|
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been asked a few times what the Texas Legislature does between legislative sessions in Austin. It’s a good question. This period between sessions is known as the interim. We have a part-time legislature in Texas that meets for 140 days every two years. Special sessions can be called by the Governor for specific purposes that can last up to 30 days. We had a very busy year last year with the regular 140-day session and three 30-day special sessions. Then came the holidays and we jumped right back into election season.
Texas State Representatives run for re-election every two years and Senators usually run every 4 years, except the first election cycle after redistricting. So the interim has included campaigning for re-election for some House and Senate members who had primary challengers. I was fortunate not to have a primary challenge, so we have spent our interim working on the three central components of our team’s culture: serving people, good policy, and communicating well.
|
|
Serving people is at the core of what we do and who we are. As a Christian, Jesus’ instructs regarding service are significant to me: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments,” (Matthew 22:37-40). We serve people because we love people. As voters, you have entrusted me with this opportunity to serve people in this role and we take it very seriously.
This not only means that we are the office you call and get support from for everyday issues or concerns that come up dealing with state agencies or regular power failures, but we are also the office you can call on if you have individual needs. We have worked to build good relationships with non-profits in the area to ensure that whatever the need, we are able to connect people to available resources and people who care. In one instance, it was taking an elderly man from homelessness to a modest new home.
We take a lot of care to learn the needs and concerns in the community and be that voice or force needed to correct wrongs. In Romans 13, Paul wrote about the role of the government not being the remedy for sin but a force to deter evil with punishment and honor what is good. So, while we honor good and serve people through our actions as an office, we also work on good policy for Texas. We are spending much of our time focused on meeting with stakeholders on important issues like education, healthcare, safety, infrastructure, and the economy.
|
|
Yesterday was the first meeting of the Commission on Special Education Funding, a new committee formed by the Texas Legislature through HB1525 last year. The Speaker appointed me to this important commission and we are tasked with developing and making recommendations for financing special education in public schools. Funding classrooms, supporting our teachers, and empowering parents to lead in their children’s education still remains a priority of our policy proposals as we approach the next regular legislative session.
The Speaker of the House issued interim charges to the standing committees as well. These charges give instructions to the committees on reports that should be created and topics that should be researched so the legislature has crucial, data-driven information as we go into the next legislative session. Our committees will hold hearings and investigate relevant information to ensure the laws we passed are being implemented as intended and to determine if additional steps need to be taken during the next regular session. In the Public Health Committee we will be evaluating topics like the implementation of the telemedicine expansion. The Committee on Elections will examine, among other issues, the reporting of election results to determine the reasons for any delays and inaccuracies in the initial reporting of elections results. The committees are charged with making recommendations to the legislature regarding issues or concerns they encounter in this process.
Additionally, we continue to work with Commissioner Vincent Morales and Senator Huffman to expand the Grand Parkway through Katy and add feeder lanes to alleviate the major congestion that occurs throughout the day. Projects like this require time and effort that we are able to provide outside of the legislative session in order to keep things moving smoothly. The same applies to flood mitigation projects and assisting refugees with state and federal agencies.
One of our most important jobs though, is communicating well with you and all our constituents. We continue to work to improve in this area. Through our weekly briefings, website, print in the newspaper, interviews on radio and TV, and posting on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, we try to push out a consistent message without the bombastic, unhelpful, disingenuous rhetoric. Through town halls, emails, phone calls, texts, and social media messages, we strive to hear your concerns and have a thoughtful dialogue about issues that are important to you.
|
|
|
Our goal is to communicate effectively, with authenticity and simplicity, so that Texans know what and why things are happening, and how to make a difference in their community. We want to empower you with the right information to make things better for yourself, your family, and your neighbors. We will continue to work on this and we want to hear from you about how we can improve on any of the things discussed above.
|
|
Jacey Jetton
State Representative
Texas House District 26
|
|
Share this edition of the Weekly Briefing
|
|
The "Weekly Briefing"
Each week, I will send you the "Weekly Briefing", where you will get the latest news on House District 26. These weekly briefings will ensure you know more than anybody else about what is happening in our district. When you are equipped and empowered, problems get solved and life gets better for everyone. Let's continue to make Texas a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
|
|
Get updates throughout the week on Social Media!
|
|
|
There is a lot that happens throughout the week that we post on our social media to keep you informed and on top of the latest happenings in District 26 and the Texas Capitol. Please follow us on your favorite social media platform.
|
|
District Office
1108 Soldiers Field Dr, Ste 100
Sugar Land, TX 77479
(281) 240-0342
Monday-Wednesday 10:00-12:00
|
|
Capitol Office
PO Box 2910, E2.716
Austin, TX 78768
(512) 463-0710
By Appointment Only
|
|
|
|
You can reach out to #TeamJetton in the district, or in Austin. If you have questions, feedback, or need assistance with a state agency, please do not hesitate to reach out.
|
|
|
|
|
