By State Rep. Brooks Landgraf
Things are as busy as they can get at the Texas Capitol these days. Like many, I’m proud Texas is one of the only states with a legislature that meets every other year. That is true limited government. But being the big state that we are, it does mean the legislature has a great deal of work to do for those 140 days every odd-numbered year.
First and foremost, the legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced state budget every two years. The state budget takes the form of a bill, and this session that bill is House Bill 1, which is going to be up for a vote on the House floor on April 6th. After HB 1 passes out of the Texas House of Representatives it will head over to the Texas Senate for their consideration.
While the budget is extremely important, it is not the only important thing that happens during a legislative session. Legislation pertaining to a wide range of issues is being publicly discussed and debated in committees and on the House and Senate floors at all hours of the day and night. Our state is serious about transparency, and laws have been passed to ensure Texans from every corner of the state are able to take part in and witness the legislative process in-person or from the comfort of their home.
I’m always so appreciative of the messages I receive from constituents. And your input is especially valuable during the months that we are in session. I encourage everyone to share their thoughts on what the legislature is doing and what you think the legislature should be doing. No matter what form the communication takes – be it phone calls, emails, Facebook messages, or smoke signals – I’m always eager to hear directly from you.
I especially love it when constituents make that long drive to the capitol building for a visit. Nothing beats a face-to-face conversation, especially when it is a friendly face from West Texas. No matter how busy things get during session, I always take time to visit with constituents who make the trip to the capitol. I was thankful to have the opportunity to visit with several constituent groups this week, including student groups from ECISD and Wink-Loving ISD. It’s a special honor to have the opportunity to be a positive influence on our students and witness the hands-on learning that takes place when they come see the legislature in action.
In addition to touring the capitol and visiting in my office, our student visitors were able to sit in on several committee hearings where I was proposing new legislation. Committee hearings are an important part of the legislative process where members of the House and Senate first present their legislative ideas for consideration prior to debate by the full House or Senate.
This was an especially busy week of committee hearings for me as I had nine of my own bills to lay out in various committees and three other hearings I had to attend as a member of the committee. I also had a committee hearing to run myself as the chairman of the House Environmental Regulation Committee, where I’m in a key position to defend the Texas industries from unnecessary and unpredictable regulations proposed by legislators who want Texas to have its own Green New Deal.
So far this session, I’ve laid out a total of sixteen bills, most of which are aimed at expanding or protecting individual liberty, improving public safety, defending Texas energy, or increasing government transparency. Most of the bills I laid out this week were in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee, where I presented legislation to increase the penalty for street racing, protect domestic violence victims, and increase access and improve the data available on the Texas Protective Order Registry created by Monica’s Law in 2019.
There’s much more work to be done and it is my honor to do it. Border security and property tax relief are among the top priorities for the 2023 Texas legislature in addition to passing a balanced budget. I’m also personally hard at work doing everything I can to ensure the Permian Basin gets its fair share of all of the blessings that come from energy production. Thankfully, Speaker Dade Phelan is also deeply committed to the communities that power the Texas oil and gas industry. He is from the downstream community of Beaumont and knows how connected our communities are, despite being over 500 miles apart, and how especially important our constituents are to the state of Texas.
I’ll keep my nose to the grindstone and look forward to delivering results that the Permian Basin deserves. I also look forward to when I can get back to spending most of my time in West Texas as opposed to inside the Texas Capitol. It is a beautiful and historic building but I much prefer the wide open spaces and sunsets of West Texas. Thank you for the honor and privilege to serve as your voice in the Texas House of Representatives.
God bless Texas!
