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News
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News from Jim Jackson:
Speaker Strauss has asked the Judiciary and Civil
Jurisprudence Committee to assume joint responsibilities
with the Redistricting Committee in holding
redistricting hearings across the State. The official
hearing panels will include three members from each of
the two committees. Other members may also attend and
participate. While not a member of the Dallas panel, I
intend to participate.
I am pleased to be appointed as the Judiciary & Civil
Jurisprudence Subcommittee Chair for the Tarrant County
Subcommittee Panel hearing in Arlington and also as a
member of subcommittees holding hearings in Richardson,
Lubbock and South Texas. The State Redistricting process
will be a major focus for the legislature when it meets
next year during its 82nd Session and I am honored to
have the opportunity to participate in this important
task.
The population of Texas exceeds 24 million and is second
in population only to California, which has more that 36
million people. According to the Census Bureau, 10 of
the 25 fastest-growing U.S. counties are in Texas:
Harris, Tarrant, Bexar, Collin, Dallas, Travis, Fort
Bend, Denton, Williamson and Hidalgo. The biggest
contributing factor to Texas' growth is net migration,
both domestic and foreign, into Texas. Texas also has a
high birth rate versus deaths.
While we will not have official census numbers until
April 2011 preliminary estimates indicate the ideal
Texas House district population will rise from 139,012
in 2001 to between 160,000 and 165,000 in 2011.
Likewise, Texas' Senate district population in 2001 was
672,639. For 2011, it is projected to be between 780,000
and 784,000. A U.S. House district now contains 646,946
people, but after the 2010 census, that number is
expected to rise by 9.7% to about 710,000 people. When
the federal government re-apportions the 435 members of
the U.S. House, Texas population growth will entitle
Texas to 3 or 4 new Congressional Districts.
Below is a list of the hearing locations with the dates,
times with the subcommittee chairs and membership for
this area
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Dallas -
September 20, 12pm
George Allen Courthouse, Central Jury Room
600 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas, 75202
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Judiciary
Rep. Branch, Chair
Rep. Hartnett
Rep. Alonzo |
Redistricting
Rep. Todd Smith, Chair
Rep. Keffer
Rep. Merritt |
Arlington -
September 21, 10am
Arlington City Hall, Council Chambers
101 West Abram, Arlington, Texas, 76004
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Judiciary
Rep. Jackson, Chair
Rep. Madden
Rep. Alonzo |
Redistricting
Rep. Keffer, Chair
Rep. Merritt
Rep. Veasey |
Richardson - September 22, 10am
University of Texas at Dallas Campus (UTD),
Room CN 1.112 of the Conference Center
800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas,
75080
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Judiciary
Rep. Madden, Chair
Rep. Jackson
Rep. Alonzo |
Redistricting
Rep. Todd Smith, Chair
Rep. Merritt
Rep. Veasey |
All
hearings are open to anyone who wants to testify or to
simply observe.
Read the latest Newsletter here
(Posted August
2010)
Who does a
Representative Represent?
Often it is impossible to represent the individual
interest and views of constituents. Last week as I was
reviewing e-mails I noticed two from people that live
within blocks of each other in Coppell. One is opposed
to a particular proposed piece of legislation; The other
is for it. On another issue two individuals from
Carrollton urged me to take opposing action on another
issue. These are only two of many opposing messages
constituents send me.
While it is impossible to represent the separate wishes
of all constituents; I do review, consider and respect
all views. Hopefully constituents will understand and
respect that I must take positions and make choices.
Rep. Jackson's Passed Bills 81st Session
HB 449 - Establishes a regulatory
structure for laser hair removal which both protects
consumers and ensures that business can operate
unfettered. The procedure will be regulated by the
Department of State Health Services (DSHS) certifying
each person and facility that is authorized to perform
laser hair removal and requiring that a consulting
medical physician must be retained to oversee operations
and attend to any complications.
HB 1366 - Ensures that voters are aware of ballot propositions for
hospital districts and are fully transparent by changing
the ballot language for tax and bond elections for
hospital districts with a population over 190,000 so
that the ballot language includes, at a minimum, the
information that is included in the election order. The
election order includes a general description of the
uses of the proposed funds for improvements to the
hospital district, estimates of the costs and revenues
raised through bond and tax increases, the amount that
is being requested for each, and any other information
that the board deems appropriate.
SB 333 - Allows counties who employ
their own forensic technician to once again keep $22.50
of DWI related court fees. The ability to keep the fee
was inadvertently taken away from them in the 78th
Session.
SB 397 - Speeds the reimbursement
of jurors for their service by allowing a county
treasurer to reimburse jurors through an Electronic
Funds Transfer (EFT) with a cash dispensing machine,
debit card, or any other way that the county treasurer
and the commissioners court determine is secure,
accurate and cost-effective.
SB
407 (HB 659) - Allows a county judge in a county with a
population of 2 million or more to appoint one or more
part-time or full-time magistrates to oversee truancy
cases, based on the needs of the county.
SB 702 (HB 1746) - Is a cleanup
bill from a major reform in the 80th Session which moved
the regulation of tow trucks from the Texas Department
of Transportation (TxDOT) to the Texas Department of
Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). The bill consists of
common sense reforms of the tow truck industry,
simplifying the regulatory process while offering
consumers strong protections from unscrupulous tow truck
operators.
SB 707 (HB 1034) - Helps to protect
children from sexual predators, by requiring sexually
oriented businesses to keep photo ID records verifying
the age of their employees and independent contractors.
The bill requires that the records be maintained for 2
years after an employee's last day, and makes the
records available for inspection by law enforcement, the
Office of Attorney General, and the Workforce
Commission.
SB 798 (HB 1247) - Speeds and
simplifies the process for receiving a refund for an
overpayment of property taxes, by allowing a tax
collector in large cities more flexibility in processing
overpayments of property taxes.
SB 858 (HB 2399) - Allows a
commercial vehicle education course offered by the Texas
Education Association (TEA) to be offered online as
other similar courses are.
SB 865 (HB 4228) - An omnibus bill
regarding child support and makes many changes to how
child support is calculated and collected. SB 865
amends multiple sections of the Family Code to clarify,
conform, and remove outdated language, and is fairer and
more equitable to both parents and children. SB 517,
which makes a technical correction for the Attorney
General reporting to the Federal Government, was also
added to this bill as an amendment.
SB 2323 - Extends emergency
planning that has been in place for public schools for
some time to community colleges and universities.
School safety is of more concern now due to recent
events across the nation, and SB 2323 helps institutions
of higher education protect Texas students. This bill
was inserted as an amendment to HB 1831.
SB 2466 - Creates a Municipal Management District (MMD)
to be known as the Cypress Waters Management District
over approximately 935 acres of land in North Dallas,
next to North Lake. The purpose of the district is to
facilitate the development of the property within the
district into a mixed use development project of
commercial and residential property, including multi and
single family development components. This new
development will be an economic benefit locally, to the
area, and to the region.
Download as .pdf file
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 1, 2009
Contact: State Rep. Jim Jackson
512-463-0468
State Rep. Jim Jackson Reports on the 81st Session
Austin--The 81st Session of the Texas Legislature has
adjourned "Sine Die." There were 7,609 House/Senate bills
and constitutional amendments filed during the session -
1,462 were passed. The Governor has until June 21st to sign
or veto bills sent to him or allow them to become law
without his signature.
Because some Democrats chose to delay the House's
business by chubbing, hundreds of bills died when we reached
the deadline for consideration of legislation. Chubbing
resembles a series of mini filibusters. While many of the
bills that died had various degrees of importance, a few
such as sunset continuation of the Texas Department of
Insurance and the Texas Department of Transportation were
very important. Of course, each member, including me, who
had bills left on the calendar at the end, regrets that we
did not have an opportunity to take them up.
In spite of the partisan squabbling and delaying of the
state's business, the legislature managed to pass some
important laws that include:
- Adoption of the 2010-2011 biennial state budget
and reducing general revenue spending by 1.9
percent.
- Passage of new education reforms that focus on
student growth and achievement when rating schools.
- Making a $1.9 billion dollar increase in public
education dollars.
- Making $1.2 billion dollar increase in higher
education funding.
- Providing seed money to lay the groundwork for
additional Tier One Texas universities.
- Giving $250 million in financial aid to make
college affordable for 35,000 more students.
- Reforming of the Top Ten Percent rule to give
the University of Texas more flexibility.
- Providing a tax cut which will benefit
approximately 40,000 Texas small businesses.
- Protecting the $9.1 billion dollars in the
state's Rainy Day Fund.
My legislative accomplishments include 11 bills I
authored or sponsored. To review those bills, please go to
www.repjimjackson.com.
Although it was a long and difficult session, I am honored
to be State Representative for District 115.
To contact State Representative Jim Jackson in Austin:
Phone: 512-463-0468, Address: P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas
78768-2910. In the district: Phone: 972-416-7698, Address:
1120 Metrocrest Drive #107, Carrollton, Texas 75006. -30-
Download as .pdf file
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May
26, 2009
Contact: State Rep. Jim Jackson
512-463-0468
REP. JIM JACKSON REPORTS ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND BILL
KILLING TACTICS
Austin--Many people have
heard or read from news sources about the 4 days of
delay over Memorial Day weekend that some Democratic
members of the Texas House have used to slow the
legislative calendar in order to kill the Voter ID Law
for voter integrity. The voter integrity law requires
voters to have proof of identification in order to vote.
Some have even told me they watched some of the action
or inaction on the streaming video.
Democrats have stalled all
business on the House floor. While some will join me in
disapproving the Democrat's action, others will support
it. Regardless, their actions are within the House
rules.
These parliamentary delay
tactics includes one called "chubbing" which might be
compared to a continued series of mini-filibusters.
Using this tactic, they made a Local and Consent
Calendar that would normally take 2 hours, last over 30
hours. Then in the new twist, they introduced multiple
amendments to the top 10% rule reform bill (SB 175) on
which they would speak 10 minutes and then withdraw the
amendment.
The result of these actions
is that many bills failed to get considered for final
passage before the deadline for consideration. In fact,
two bills I sponsored that would have made employment of
children in sex clubs a public nuisance and increase the
criminal penalty for repeat offense of such employment,
died on the calendar.
Other bills killed due to
parliamentary delay would have given us cleaner air,
insurance reform, property rights, better domestic
violence prevention, many children's services, including
services for children with autism spectrum disorder and
children's health programs as well as many other issues.
"Bills set on the calendar
are there for a reason; they are important bills and are
usually addressing issues in members' districts. Those
who participated in the disruption of the House business
may have been within the rules, or within their rights,
but that doesn't make it right," Rep. Jackson said.
To contact State
Representative Jim Jackson in Austin: Phone:
512-463-0468, Address: P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas
78768-2910. In the district: Phone: 972-416-7698,
Address: 1120 Metrocrest Drive #107, Carrollton, Texas
75006. -30-
Download as .pdf file
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February
26, 2009
Contact: State Rep. Jim Jackson
512-463-0468
REP. JIM JACKSON FILES BILL MAKING EMPLOYERS LIABLE
FOR SOME INDIGENT EMPLOYEES HEALTH CARE
AUSTIN--State Representative Jim Jackson (R-Carrollton)
has introduced H.B. 1744 that makes employers liable for
medical services provided to illegal aliens under the
Indigent Health Care & Treatment Act in the Health and
Safety Code.
H.B. 1744 allows a county, public hospital, or hospital
district to bill an employer to recover costs for
medical services provided to illegal aliens. Under
provisions of the bill, a county, public hospital, or
hospital district may bring action against the employer
who knowingly employs an illegal alien and who would
otherwise qualify as an eligible resident of the county,
public hospital, or hospital district in which the
services were provided at the time the individual
received health care services. An application procedure
requires an applicant to provide employer information.
"Texas taxpayers should not have to pay the bill for
undocumented workers' health care." "The employer who
hires and benefits from cheap labor performed by illegal
workers should be responsible for their health care
insurance," said Rep. Jackson. An employer who turns a
blind eye to an illegal employee exacerbates the
problems of illegal immigration." "Why should the
average citizen furnish health care to persons who are
in this country illegally?"
One estimate by the Lone Star Foundation published in
2006 says the net cost to the state of Texas for illegal
immigrants is $3.5 billion annually. Also, in a
comptroller's report published in December of that year;
it states that in 2005 local governments bore the burden
of costs for illegal immigration for uncompensated
health care and local law enforcement costs with net
expenditures of $928.9 million. The Texas Health and
Human Services Commission estimates that the state spent
$81.2 million on services and benefits to undocumented
immigrants in fiscal 2007; and that public hospital
districts spent $597.8 million in fiscal 2006 on
uncompensated care for this population.
Jackson stated, "Industries and Texas economy should not
be built on illegal labor." "The cost to local
governments of additional services--including
uncompensated health care, law enforcement and education
cannot be ignored." "It is only fair to address the
problem of illegal immigration on the demand side as
well as the supply side." "The state should not spend
its finite resources when the state has other pressing
needs."
To contact State Representative Jim Jackson to share
your views on these or other issues: In Austin: Phone:
512-463-0486, Address: P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas
78768-2910. In the district: Phone: 972-416-7698,
Address: 1120 Metrocrest Drive #107, Carrollton, Texas
75006.
-30-
Download as .pdf file
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February
19, 2009
Contact: State Rep. Jim Jackson
512-463-0468
STATE REP. JIM JACKSON FILES H.B. 1228 THE PROPERTY
CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS ACT
AUSTIN--State Representative Jim Jackson (R-Carrollton)
has filed H.B. 1228, the Property Crime Victims' Rights
Act, to expand the definition of a crime victim under
Chapter 56, Code of Criminal Procedure to include
victims of property crimes. Presently, a crime victim
is limited to victims of sexual assault, kidnapping or
aggravated robbery, and children of elderly who have
suffered bodily injury or death as a result of criminal
conduct.
Jackson stated, "Currently, in Texas,
property crime victims have few rights." "I and many
others believe victims of property crimes should also be
empowered to seek justice," said Rep. Jackson.
If passed by the legislature and approved
by the Governor, H.B. 1228 would not extend the same
rights as victims of violent crimes, but would extend
some of those rights, such as the right to be notified
of court proceedings, the right to attend court
proceedings, and the right to consult with the
prosecutor on an appropriate sentence. Property crimes
include arson, criminal mischief, robbery, burglary and
criminal trespass, theft, fraud, computer crimes,
telecommunications crimes, money laundering, insurance
fraud, and Medicaid fraud.
You may share your views on this or any
other state issue, please contact State Representative
Jim Jackson at the Capitol: Phone: 512-463-0468,
Address: P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas 78768-2910. In
the District: Phone: 972-416-7698, Address: 1120
Metrocrest Drive #107, Carrollton, Texas 75006.
-30-
Download as .pdf file
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 5, 2009
Contact: State Rep. Jim Jackson
512-463-0468
STATE REP. JIM JACKSON FILES
ENGLISH ONLY BILLS &
PROOF OF RESIDENCY TO OBTAIN A LICENSE
(AUSTIN)--This week State Representative Jim Jackson
(R-Carrollton) filed three bills in the Texas House:
HB 1033 designates English as
the official language of the State of Texas;
HB 1035 requires that,
notwithstanding any federal laws, all applications and
examinations for a state-issued license must be written
or administered in English;
HB 1061 requires that any
person who is applying for or renewing any occupational
license, driver's license, or identification certificate
must prove their citizenship or lawful presence in the
United States to obtain the license they are seeking.
"I am pleased to file these
bills which are based on major concerns expressed by
citizens of District 115," Jackson stated.
HB 1033, if passed by the
Legislature, would establish "English" as the official
state language in Texas. If enacted, HB 1035 would
require all applications and examinations for a
state-issued license (occupational license, driver's
license, or identification certificate) be written or
administered in English. "Citizens applying or renewing
a state-issued license to prove citizenship is long
overdue," said Jackson. "Passage of these bills would
save the state money and would maintain the American
tradition of a common language. Thirty states have
adopted English as an official language and Texas needs
to join its neighbors in passing this law,"
Representative Jackson said. "Actually, passage of these
measures would encourage citizens to become better
versed in Texas creating more equality among immigrants
and citizens.
To access Rep. Jackson's
legislation filed this session go to
www.capitol.state.tx.us and click "Bill Search," then
"Author" and "Rep. Jackson." Also, there is a Toll Free
Bill Status Line at 1-877-824-7038 available Monday
through Thursday 7:30 AM-9:00 PM and 7:30 AM-5:00 PM on
Friday, and when either chamber is in session.
You may share your views on
this or any other state issue, please contact State
Representative Jim Jackson at the Capitol: Phone:
512-463-0468, Address: P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas
78768-2910. In the District: Phone: 972-416-7698,
Address: 1120 Metrocrest Drive #107, Carrollton, Texas
75006.
-30-
Download
as .pdf file
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