Weekly Newsletter – July 1, 2011

July 1, 2011

Dear Friends,

This week the House of Representatives wrapped up the special session. The Governor placed a number of important items on the call including:

• Legislation relating to fiscal matters necessary for the implementation of House Bill No. 1 as passed by the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, including measures that will allow school districts to operate more efficiently.
• Legislation relating to health care cost containment, access to services through managed care, and the creation of economic and structural incentives to improve the quality of Medicaid services.
• Legislation relating to Congressional redistricting.
• Legislation relating to reform of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).
• Legislation relating to the elimination of sanctuary cities.
• Legislation relating to searches performed by the Transportation Security Agency (TSA).

Each of these initiatives was fully debated during the special session and the Legislature succeeded in passing many of them. My colleagues and I passed SB 7 which will make numerous changes to health care law in Texas and will result in critical cost savings. SB 7 includes policies that will enable us to better detect food stamp fraud, reduce emergency room visits, and put an end to state-funded, elective abortions. In addition to health care reform, we also crafted a new congressional map for redistricting and as a result, Republicans picked up three additional congressional seats.

One of the highest priorities of the special session was repairing the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. With hurricane season upon us, it was imperative that TWIA be reformed so that it can adequately protect our coastal communities. Thankfully, HB 3 was passed and is currently awaiting the Governor’s approval.

Despite valiant efforts by the House, neither sanctuary cities legislation (SB 9) or TSA legislation (HB 41) was approved during the special session. As a supporter of each of these initiatives, I am disappointed by their failure. As you will recall, the House passed anti- sanctuary cities legislation during the regular session, but the Senate was unable to do the same. During the special session, amid concerns that the original language of SB 9 could be ruled unconstitutional, the leadership attempted to attach compromise language prohibiting sanctuary cities to a broad government funding bill, SB 1. While this new language would have withstood a constitutional challenge, the Senate failed to adopt it and anti-sanctuary cities legislation was not passed. I hope this will be a priority for next session because it is imperative that we eliminate these safety zones that allow criminal illegal immigrants to have free reign.

Regarding HB 41(a.k.a. TSA), the House passed TSA legislation during the regular session, but the Senate failed to pass it. The purpose of this legislation was to put an end to invasive pat-downs at our airports. Although this bill was very popular with many members of the House and received a substantial amount of support from the public, the bill failed to gain final approval. This legislation went through my committee, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, and with my support, was voted out seven to one. The bill needed 120 votes to be heard on the House floor but with 26 members voting “no” and 26 members absent, the motion fell short by 24 votes. Although the bill did not pass, Texas’ decision to seriously examine this issue has garnered national attention, and I hope that this will prompt the TSA to re-evaluate and reform its search procedures.

That said, the primary reason the Legislature was called back for a special session was to approve a large government funding bill necessary to balance our budget, also known as SB 1. Among many things, SB 1 would have enacted $4 billion of cuts from state aid to school districts. I, along with 13 other Republicans, voted against SB 1 because I believe that we need to protect our schoolchildren. SB 1 also includes the so-called Amazon tax, which creates an unfriendly business environment and may cause our state to lose jobs. I cannot support such a tax.

I also opposed SB 8 during the special session. This bill contained provisions that were supposed to provide “increased flexibility to schools. ” However, in reality, this bill would be responsible for enlarging class sizes and would make it easier to lay teachers off, cut their pay and take away contract rights. I voted no on SB 8 because I am not willing to compromise the integrity of our educational system. We need to bolster our system, not weaken it.

(Rep. Carter and Rep. Wayne Christian (R- Nacogdoches) discuss legislation on the House floor.)

Honors for Outstanding Legislative Performance & Fiscal Responsibility

Although the 82nd Legislature was a challenge, there is so much of which to be proud. Personally, I sent six bills to the Governor and each was signed into law. In addition, I am proud to have received two important honors and awards.

Honorable Mention, Top Freshman Class, Best of the Legislature List

Capitol Inside, a non-partisan source of news about the government and the people serving in it, recognized me as one of the top-performing freshman representatives during the 82nd Legislature. The freshman class of the 82nd Legislature included more than 30 representatives, giving Capitol Inside plenty of names from which to choose in creating a list of outstanding members. I am honored to have been included on the list and am I am grateful to be recognized for my accomplishments.

Taxpayer Champion Award

I also received the prestigious 2011 Taxpayer Champion award, which is the top accolade awarded by the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. The award is given to those who earned an exemplary rating, or “A” rating, for exhibiting high fiscal austerity and for promoting free enterprise issues. I was one of only 28 House members to be awarded this distinction. Having been elected to serve during a time of financial crisis, some very tough decisions had to be made. Throughout it all, I have strived to support legislation that makes responsible spending cuts and oppose legislation that would institute fees. My rating certainly confirms that I did a good job of voting accordingly.

Now that the session is complete, I am looking forward to returning to Dallas, getting feedback on the session, and preparing for the 83rd. In the meantime, I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July and invite you to please stay in touch by visiting my House website and my Facebook page.

As always, I’m honored to be your voice in Austin.

Sincerely,

Stefani Carter