Voice of the Conservative Vote: John Carona

Senator John Carona is the Texas State Senator of Senate District 16. First elected to the Texas Legislature in 1990, Senator John Carona is now in his sixth term in the Texas Senate, representing District 16 in Dallas County. Previously, Senator Carona was elected to three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. Senator Carona has distinguished himself in the Texas Legislature as an effective leader in addressing issues such as education, health care, criminal justice, banking, economic development, transportation, and homeland security - authoring or sponsoring over 550 bills that have become law and helped to streamline Texas government. Senator Carona currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, Joint Chairman of the Legislative Oversight Board on Windstorm Insurance, and as Co-Chairman of the Joint Committee to Study Seacoast Territory Insurance. He also serves as a member of the Senate Criminal Justice, Education, and Jurisprudence committees. Previously, he served as Chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee and as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting.

Through the years, Senator Carona has been honored by a variety of organizations for leadership in the Texas Legislature. With recognitions from business associations, animal advocates, child advocates, to teacher groups, and law enforcement - John Carona has been named a "Hero," three times a "Crime Fighter of the Year" a "Trailblazer," the "Most Valuable Player - Texas Senate," a "Maverick Who Mattered" and two times one of the "Ten Best Legislators," just to name a few.

Senator Carona has been a resident of Dallas since early childhood. Raised in East Dallas, he graduated from Bryan Adams High School and then, in 1978, went on to earn Bachelors of Business Administration degrees in insurance and real estate from The University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as president and CEO of a successful international realty management firm employing over 8,000 people. Senator Carona is married, a proud father of five children and grandfather to five - so far.

"We are finding in larger numbers than ever before the deliberate misclassification of workers from payroll to what used to be called ‘contract labor.' Our effort is just to bring some clarity to the law in terms of the definition of someone who is an employee versus someone who is truly an independent entity or independent contractor."