Texas GOP Vote

Citing a violation of Article 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution and other unconstitutional actions, Houston businessman, Dr. Steven Hotze, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Houston on Tuesday against the federal government. The lawsuit addresses previously un-addressed constitutional issues.

Dr. Hotze announced the lawsuit in a heavily covered press conference at the Texas Capitol surrounded by a host of members of the Texas House and Senate along with Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst.

Following the press conference, Dr. Hotze spoke with TexasGOPVote in the Reception Room adjacent the office of Texas Governor Rick Perry, where he spoke about the impact of ObamaCare on small businesses and why this law is unconstitutional.   Read more »

Harris County taxpayers should consider a trip to the beautiful Texas “pink granite” capitol Tuesday to testify at the House education committee in favor of Rep. Debbie Riddle’s HB945 that would save Harris County taxpayers at least $18,000,000 annually in reduced property taxes. (Details here.)

Numerous fiscal and education conservatives have weighed in on the Harris County School Board of Trustees (HCSBT) presently doing business as the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE). (Note this is a DBA only…it is NOT a department of Harris County government). Attempts have been made in the past decade to dismantle or defund this entity that should have naturally gone out of existence in the 1960s with the complete conversion of schools from county-run to independent school districts (ISDs).   Read more »

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about some of the things that have been going on during the interim in our community and across our great state of Texas.

Appropriations

Recently, the Appropriations Committee was updated on the state's economy. We heard reports from the Comptroller's office as well as the Legislative Budget Board and the State Auditor's Office. While the national economy is still struggling,

At the December meeting of the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce, Texas State Representative Debbie Riddle (R-150th) and Texans for Sensible Immigration Policy Founder Norman Adams teamed up for a fascinating debate on the subject of illegal immigration. Over 400 people attended the event including elected officials, candidates, business leaders and community activists on both sides of the fence. The debate was moderated by former Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt.

The sold out crowd was entertained and informed for the next 52 minutes as the two covered a variety of topics including border security, immigration reform, tax policy, driver's licenses for immigrants and leaky bathtubs.  One of the best things that came out of the debate was an illustration of how respectful debate by people who have many disagreements on a subject can find common ground and points upon which change can be made to move an issue forward.   Read more »

On Nov. 5th Major Nidal Hasan allegedly (we know he did it) shot and killed 14 human beings at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas. One of the murdered was an unborn baby. Private Francheska Velez, one of the victims of the massacre in Fort Hood, was nine weeks pregnant when she was gunned down by Hasan.   Read more »

Yesterday, in a move of uncharacteristic dexterity, the Texas Senate passed the TSA Anti-Groping Bill. The bill now is in the hands of our Texas House where I am confident it will be dispatched to the Governor for signing and a future court battle over Texans' right to travel without being molested and unreasonably searched.   Read more »

This week, in a partisan split 19-11 party-line vote, the Texas Senate Passed SB 14, Texas Voter ID Bill.  This bill will require Texas voters to present a photo ID, in most cases, in order to cast a ballot in Texas elections. The bill now moves on to the Texas House of Representatives where it will be met with several other House Voter ID Bills still under consideration.   Read more »

As the Texas Legislature was about to begin, Republican Representatives Phil King, Jim Murphy and Debbie Riddle paused to speak with me about the coming Speakers vote and legislative issues that were important to them to see through the upcoming session. TexasGOPVote was on the floor of the Texas House to bring the experience home to our readers.    Read more »

Texas State Rep. Debbie Riddle went On the Record with Greta Van Susteren to discuss the immigration bills she is proposing for Texas.

When asked how this bill relates to Arizona SB1070, Rep. Riddle explained that there are significant differences:    Read more »

Tomball State Representative Debbie Riddle literally camped out in Austin to get her bill posted and numbered first.  This is following up on a campaign promise to her constituents.  She posted several bills. For the purpose of this posting, I will discuss the six bills which touch on the topic of illegal immigrants in living and working in Texas. The reason for the "camp out" was to give her bills the symbolic "low number" on the bills.  The first 15 bill numbers are reserved for the Speaker to assign to bills he or she feels are important.