As I spent time in Austin during the last legislative session, my eyes were opened to how lawmakers fix the rules to provide cover with their constituencies while sabotaging their own legislative priorities.  Many common sense measures were simply left to die in committee.   Any bill that passes through the assigned committee should be placed on the Calendar in a timely manner for debate of the full House.  To play politics by refusing to schedule a bill on the Calendar is an obstructionist tactic and Texans deserve better. 

The use of Calendar committees to “kill” legislation without fingerprints, the “rosebush” blocker bill to require a two thirds majority in the Senate for every bill, and many other legislative tricks including stalling public testimony in committees causing undue hardships on Texas citizens who come to Austin to testify, are all tactics that must be addressed to keep the political elites from stopping the people’s business.  I believe that the first step towards making the lawmaking process more free and transparent would be to replace the current corrupt Speaker, Joe Straus.  Without Joe Straus and his lieutenants exercising control over all the House committees, I believe that a real man of honor would be open to changes in the way bills are passed.

Also, Texas state government must be downsized to a constitutionally-based government.  Texas government is weighted down with far too many overlapping and duplicated efforts by numerous bureaucratic dominions.  State government should be reduced down to its constitutional core functions, and be performed efficiently and effectively as possible to achieve measurable results.  All state departments, agencies, commissions, funds, and programs should be evaluated against a defined state constitutional authority.   It is time to get state government back to performing its basic fundamental functions: 

• Public education
• Transportation (prioritized funding for the orderly, efficient flow of traffic; maintenance of state highways, bridges, and ROWs – not new parks, bike trails and walking trails in a bad economy)
• Criminal justice system (law enforcement, corrections, court systems)
• State guard and emergency response services
• Management of natural resources and agriculture
• And, health services for the most indigent citizens and legal residents among us. 

If constitutional authority cannot be specifically cited for a department, agency, commission, fund, or program, state funding (taxpayer support) should be terminated.  Should these state entities pass constitutional muster, they must be properly scoped to match the money available. 

Finally, state legislation must be passed with respect to interior enforcement of immigration laws intended to direct state resources, services, and jobs to citizens and legal residents; to uphold the rule of law; to reduce taxpayer subsidies for illegal aliens; and to protect the safety, security, and financial stability of citizens and legal residents.  If elected, I will faithfully serve to work towards these state government reforms.