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Our founding fathers realized that “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” were among the most essential of the unalienable rights bestowed upon us by our Creator. Over the past several weeks a debate has been raging in Austin over the first and greatest of these enumerated rights: life. Governor Perry has now called the legislature back into a second special legislative session to pass a bill that would help protect innocent lives, but will also go a long way toward protecting women’s health.

I am one of four joint-authors on HB 2, which has four main components: it would 1) prohibit abortions in Texas after 5 months; 2) require that a doctor personally administer abortion-inducing drugs to patients; 3) require abortions be performed in ambulatory surgical centers, which have more stringent health and safety requirements than do current abortion clinics; and 4) require that doctors performing abortions in Texas have credentials for a hospital within 30 miles of where they are performing abortions. This legislation is focused on improving the standard of healthcare for women and saving lives.

The main objection of the opposition to this legislation has been that they want to be able to abort babies even after the fifth month of pregnancy, when it has been proven the unborn baby feels pain at this juncture of a pregnancy. The opposition claims to stand for women’s health, but the fact is that after 5 months abortions can be extremely dangerous to a woman’s health and even be life threatening. Additionally, when polled, 62% of Texans say that they support banning abortions after 5 months.

I am happy to report that we passed HB 2 out of the House of Representatives yesterday. It now moves to the Senate for consideration. Should this legislation pass, thousands of lives a year will be saved in Texas, and at the same time the standard of care for women who decide to receive an abortion will improve greatly.

I look forward to continuing to stand up with my colleagues in the legislature to defend the life of the precious and defenseless unborn.

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

Contact Information:
(817) 381-8282

AUSTIN – The following statement may be attributed to State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford):

“Over the past few weeks my office has received a number of phone calls and emails concerning the dumping of human waste at locations in both Parker and Wise counties. We believe that the company responsible for this has been hired by the City of Fort Worth and are awaiting confirmation of this fact.”

“As soon as my office was notified of this issue, I contacted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and asked them to look into the matter. I am assured that the TCEQ has begun an enforcement action against the company. However, it also appears that the current regulations are insufficient to protect neighboring property owners. Therefore, beginning June 18, the TCEQ will begin a formal ‘rule making’ process to change the rules on dumping of waste such as this, to ensure the health and safety of Texans. This process will be an open one in which concerned parties have an opportunity to testify in front of the agency and give their input on this important matter.”

“My office will continue to monitor this situation and stay engaged in the rule making process as it moves forward.”

Contact Information:
(817) 381-8282

WEATHERFORD – The following statement may be attributed to State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) regarding the lesson plans provided by CSCOPE:

“My office has received numerous inquiries regarding the status of the CSCOPE lesson plans that many public schools utilize. This came to the attention of the legislature only in the last few months. As of May 20th, in response to legislators, concerned parents and many educators across Texas, the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC) board announced it would permanently remove all lesson plans from its websites and would cease providing lesson plans through CSCOPE.”

“Additionally, this month, the Texas Legislature passed SB 1406. This new law requires that any lesson plans developed similar to CSCOPE must be approved by the State Board of Education (SBOE). The oversight from SBOE will afford parents and all Texans an opportunity for oversight and input.”

State Representative Phil King

Today marks the final day of the 83rd Texas Legislative Session. While it is likely we will be called back by the Governor into a special legislative session in the very near future to address redistricting, I wanted to share with you some of what was accomplished this session.

The following are just a few of the bills that I supported and/or sponsored, which I believe will keep Texas the best place in the country to raise a family and do business:

• Small business tax relief: HB 500 is a bill that offers over $700 million in business tax relief and makes permanent the $1 million small business tax exemption.
• Water: We passed two significant bills related to water. HB 4 puts in place a $2 billion water infrastructure bank, which will provide more than $27 billion in long-term funding for small communities like those in Parker and Wise counties to improve and enhance their water systems, ensuring the water needs of Texas are met for generations to come. HB 2767 is a bill I authored that removes the barriers to recycling produced water and frack water in the production of oil and gas.
• Drug testing for recipients of unemployment benefits: SB 21 takes a critical step toward decreasing fraud and ensuring the taxpayers of Texas are not subsidizing addictions of benefit recipients.
• TRS reform: The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), one of the largest pension funds in the nation, has had over $26 billion in unfunded liabilities and could not fully cover promised benefits to teachers and educators. TRS will now be actuarially sound moving forward, because of SB 1458, a reform bill that will ensure it will be there to provide for teachers for decades to come.
• Public education high stakes testing reform: HB 5 is a bill that will reduce the number of end-of-course assessments from 15 to 5. The bill also eliminates intrusive state mandates on our schools and provides flexibility for students to develop their individual talents and pursue their interests.
• Eminent domain: I was the sponsor of SB 655, which will protect Texas landowners by clarifying and strengthening existing law related to eminent domain in Texas to prevent certain entities from exercising that authority for improper purposes.

Some of the issues I believe the legislature must still address are: protecting human life through more stringent abortion laws; adequate transportation funding to ensure Texas remains the premier state in which to do business; greater education reform that will allow parents and school districts the flexibility to teach children the way they see fit, as opposed to bureaucrats in Austin; and legislation to enhance and expand our 2nd Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. I pledge to you that I will continue to work hard to see these issues addressed.

It has been an honor to serve the people of House District 61 during this legislative session. I look forward to continuing to work hard to limit the size of government to ensure that Texans have as much room as possible to prosper and enjoy their lives.

Contact Information:
(817) 381-8282

AUSTIN – This past weekend Governor Perry signed SB 655, sponsored by State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford), into law. This legislation clarifies and strengthens existing law related to eminent domain in Texas to prevent certain entities from exercising eminent domain for improper purposes.

“The legislature has made good strides over the past several years in protecting Texas landowners from abuses in the use of eminent domain,” King stated, “S.B. 655 adds to these protections by limiting the circumstances under which the ever-growing water and wastewater districts in Texas may exercise this authority. These districts will now be limited to exercising eminent domain only if the property they plan to take will be used for a public use, as opposed to ‘public purpose.’ The public use requirement is a much higher burden for the condemning authority to meet.”

S.B. 655 received more than a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the legislature, and is therefore effective immediately.

Contact Information:
(817) 381-8282

AUSTIN – Today, State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) successfully passed H.B 2767, a bill that removes impediments of water recycling in oil and gas production.

The total water use for hydraulic fracturing in Texas has increased from about 11 billion gallons in 2008 to approximately 26 billion gallons in 2011. Total water use is only expected to grow as studies project maximum water use up to approximately 58.5 billion a year by 2020. Under current practice, over 80% of all oil and gas wastewater is disposed in underground injection wells instead of being treated and re-used in drilling and hydro-fracturing activity.

“H.B. 2767 seeks to establish a framework to encourage water recycling in the oil and gas industry, a crucial step we must take as oil and gas production water usage continues to grow,” King stated, “The recovery of oil and gas waste is essential to support growth in the Texas oil and gas industry while preserving our precious water resources that are so strained during this long drought.”

H.B. 2767 will now go to the Texas Senate for approval.

Contact Information:
(817) 381-8282

AUSTIN – Today, State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) successfully amended H.B. 7, a bill dealing with certain revenues and accounts, to put in place a more stringent spending cap for the legislature. The amendment states that the legislature may not spend more than the rate of growth in population of the state plus the rate of growth of inflation.

“Texas has done a good job of being fiscally responsible with its spending during the tough economic times we have faced over the past few years,” King explained, “However, it is very important that we implement a conservative spending cap to ensure that even in the good times, Texas does not become irresponsible with its taxpayers’ dollars like the federal government has done.”

The bill will now go to the Senate for consideration along with King’s amendment.

Contact Information:
(817) 381-8282

AUSTIN – Today, State Representative Phil King (R – Weatherford) renewed his call for the head of the Travis County Public Integrity Unit to resign. Rosemary Lehmberg, the Travis County District Attorney, is currently serving a jail sentence for a DWI conviction in which she was three times over the legal limit. She has refused to resign from office. Ms. Lehmberg heads the Public Integrity Unit, the only law enforcement organization in Texas whose sole responsibility is to ensure the integrity of public officials.

King stated, “Anyone can make a mistake, but the belligerence Ms. Lehmberg showed to the police officers and jail personnel was extraordinary. The public should go on-line and review these recordings.”

Videos show that Ms. Lehmberg had to be physically restrained by jail personnel; even a “spit mask” was necessary. In recordings Ms. Lehmberg is seen arguing with officers and kicking the door to her cell.

Lehmberg: “If you wanna take me to jail, take me to jail. And you’re gonna ruin my career.”

Lehmberg: “I don’t care who you are but take these [expletive] handcuffs off me. Now! I mean like now! I am not drunk. I am not a criminal. I’m the [expletive] district attorney!”

The Public Integrity Unit was created by the legislature to investigate crimes by public officials. It is funded by the state, and the legislature may move the unit and its funding to another agency.

“I was a police officer for 15 years and I can assure you that any officer would have been terminated immediately for such conduct. In fact, I’m sure Ms. Lehmberg would fire her assistant prosecutors had they been arrested and then shown such direct contempt for the law,” King stated, “I strongly encourage Ms. Lehmberg to do what her position of public trust requires and immediately resign.”

State Representative Phil King

Friend –

As this legislative session moves along I wanted to update you on some of the important pro-family legislation my colleagues and I are working on to help strengthen religious liberty and protect the unborn.

One of the key pieces of pro-life legislation moving through the process is H.B. 2364, The Pre-Born Pain Act. This bill prohibits the performance of abortions after 20 weeks, making sure that abortions are never performed on unborn children capable of feeling pain. This bill will present attorneys fighting the legal battle against abortion in federal courts a new, unique approach to fight against the taking of the life of unborn children.

I am also proud to support a couple of very important religious liberty bills this session. First, HJR 110, is a constitutional amendment that says the state government may not burden a person’s freedom of religion. This bill is made necessary by recent misguided court cases in Texas disallowing students to say prayers at high school football games. H.B. 1525, the Religious Equal Access Act protects the right of a religious organization to gather and meet in public. H.B. 1525 codifies into Texas law the findings of the U.S. Supreme Court ensuring that all speech is protected and allowed in government-owned properties in our state, and prohibits school districts from treating religious organizations differently than they treat secular organizations regarding access to school campuses during non-instructional hours.

These are just a few of the bills the legislature is working on to help protect family values in Texas. All of them have an uphill battle, but I am committed to fighting for their passage. It is so important that we all continue to battle the moral decay of society in our homes, schools, churches, and halls of the legislature. Thank you for your support on these important issues. It is a pleasure to serve you in the Texas Legislature.

Sincerely,

Phil King

Contact Information:
(817) 381-8282

AUSTIN – State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) today expressed his frustration with high stakes testing and the public education system’s test-driven accountability system. As former Commissioner Robert Scott has stated, testing has become “a perversion of its original intent.” The heavy emphasis on testing as a measure of success in Texas public schools is failing our students.

“There is a better way to measure teacher, school, and student accomplishments than to have an education based primarily on testing,” King stated, “We must relieve districts of these burdensome mandates so schools can transition over to student-centered education. This will not only help school districts to manage their budget in tough economic times, but it will allow our students to receive a high-quality education where they will become more competitive and prepared.”

King went on to explain that there is a time and place for testing, however, it was never meant to be the main focus of our children’s education and such an arduous task for our teachers and faculty. Educators need to be given the flexibility to apply a range of learning experiences for our students to create high-quality education that is a well-rounded experience for all students.

“That is why I filed H.B. 290, which will allow school districts to have options and flexibility in testing their students,” King stated, “Schools would have the ability to select an assessment test that best fits their unique community.”

King said he has a strong belief that our local school boards and superintendents should have the ability to manage their funds and programs in a manner that best fits their community, and that history proves that local control remains the best system for managing education.

H.B. 290 will be heard in a public hearing in the House Committee on Public Education tomorrow, March 12th, at the Texas Capitol.