Area lawmakers gave an update on the long legislative session in Texas at the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Embassy Suites, 16435 Katy Freeway on November 28th.

The panelists were State Senator Joan Huffman, State Representative Stan Kitzman, State Representative Mike Schofield, State Representative Jacey Jetton and Holly Arbuckle, district director for U.S. Congressman Morgan Luttrell. The panel was moderated by Robert Long, Division Director for Board Development Services at Texas Association of School Boards.

Long noted that this legislative session – including four special sessions – has been exhausting for lawmakers. He asked how historic the session was and how costly it was for taxpayers. Schofield said that there have been only three times in Texas history when the legislature was still in session at Thanksgiving, saying it was historic but becoming more common. “[Being a legislator] is meant to be a part-time job,” he said. “It’s important that we live the same life you do.” Schofield praised the historic tax cut in property taxes. “It is fundamentally not the role of government to tax you out of your home.”

The group also discussed Senate Bill 3 and Senate Bill 4, which are related to border security. Senate Bill 3 provides $1.5 million toward over 100 miles of border wall construction, said Jetton. “It’s a good investment and another tool we can use,” Jetton said. “This will be important for Operation Lone Star.”

Senate Bill 4 is an immigration law that would allow Texas police to arrest people for illegally crossing the border from Mexico. The bill has been controversial in some quarters, Huffman said. “The feds have dropped the ball on this.” Huffman said the bill is crafted to preserve constitutional rights of those crossing the border; it allows immigrants to receive due process and get a translator. “The feds are already doing this,” Huffman added, saying that the federal government was not enforcing the law. The law is needed in those counties that are being simply overrun, she said. Kitzman concurred, saying that border security is the number one issue across the state and “the primary thing on people’s minds”. He said that Border Patrol and National Guardsmen on the border needed more tools in order to do their jobs.

From a federal perspective, Arbuckle said it doesn’t matter what laws are passed if the federal government will not enforce them, and that this situation is very frustrating for Congressman Luttrell. “We should not have to be doing this – the federal government should be doing this, but they are not.”

Long also led a discussion on vouchers and school choice and the governor’s decision to continue to call special sessions. Jetton said that it was possible to have both parental choice and a good education. “School choice is available to wealthy families,” said Jetton, noting that not all families have that choice. “We need to have a real conversation about what is really in these bills,” he said, adding that there are parameters in there for accountability and to prevent fraud. Huffman said that education is the biggest driver of the budget noting that 51% of the state budget goes to public education. She said that she was sure that the voucher issue would resurface in the next legislative session.

Long asked each panelist to share what they were most proud of in the work they were doing “for the people” this year. Kitzman began by praising the accomplishments of the legislative session, which

delivered the property tax cut, the “right to farm” and other issues which had been battled at the grassroots level for years. Schofield was proud of the property tax cut and the work on the border, but that he was most proud of the work he did on behalf of his district, especially the portion of unincorporated Harris County, which is in Houston’s extra-territorial jurisdiction. The ETJ governs how residents can use their land but landowners can’t vote in Houston city elections, Schofield said. He said that since he has been in the legislature, he has been fighting to get people out of Houston’s ETJ, and that this session he worked with State Representative Cecil Bell to craft a bill which would enable people and subdivisions to exit the ETJ by request. Huffman said that the state had historic revenues and that “it was spent responsibly,” again praising the property tax relief and the constitutional amendments which were drafted and passed. Jetton was proud of his work on the Appropriations committee and the work on border security. Arbuckle said that Congressman Luttrell was most proud of his work on veterans’ affairs and his bill to protect kids who are crossing the border, ensuring that they are released into proper custody.