SD 11 SREC: District 129 Newsletter

January 25, 2018

TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 129 NEWSLETTER

86th Session of the Texas House of Representatives

On Tuesday, January 8th, the Texas House of Representatives convened for the 86th session of the Texas Legislature. I was honored to take the oath of office for a third term.

The first order of business for the members of the House was to elect a new Speaker. Representative Dennis Bonnen of Angleton was unanimously elected Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 86th Legislature. Speaker Bonnen is the first new Speaker elected in 10 years.

Texas Inaugural Festivities

The Oath of Office Ceremony for Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was held on the north steps of the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, January 15th.

The ceremony was followed by an inaugural BBQ on the Capitol grounds in the afternoon and the Texas Inaugural Ball in the evening.

Rep. Paul attends the inaugural mass with House and Senate colleagues

Speaker Appoints House Committees

Earlier this week, Speaker Dennis Bonnen appointed members to the House's 34 standing committees. I am honored to have been re-appointed to the House Committee on Insurance. I will also serve as Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety.

Now that committees have been assigned, the real work of the session can begin in earnest. I am ready to get to work on the issues important to Texans.

Rep. Paul Files Legislation on Flooding

Earlier this week I filed HB 1010, relating to state and regional flood planning, to create a statewide flood drainage plan. Especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, I believe it is more important than ever to get local governments talking to each other about projects that can help mitigate the impacts of future floods.

Rep. Paul and his wife, Eliza, were judges for the regional competition for Future Cities, where middle school students design and build a model of a future city, demonstrating how the engineering should work. This is a great program to inspire kids to enter an engineering field.

District 129's New Team Members

Brian Mitchell will be serving as Legislative Director in the Capitol office during the 86th session. Brian joins the District 129 team with four sessions' experience working in the Texas House. During his time in the House, Brian has focused on several policy issue areas including insurance, business and industry, economic development, and natural resources. Please feel free to contact Brian at brian.mitchell@house.texas.gov or (512) 463-0734 if he can ever be of assistance.

Also joining our team in the Capitol office this session is Legislative Aide Giovanni Catanzaro. This is Giovanni's first legislative session and he is already hard at work serving the constituents of House District 129. Giovanni is the primary contact for scheduling in our Capitol office, so please feel free to reach out to him if you're planning a visit to Austin. He can be reached at giovanni.catanzaro@house.texas.gov or (512) 463-0734.

How to Keep Track of Legislation

Beginning on November 12th, members of the incoming 86th Texas Legislature began filing legislation. I personally have filed 6 bills so far, and have several more that I will be filing in the months ahead. To keep track of my legislation, and the legislation of other members, you can visit the Texas Legislature Online by clicking this link: www.capitol.texas.gov.