He is risen! With the Easter holiday upon us, many of us will join together with family and friends to search for Easter eggs, enjoy an Easter lunch, or maybe take a long nap on Sunday afternoon. While these are all part of the Easter tradition, I hope you and your family will make time to celebrate the true reason for the holiday — the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. As 1 Peter 1:3 reminds us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” He is risen indeed!
With that, here’s an update from your State Capitol. . .
Legislative Update
After another busy week at the Capitol, I want to highlight several pieces of legislation the Texas House passed this week that help protect life, increase access to mental health services, and provide our law enforcement officers with the resources they deserve.
As a pro-life conservative, I was proud to co-author and help pass House Bill 16 to help bolster protections for our most vulnerable Texans. The Texas Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, protects infants who survive abortion procedures, ensuring they receive the same diligent, professional medical care given to any other child born in that hospital. Given the recent national attention to the abhorrent practice of infanticide, and the refusal of Congress to take action against this practice, the Texas House reaffirmed our commitment to protect the sanctity of life for all newborns by providing for a cause of action for the surviving child or their family against physicians who fail to provide the appropriate medical treatment to a newborn.
The Texas House also passed House Bills 14, 19, and 1070, which together will provide the resources and support to address mental health concerns in Texas public schools. By providing additional resources for training and putting a greater emphasis on mental health awareness, we can ensure that teachers and administrators are effectively identifying and treating children with mental health issues, which will help prevent the loss of critical developmental, academic, and emotional maturity.
Another piece of legislation I’d like to highlight, House Bill 14, creates a student loan repayment assistance program for future peace officers, which helps address the growing shortage of officers throughout the state. Everyday our peace officers put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe, and this legislation is our way of having their back to provide the resources needed to attract the best law enforcement candidates in the state.
Reminders
The mobile office is on the road this month and looks forward to seeing you on the following dates, in the following locations: April 24th at the San Augustine County Courthouse in San Augustine from 9:00-11:00am.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact our office if we can help you in any way. Our district office may be reached at (936) 634-2762, or you can call my Capitol office at (512) 463-0508
