AUSTIN State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, took the oath of office on Tuesday at the Texas Capitol to once again serve the Permian Basin as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.
Landgraf and the other members of the Texas legislature convened at the Texas Capitol building for the 87th Texas Legislative Session Tuesday.
Members of the Texas House and Texas Senate meet for a 140-day regular session beginning the second Tuesday in January every odd-numbered year to vote on legislation and pass a balanced state budget.
“The good people who live and work in Andrews, Ector, Ward, and Winkler counties deserve to have their voices heard loud and clear in their state government,” Landgraf said in a news release. “It’s a distinct honor to serve hardworking West Texans in the Texas House of Representatives.”
During the next 140 days, the Texas House of Representatives, along with the Texas Senate, will consider legislation on hundreds of issues impacting the state, including solutions to address the state’s $1 billion budget deficit that is a result of the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19 closures and the drop in global demand for oil.
This is the first legislative session since 2019, as Texas is one of the only states in the nation with a legislature that does not meet every year. In addition to passing a balanced state budget without raising taxes, Landgraf’s priorities this session include increasing transparency at every level of government, creating a statewide active shooter alert system, curtailing the ability of bureaucracies to operate without public oversight during times of disaster, and reducing the negative impact of “Robin Hood” and STAAR testing on public school students and families in the oil patch.
“I took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution,” Landgraf said. “This duty is the ultimate role of any elected official, and an oath I will diligently uphold as I continue fighting to ensure West Texas voices are heard in the chambers and halls of their state Capitol.”
