RICHMOND ­­­­— Lois Kolkhorst may have less to do with the Katy area now with this years redistricting, but that doesn’t mean she is going away.

The Texas State Senator was redistricted to cover more of Sugar Land while Senator Joan Huffman will take on the Katy and Cicno Ranch, but she still plans to be involved in the Katy community.

“Senator Huffman is a very senior senator and she’s going to do a great job,” Kolkhorst said. “But I will also tell you that I never go away. Once I represent you, I keep you. That’s true of my old house districts and I look forward to working with all of the officials all over Fort Bend County.”

Kolkhorst talked about the accomplishments of the Texas Senate and how the Katy and Fulshear area during Friday’s State of our Region speech at the Safari Texas Ranch in Richmond.

The State Senator laid out what she thought were the most important bills that came through the senate and passed in the last year, including ARPA funding, where 7.2 billion dollars was put into a compensation fund so local companies won’t get charge backs.

“At the time when we passed our funding bill, we were the only state in the nation that actually met all of the funding needed. Some complained that it was too much and wanted companies to pay for part of it, but the number one thing that drives our economy and the number one thing for all of us is to have a job and have our business thrive. So coming out of COVID, that’s the least that we can do.”

Kolkhorst also spent time talking about other bills, including a bill for funding broadband in rural areas and HB18, which helps uninsured people with prescriptions and life saving biologics such as insulin. She also spoke about a law that guarantees no child in the Child Protective Services System will have to sleep in CPS offices.

“We’re better than that as a state, not only is it in statute that no child will have to sleep in a CPS office, but we have increased the rates and were working right now. Those children that have to be removed from their homes, it’s very difficult, but we have to get them to the right place, and we have to get them the help they need. It’s not something we are ever going to solve, but we have to manage it, so we’re working every day to try and help the children that need us most.”

One of the most important bills to pass through the Texas senate this year according to Kolkhorst is one that increased funding for mental health services and hospitals. The state has invested nearly $2 billion in mental health hospitals.

A central part of Kolkhort’s speech was mental health, and she hopes the area continues to grow throughout the state and hopes that people can come together.

“We’ve had mental health issues and post COVID, we are seeing a lot more. This last session we funded more mental health services and hospitals than we ever have. We are actively pursuing this. It’s not something everyone needs but we have to continue to work on this because we have seen the damages that are going on with that. We have to keep getting better.”