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Political Report

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The Legislative Report
By SHEILAH PEPPER
The Gazette Staff
Rep. Bryan Hughes, our District five representative, has been supplying regular updates from Austin on activities in the Texas House. He recently spoke on the Fox Business Network on the Texas budget, limited government and keeping taxes low in the Lone Star State.
Here are the items he covered in his latest release which was sent to me, in his words:
Governor declares emergency items
As you may know, the Texas Constitution reserves the first 60 days of the Legislative Session for legislators to introduce bills and for Committees to organize and begin holding hearings
The Constitution also gives the Governor the authority to declare certain issues as emergency items, allowing the House and Senate to begin debating and voting on those bill sooner than other bills. Governor Rick Perry declared four issues as emergency items for the Session. These are requiring voter ID, protecting property rights, ending sanctuary cities and legislation urging the U.S. Congress to adopt a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
These bills reflect the common sense values we hold dear in Texas and I'm proud to support them.
Obamacare and Texas
Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 245-189 to repeal Obamacare. Unfortunately, it's not likely the Senate will follow suit. That's why I've joined 40 states in filing the Health Care Freedom Act, which protects each individual's right to make health care decisions and protects Texas taxpayers from unprecedented increases in Medicaid spending.
Texas is also one of 26 states that are challenging the constitutionality of the law. We expect the court challenge to be before the United States Supreme Court next year, but until then, I'll do whatever I can to protect Texans from an over-reaching federal government.
Government Reform
Here in Texas, we can be proud of our efforts to identify and eliminate waste, duplication and inefficiency in state government. The Sunset Advisory Commission reviews every state agency and recommends to the legislature whether the agency should be continued, reformed, or abolished. We've eliminated or consolidated 70 government agencies through this process. This year, 28 agencies are under Sunset review, including the Department of Transportation, the Commission on Environmental Quality, the Department of Insurance, and the Railroad Commission. This review process has saved Texas taxpayers over $700 million, and we lead the nation on reforms to modernize and limit government.
Rep. Hughes has represented Camp, Harrison, Upshur and Wood counties in the Texas House of Representatives since 2003. He is Vice Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, serves on the House Human Services Committee, and is co-chairman of a joint committee responsible for overseeing the state's welfare reform efforts. He is on the Board of Directors of the Texas Conservative Coalition.