September signifies one of the most exciting times of the year. As fall rolls in we’ve come to expect the start of another football season, the opening day of dove hunting season, and we’re inching nearer to the Presidential Election just two months away. So, as we look forward to this new season with hope and optimism, here’s a quick update from your State Capitol in Austin . . .
An Update of Fantasy Sports
In recent days, I have heard from many of you regarding your concern about the regulation of fantasy sports in Texas. I appreciate your input and encourage all of you to write or email our office when you have a comment about what’s going on in state government. To this point, no measures have been taken at any level to restrict fantasy sports in our state. However, knowing the feelings of so many constituents who play and enjoy these games, I can assure you that that this issue will be highly monitored by my office throughout the interim, leading up to the 85th Legislative Session in January.
House Interim Charge: Transportation
Recently, the House Committee on Transportation met for one of its final hearings on the interim charges brought forth by the Texas House, in preparation for making recommendations for the upcoming session.
The Committee has met with stakeholders and studied topics such as how the Texas Department of Transportation can best respond in a natural disasters, particularly when it comes to minimizing evacuation times and getting people somewhere safe. Additionally, the Committee has heard spirited testimony on whether the state should adopt statewide uniform standards for licensing ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft.
Another ongoing issue is how the state can most efficiently use its resources when it comes to designing, building, and maintaining the roads we drive on every day. Currently, the state approves and awards transportation funding in many different ways, and it is critical that we let our local communities have input into this process. To this end, I was pleased to recently welcome the TXDOT Commission Chairman, Tryon Lewis, to our district so that he could see firsthand the unique transportation and safety needs that we have in this heavily forested part of the state.
Reminders
The mobile office is on the road for the month of September, and looks forward to seeing you around our district. Here’s our schedule for the month: September 7th, 9-11am – Leon County Courthouse, and 1:30-3:30pm – Madison County Courthouse Annex; September 21st, 9-11am – Houston County Courthouse Annex, and 1:30-3:30pm – Trinity County Courthouse; September 28th, 9-11am – San Augustine County Courthouse.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office if we can help you in any way. My district office may be reached at (936) 634-2762, or you can call my Capitol office at (512) 463-0508.
