Update from the Capitol - April 4, 2023

Hi Kronda,

Wishing you and your family blessings this week. There is a lot going on both here in Austin and back in the District for all of us.

This is the 13th week of the 88th Legislative Session -- one of our busiest so far. We have 8 bill hearings scheduled this week: four on Monday, three today, and one on Wednesday. On Thursday, HB 1 (the General Appropriations Bill, better known as "the budget bill") will go to the floor; that will be a long day and night of discussion as we prepare to appropriate the $302,000,000,000 needed to fund the operations of the State of Texas for the next biennium. I'm proud of the hard work that the Appropriations Committee has put in on this budget and look forward to sharing it with our colleagues.

Good Friday, I plan to head back to the District to spend time with my family for Easter weekend.

For each of the 22 bills on which I am the primary author, the bill will be referred to one of the 37 committees of the Texas House. Then, my office will request a committee hearing, and if we are granted one, I will go before the committee to present the bill and seek their approval for it to go the full House of Representatives for a vote.

One question that has been asked of me has been "is this what you expected?" My answer would be "more than I expected!" Friends and colleagues have made this learning curve a wonderful experience. I appreciate all of my HD65 constituents and community members contacting our office to share their opinion on legislation. Thank you for making your voice heard.

May this week be meaningful to you. I am humbled to come to the Capitol each day knowing that we are making a difference for the future of Texas.

Yours in service,

House Bill 1 is the culmination of months of preparation and research from the House Appropriations Committee, the Texas Comptroller's office, and hundreds of other contributors.

(I'm not personally taking that kind of credit. The Appropriations Committee was meeting well before I was even elected to office. It's true that the freshman appointees have put in lots of time since we joined the committee, but to fund an entire two-year budget is an ongoing effort that doesn't wait for the session to begin in Austin.)

The total funding provided by HB1 is $302.6 billion. This amount remains well below the "Pay as You Go" cap, the constitutional spending limit, and the more recent consolidated general revenue ceiling. I'm pleased that we have stayed within these spending limits, and that the Texas House has identified a series of priorities which will meet the needs of Texans and can be addressed through a fiscally conservative budget.

House Bill 2 will provide meaningful, lasting property tax relief -- by lowering school district property taxes by 28%, and reducing the limit on annual appraisal increases to 5% for all types of property in the state. Additionally as a former ISD board member, I appreciate that the House property tax relief plan reduces recapture payments, and reduces the statewide number of school districts subject to recapture by over 12%.

Our HD-65 team continues to work on legislation in many areas of impact; you can always see a list here of all the bills we have filed to date, as well as their latest status, which is updated in real time by House Administration. We will continue to update you with featured legislation in each newsletter.

HB 1 Budget Amendment: No State Funds for Unconstitutional DEI

We are making a difference in Austin! In Article III our committee passed a DEI Accountability Rider by Rep. Carrie Isaac -- which forbids a university from using state funding for any racial profiling in hiring, training or programming. This prevents funding going to universities which practice DEI. I was pleased to be one of the Appropriations Committee members who voted for the added directive. This rider will go the House floor as part of the budget bill on Thursday.

HB 2444: Laid Out in Business & Industry on 4/3

You may have seen this one in the Dallas Morning News! HB 2444 would ban automated event ticket purchasing by resellers via the use of "bots", which keep tickets out of the hands of actual consumers and cause myriad technical problems for legitimate sellers and resellers.

I admit I was hoping that we would inspire Taylor Swift to come and testify... but I understand she's pretty busy right now.

HB 3373: Laid Out in Ag & Livestock on 3/29

Protecting small family farms from undue federal oversight

This bill would ensure that small farms who are producing minimal volumes such as for personal family consumption or farmers' market sales, are not burdened by the same level of regulation that we impose on big agri-business under the banner of food safety concerns. HB 3373 would clear up some language from the 86th Legislature to provide better guidance for the Texas Dept. of Agriculture, and prevent overreach and intrusive inspections.

HB 1542: Sent to Calendars

The Texas Motor Speedway permits bill is with the Calendars Committee now. It appears that this will be my first piece of legislation to be debated on the floor of the House!

HB 3331: Reported Favorably on 4/3

Returning the rights of a convicted felon to serve as the executor of an estate

I presented this bill to the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee on 3/29, and yesterday it was "reported favorably without amendment". This means that the committee has voted to send it to the House floor, without adding any suggested or required changes.

This bill was actually brought to me by a constituent, in the case where a young man had a criminal conviction but served his time and paid his debt to society. Older now, he has a family, a good job, and is a contributing member of the community. His father is updating his will, and would like to name his only son to be the executor of his estate -- but Texas law prevents that, in any case where the named executor is a convicted felon.

HB 3331 would allow the probate judge to approve an exception to the current statute, if the intended executor is otherwise qualified to serve, and also is named in the decedent's will as executor. I feel that if someone has redeemed himself in the eyes of his family and the court system, then we should not try to prevent a family from handling their internal affairs however they feel is best.

March 20-22 was like "Old Home Week" at the Capitol, as dozens of Denton County elected officials, business leaders, education leaders, community leaders and constituents descended together upon Austin to represent our county for events, legislative meetings and networking!

Always a pleasure to connect with Denton County Commissioners Court! Thank you to Judge Andy Eads, and County Commissioners Ryan Williams, Bobbie Mitchell and Kevin Falconer for making the trip to represent Denton County's needs to the State of Texas.

Leadership classes from Lewisville Chamber of Commerce, Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce, and Denton Chamber of Commerce were all in town to learn about the legislative process!

The Colony Chamber & Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce

Highland Village Mayor Dan Jaworski

Friends at Denton County MHMR Center in Denton, TX

Rep. Richard Hayes and Rep. Dr. Lynn Stucky joined me to greet and address the Denton Co. Economic Development Partnership at their Legislative Luncheon

City of Lewisville Mayor, Councilman William Meridith and Staff

Lewisville ISD Trustee Katherine Sells and Superintendent Dr. Lori Rapp

Joaquin Criner from Lewisville Fire

I appreciate that the Fort Worth Firefighters will always make time to stop by and see me when they are in the Capitol!

Thanks to all who joined us last Saturday at the Denton County Pct 3 Government Center! 

☕️ These Coffees are really getting some buzz!

Last week we had great local updates from Highland Village Mayor Dan Jaworski, Lewisville Mayor TJ Gilmore, Lewisville City Councilmember Patrick Kelly, Flower Mound City Councilmember Jim Engel, Lewisville ISD Superintendent Dr. Lori Rapp, Lewisville ISD School Board President Tracy Scott Miller, Denton Co. Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell, and Denton Co. Justice of the Peace James Kerbow, along with HD-65 District Liaison Elena Glassman, and about 40 area residents.

With the Legislature requiring more of my presence in Austin than in the district right now, our staff is working on confirming dates for the next few coffees. We'll keep you posted!

Thurs. April 6: Last day to register to vote before the May 6 local election!

Check your voter registration status here. Remember, if you have moved, you have

to update your registration, even if you stayed within Denton County.

Thurs. April 6 - 5:00-8:00 pm

The Colony Spring EGGStravaganza - click for details

Egg hunt by age group, photos with Peter Rabbit, rides, holiday craft

Sat. April 8 - Sessions begin at 9 am

Flower Mound H20 Egg Dive at the CAC - click for details

Dive for eggs in the pool, visit with the Easter Bunny, arts, crafts, games

Easter Weekend School Closings - Please Note:

• Lewisville ISD and Argyle ISD are both out of school on Good Friday, but will be in class on Monday 4/10 for bad weather make-up
• Northwest ISD is out of school on Good Friday
• CFB-ISD has classes on Good Friday, but Monday 4/10 is a district holiday
• Denton ISD is in school both Friday 4/7 and Monday 4/10

We want to celebrate important events in our community -- student accomplishments, business milestones, and significant dates and anniversaries -- with you. Please get in touch with our office to inquire.

And please let us know if you have an event you would like our office to attend! Our HD-65 District Liaison Elena Glassman loves meeting community members from all over the county.

Click here for the archive of Rep. Thimesch's newsletter.



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