Thimesch: Priority bills racing to meet legislative deadlines

The 88th session of the Texas Legislature is more than two-thirds past. We are rushing toward Constitutional deadlines to hear bills in committee and then on the House floor, which must be done in time for them to go through the same process over in the Senate.

Many of my bill ideas were brought to me by HD-65 constituents, and I’ve also co-authored and joint-authored many bills with my Republican colleagues. Remember, you can always see the status of any of my legislation by visiting KrondaForTexas.com, where I have links to the Texas House website. These are just a few of my priority bills which are moving forward:

• First bill to head to the Governor’s desk is HB 1542! It will help clear up some permitting issues for Texas Motor Speedway, to support their big race events.
• An urgent issue about which I’ve long been passionate is stopping the epidemic of fentanyl deaths, and I’m a joint author on HB 6 by Rep. Craig Goldman — which will turn fentanyl poisoning into a criminal charge of homicide.
• HB 600 by Dr. Greg Bonnen provides a cost-of-living adjustment for our retired teachers. Our retired teachers haven’t had a significant increase in years. Proud to deliver on this promise to our retired teachers.
• HB 2962 is out of committee and would prevent unwelcome adults from menacing children in public on a school playground or property, and was brought to our office by an HD-65 constituent whose family has dealt with this.
• We’re looking out for small family farms with HB 3373, which has passed out of committee and seeks to prevent burdensome federal regulations from being enforced unnecessarily.
• HB 4656 was an idea brought to our office by one of our ISDs, which will expedite temporary teacher certificates and help school districts fill their teacher shortage by more quickly hiring teachers who are certified in other states.

We are excited that the HD-65 District Office will be open soon in the Denton County Southwest Courthouse. I look forward to seeing you all there when the session ends and I’m back in Denton County full-time. You can find more information and resources at my website including contact information.