthens the judicial bypass procedure.

HB 416: Requires employees and volunteers at abortion facilities to complete human trafficking training.
Under the provisions of HB 416, any employee, volunteer, or contractor of a licensed abortion facility that performs 50 or more abortions per year must undergo a human trafficking education and training program. The hope is that such a curriculum will train individuals working in these facilities to identify victims of human trafficking so that intervention and assistance can be provided, and no woman is forced to undergo an abortion against her will.

Floor Amendment to HB 1891: Prohibiting community schools from using or providing referrals to abortion providers and their affiliates.
House Bill 1891 establishes a model for community schools which, according to the bill author’s analysis, are “public schools open throughout the year to students, families, and community members before, during, and after school hours.” Supporters contended that while these schools provide quality education and engage the community, prior to legislation there was no definition or model to follow. A floor amendment was added to the bill that statutorily prohibits community schools from: · Providing abortion-related services · Providing referrals to abortion providers or their affiliates · Partnering with an abortion provider or affiliate in transitioning to a community school · Hiring an employee of an abortion provider or affiliate as the community school coordinator

HB 3074 : Required provision of artificially administered nutrition and hydration to sustain life.
Under the provisions of HB 3074, artificially administered nutrition and hydration must be provided to patients under the Texas Advance Directives Act. Before enactment of this legislation, Texas law relating to advance directives lacked clarity and potentially allowed for the withdrawal of food, water and pain medication without medical standards for doing so. HB 3074 clarifies that prolonging life is the default priority.

Budgetary Provisions in the 2016-2017 General Appropriations Act
DSHS Rider 72: Prohibits abortion providers and affiliates from participating in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Services (BCCS) Program. This prohibition currently applies to providers in the Texas Women’s Health Program and will be extended to the BCCS program when the new budget becomes effective on September 1, 2015.
HHSC Rider 31: Prohibits the use of any state-funded human sexuality or family planning instruction or materials provided or produced by abortion providers or their affiliates.
HHSC Rider 85: Prohibits the use of any state funds to pay direct or indirect costs associated with abortion procedures provided by any state contractors. Prohibits the distribution of any Women’s Health Services for Family Planning funds to elective abortion providers or any entities that contract with or provide funds to elective abortion providers
HHSC Rider 87: Lays out the requirements that must be met in order for the affiliate of any elective abortion provider to receive family planning funds.

Companies and investors dealing with Iran aid a threatening foreign regime that is pursuing nuclear- weapons capability, brutally repressing its citizens while knowingly violating human rights, and sponsoring insidious forms of terrorism. Based on these dangerous actions antithetical to American security and prosperity, U.S. state governments, which manage trillions of dollars of taxpayer money through pension funds, should divest from and deny contracts to companies that do business in Iran, as is expressly allowed for by federal law.

In the 83rd Texas legislative session, we as lawmakers enacted SB 200 to do precisely that. Under the bill, all “state governmental entities”, including the Employees Retirement System, the Teacher Retirement System, and all municipal, county, and local retirement systems, are required to divest from companies that are engaged in business activities in Iran. In addition, the State Pension Review Board is instructed to create a list of all “scrutinized” Texas companies that have contracts with or provide supplies (both military and non-) or services to the government of Iran, as well as ones in which the Iranian government has a direct or indirect equity share. The list must be updated annually and distributed to the legislature and attorney general. For each company engaged in active business operations in Iran:

• A state governmental entity must send a notice warning the company that it may become subject to divestment by state governmental entities.
• The company has an opportunity to clarify its Iran-related activities and whether they are subject to the state’s divestment scheme. If the company continues to have scrutinized active business operations in Iran following the warning, the state must sell, redeem, divest, or withdraw all publicly-traded securities of the company.
• All of the divested assets must be removed from state’s investment portfolio.
• Each year, a publicly available report is filed that identifies all securities sold, redeemed, divested.

[1]See Douglas F. Gansler, “Uniting States Against Iran,” Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2013, available at http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324662404578332622153212746#articleTabs=article(citing National Association of State Budget Officers study).

[2] 22 U.S.C. 8532 § 202(b).

Planned Parenthood Investigation Update

Last week, the Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee began it’s investigation into the alleged marketing and sale of organs derived from aborted babies. The committee is examining the business practices of Planned Parenthood and also whether state or federal laws were broken. Witnesses discussed ways to strengthen laws regulating abortion providers and further restrictions on the sale of fetal tissue.

The committee invited Planned Parenthood to testify but only minutes before the hearing began Planned Parenthood declined to appear and answer questions. Instead of testifying, representatives of Planned Parenthood held a rally outside the Capitol.

I believe these videos and the testimony only furthers what we in the pro-life community have long known – Planned Parenthood has very little to do with women’s health and is more about financial gain.

I am proud to have voted again this year to continue Texas’ defunding of Planned Parenthood and to receive a 100% rating from Texas Right to Life.

Kate’s Law

Last week I also signed a letter with colleagues encouraging the Texas Congressional Delegation to enact Kate’s Law. Under the proposed federal law, previously deported criminal aliens who return illegally to the United States would be subject to mandatory jail terms of five years upon conviction. This legislation is named for Kate Steinle, a young woman who was murdered by a criminal alien in San Francisco with multiple prior criminal convictions and five previous deportations.

To view the letter, click HERE.

Successful ALEC Annual Meeting

I am proud to serve as this year’s national chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC’s membership includes 25% of America’s state legislators. Our private sector members create over 30 million jobs in America. Our mission is to bring business leaders, subject matter experts, and state officials together to develop policies that promote free markets, limited government and the rebalancing of state and federal powers.

I just returned from ALEC’s summer conference where over 1,300 attendees (350 first-time attendees) and 71 members of the media heard from presidential candidates, participated in dozens of workshops and training sessions and discussed free-market policies that will have a measurable impact on economic freedom in the states.

Pictured from left to right: Lisa Nelson, CEO of ALEC; Rep. Linda Upmeyer, Iowa Majority Leader; Gov. Mike Huckabee; Rep. Phil King; Sen. Leah Vukmir, Wisconsin; Sen. Jim Buck, Indiana

Pictured from left to right: Rep. Linda Upmeyer, Iowa Majority Leader; Rep. Phil King; Gov. Scott Walker; Sen. Leah Vukmir, Wisconsin; Sen. Bill Cadman, Colorado Senate President

PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Yesterday an undercover video of a Planned Parenthood executive staff member was released showing the doctor discussing Planned Parenthood’s ability to preserve a baby’s organs while conducting an abortion and to sell them for medical research. I can think of nothing more offensive and hideous. Shortly after the release of this viral video, Governor Abbott called for an investigation into these allegations. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Office of the Texas Attorney General will be conducting the investigation. If these allegations are found to be true, these horrible acts must be stopped at all cost and all involved must be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE COUNCIL
Next week I’ll attend the annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council. I am currently serving as 2015 national chair, which has been a very rewarding experience.

ALEC is where conservative policy makers, business leaders and think tanks come together to find new ideas, best practices and model policies. We pursue free markets, limited government and the realignment of state and federal powers.

A quarter of America’s state legislators are members of ALEC. Together we represent more than 60 million constituents.

Our Texas legislators will have dozens of learning opportunities and outstanding policy discussions next week. We will be hearing from several presidential candidates and more again at our winter meeting. I know they’ll bring great ideas home along with a lot of encouragement to keep up the good fight.

For more information about ALEC, click HERE.

TEXAS CONSERVATIVE COALITION
This week the Texas Conservative Coalition announced the legislators designated as “Courageous Conservative”. I am honored to have received this recognition along with a number of other colleagues.

WE REFLECT ON A SUCCESSFUL SESSION

The Texas House delivered one conservative victory after another in the 84^th Legislature by cutting taxes, making the border region safer, improving education, funding transportation, protecting life and defending Second Amendment rights.

BUDGET

We continued to keep Texas on strong fiscal ground by passing a state budget that keeps growth beneath 2 percent per year. The budget, House Bill 1, grows less than population and inflation, it stays well beneath the constitutional spending cap and it leaves more than $11 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Even as it limits spending, however, the budget provides additional funding for education, border security, transportation and child protection.

TAX RELIEF

With a budget surplus provided by the success of the private sector, we worked throughout the session to deliver tax relief. Those efforts paid off as the Legislature approved nearly $4 billion in tax relief: a 25 percent reduction in the business margins tax, as well as a $10,000 increase in the homestead exemption, which will provide relief for homeowners.

BORDER SECURITY

The House demonstrated its commitment to border security early in the session by passing House Bills 10 and 11. House Bill 10 takes new steps to fight and eliminate human trafficking. House Bill 11 provides hundreds of new state troopers along the Texas-Mexico border while strengthening efforts to fight and prosecute border-related crimes. In addition, the budget provides a historic amount of funding – more than $800 million – for border security.

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

The Texas population and economy are growing rapidly, straining roads and highways. The Legislature addressed transportation this session without raising taxes, fees or tolls.

The budget ends diversions of the State Highway Fund, meaning all of the money in that fund will pay for transportation instead of other programs. That change increased transportation funding by $1.3 billion over two years. We also supported Senate Joint Resolution 5, a proposed constitutional amendment that would dedicate at least $2.5 billion of state sales tax revenue to transportation every two years.

PRO-LIFE

The Legislature has repeatedly defended the rights of the unborn in recent years and continued to do so in this year’s session. The Legislature passed critical pro-life bills, further defunded Planned Parenthood and expanded funding for alternatives to abortion. House Bill 3994 reforms the judicial bypass process for minors seeking abortions. These reforms will protect and strengthen parents’ rights while also increasing oversight of the bypass process. House Bill 3074, another crucial bill passed by the Legislature, addresses end of life issues and requires artificial hydration and nutrition to be provided to patients in the natural process of death.

2ND AMENDMENT

We also achieved two long-sought Second Amendment priorities this session with the passage of House Bill 910, which allows for the licensed open carry of handguns, and Senate Bill 11, which will expand the rights of Concealed Handgun License holders to possess their guns on college campuses.

PASTOR PROTECTION

In addition, we passed Senate Bill 2065, which protects pastors from lawsuits or criminal prosecution if they refuse to perform marriages that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.

This has been THE most successful legislative session in my tenure. I look forward to visiting with you in the district and discussing these victories in further detail. Thank you for all of your kind words and support.

We are in the homestretch of the 84th Legislature. With the exception of Friday, the House was in session late each night this week trying to work through the backlog of proposed legislation. Over the next two weeks, I believe we will complete work on historic tax cuts, a very conservative state budget, open carry, ethics reform, regulatory reform and border security, among other critical matters. I should have much more to report next week.

Wise County Added to Disaster Declaration

Due to the intense storms this month, Wise County has been added to Governor Abbott’s recent “State of Disaster” Declaration. Other counties included in the declaration are Bosque, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Eastland, Gaines, Grimes, Hood, Montague, Navarro, Smith, and Van Zandt counties. I commend Judge J.D. Clark for his leadership and hard work to help coordinate state resources for Wise County. By adding Wise County to his declaration, Governor Abbott has ensured that a wide range of state resources to help residents and businesses affected by the tornados and floodwaters are available. My office will work closely with the Governor’s to support Wise County residents.

For additional safety tips related to tornadoes, thunderstorms and flooding, see:
http://dps.texas.gov/dem/ThreatAwareness/weather_aware_severe.htm

The American Red Cross has established the following website for individuals in impacted areas: https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php

Texas Ranked #1 for Business Again

CEO Magazine recently rated Texas the #1 place to do business for the 11^th year in a row! Just more evidence that our Texas Model creates an environment where businesses can flourish. I think it’s interesting that every state included in the top five rankings has a Republican governor. Texans know that limited government provides the greatest opportunity for businesses to thrive, and it is gratifying to see this model successfully work around the nation.

Major Pro-Life Victory

Earlier this week the House passed HB 3994 which addresses the issue of judicial bypass. Judicial bypass allows a minor to seek an abortion without the permission of their parents in certain cases with approval by a judge. The United States Supreme Court mandates this process, which I find deeply disturbing. Pro-abortion groups have worked to exploit judicial bypass removing parents further from the process. HB 3994 adds reforms and strengthens parental rights. This was a major pro-life victory. The bill will now head to the Senate where I expect it to pass and be signed by Governor Abbott.

Republican Caucus Letter Supporting Traditional Marriage

I, along with 92 of my colleagues in the House Republican Caucus, signed a letter affirming our support for Article 1, Section 32 of the Texas Constitution this week. This section of our Constitution was overwhelmingly passed by Texas voters and affirms that marriage is between one man and one woman. The letter also stressed that states should make the decision on marriage – not the federal government. Traditional marriage has been a bedrock institution of our country since we were founded over 200 years ago. I’m proud to see House Republicans united and standing strong on this issue.

Mike Huckabee Visit

My good friend, Governor Mike Huckabee, was in Austin this week for a campaign stop. Although I haven’t endorsed anyone for the 2016 presidential race, I am always happy to see Mike when he’s in Texas. I was also joined by some of my fellow House members.

Visiting with Governor Huckabee at his campaign event

Terry and I were joined for a photo by fellow House members and Governor Huckabee.

There are just over three weeks before the 84^th Legislative Session comes to a close. The House has been hard at work this week tackling some issues that will make a positive impact on our state for years to come.

Tightening Spending Limits

The House passed House Joint Resolution 111 this week, which limits budget growth and brings greater transparency to how your tax dollars are spent. I am a proud coauthor on HJR 111 because the Legislature shouldn’t spend money it doesn’t have. HJR 111 will ensure future legislators spend tax dollars for the purpose they were originally allocated and don’t divert them to pay for other programs. It is also important to note this legislation will help the Comptroller provide a more accurate revenue forecast to future legislatures so they can know what our state can allocate toward the budget.

Hearing on Seismic Activity

The House Energy Resources Committee met this week to hear invited testimony regarding seismic activity. Experts who conducted the SMU study presented information to the committee indicating that seismic activity is tied to disposal wells in Azle and Reno. They also indicated that recent quakes in Dallas County were not linked to oil & gas production.

Just this week Johnson County experienced an earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale. As a member of the Energy Resources Committee, I can tell you the Legislature and the Railroad Commission are taking this issue very seriously. The day after the seismic activity in Johnson County, top Railroad Commission personnel were on the ground inspecting wells to ensure their integrity. The House is also fast tracking $4.4 million for the purchase of seismographs and other resources to determine the cause of exactly why these events continue to occur in North Texas.

Texas Time?

One of the more interesting debates on the House floor this week was on House Bill 150, which, had it passed, would have eliminated daylight savings time in Texas. My office has been contacted by a sizable number of constituents asking me to support this legislation. Unfortunately, it failed to pass by a vote of 56-79. An amusing part of the debate was when the House unanimously adopted an amendment that would have put our state on “Texas time” had House Bill 150 become law. In reality if the bill became law we would simply stay on Central Standard Time. Like many of you who called my office to support ending daylight savings time, I find the practice of “falling back” and “rolling forward” tedious and unnecessary. That’s why I voted for this legislation. There’s a slight chance House Bill 150 could be taken up by the House again before the session comes to a close. I will keep you updated if this issue is addressed again.

Important Session Deadlines

With 22 days left in this session, there are procedural deadlines that are important to note. House committees must report out major bills by May 11th, and the House must begin debate on these bills by May 14th. Committees have until May 23rd to report out Senate bills. May 31st is the last day for the House and Senate to adopt conference committee reports.

Honoring Dana Ables

I had the privilege of honoring Dana Ables on the House floor this week for her 47 years of service as a public school teacher. Ms. Ables, who recently retired from Millsap ISD, was a mentor to many of her students and fellow educators. I also enjoyed visiting with her colleagues who made the trip down to the Capitol. There is no doubt Ms. Ables has made a tremendous impact on the lives of countless children in House District 61, and I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Ms. Ables (center left) and her colleagues from Millsap ISD

Looking Ahead/Update on Major Legislation

This coming week the House will take up legislation addressing:

• The protection of traditional marriage
• Judicial bypass for minors seeking an abortion
• E-verify for state contractors
• My legislation to reduce Obamacare taxes

The House and Senate are currently working to find solutions on Open Carry, tax cuts, border security, removing the Public Integrity Unit from the Travis County DA’s office and state budget. I expect all of these to pass and will continue to keep you updated on each of these items as they progress.