Senator Kolkhorst champions conservative legislation in the 88th Legislative Session
July 20, 2023 | Austin, TX
One of the Texas Senators representing Montgomery County, Senator Lois Kolkhorst (Senate District 18), filed a mountain of bills in the 88th Legislative Session focused on issues that matter to Montgomery County residents.
There is still much to do, but we must applaud the efforts of our conservative legislators who championed bills to preserve liberty and protect Texas kids.
Senator Kolkhorst’s conservative victories
Senator Kolkhorst was the author or co-author of a slew of conservative bills signed into law by Governor Abbott, including:
SB 12 - Banning the practice of drag queen performances for children. Becomes effective Sept. 1.
SB 15 - Requiring participation in intercollegiate athletic competitions to be based on the student’s biological sex. Becomes effective Sept. 1.
SB 14 - Bans the gender modification of children. Becomes effective Sept. 1.
SB 1070 - Bars Texas from participating in ERiC, a controversial voter roll interstate cross check program, thought by many to be vulnerable to issues of data security and partisan access to voter data. The bill almost didn’t make it, having been withdrawn by its own author after Speaker Phelan accepted a Point of Order. The bill was saved by objections from outraged voters who contacted their legislators and committee members. The bill was returned promptly to the floor for a favorable vote. Becomes effective Sept. 1.
HB 1243 - Returns the penalty for voter fraud to a felony. Senator Kolkhorst was a co-sponsor of this bill. Becomes effective Sept. 1.
HB 2837 - Prohibits credit card companies from “surveilling, reporting, or tracking the purchase of firearms ammunition” in Texas. Senator Kolkhorst was a co-sponsor of this bill. Becomes effective Sept. 1.
SB 17 - Prohibits universities from using tax dollars to push Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices which have resulted in increased polarization and racism. Becomes effective Jan. 1.
SB 29 - Prohibits public schools and other government entities from enforcing a vaccine or mask mandate to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Becomes effective Sept. 1.
HB 2012 - Extends the Display of National Motto law to ensure a teacher is permitted to hang our national motto in public school and institutions of higher education classrooms. Senator Kolkhorst was a co-sponsor of this bill. Becomes effective immediately.
Senator Kolkhorst receives A+ legislative score from Texans for Vaccine Choice
On July 19, Texans for Vaccine Choice released their Texas Senate Legislative Report Card. Senator Kolkhorst received an A+ rating for filing bills to protect Texans from vaccine mandates and agreeing to continue the fight against Big Pharma in upcoming legislative sessions.
Kolkhorst bills that were killed in the House
Senator Kolkhorst filed many additional bills to address issues important to Montgomery County and Texas. While these didn’t make it past House Speaker Dade Phelan’s RINO roadblocks, Governor Abbott could potentially call additional special sessions addressing unfinished business in the Texas Legislature.
Take a look at some of the conservative legislation filed by Senator Kolkhorst that died in the House. Contact Governor Abbott and insist that we take up these important issues in special sessions!
SB 147 Foreign ownership of Texas assets
One bill that passed the Senate but failed in the House was SB 147, which would have made sweeping state and national security protections by preventing the purchase of strategic Texas lands by foreign adversaries. This bill would have banned Chinese nationalists from purchasing farm land, minerals, water, and timber. The bill passed the Senate; the House version was given a hearing in State Affairs but was never voted out.
“Our farmland, oil and gas, timber and rare earth materials should not be owned by a foreign nation classified as hostile by the Director of US National Intelligence,” said Senator Kolkhorst. “These nations currently include China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.”
According to the USDA, Chinese companies and individuals own 4.7 million acres of Texas land—more than in any other state. SB 147 would have provided measures to protect our military installations, Texas food supply, and energy resources. Passing this bill should have been a slam-dunk.
On May 22, Texans for Strong Borders sent fortune cookies to every House office “thanking” Speaker Phelan for killing SB 147 on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
SCR 23 Declaring an invasion
Our collapsing border is seeing record inflows of illegal immigrants, encouraged and enabled by the Biden Administration.
In response, Senator Kolkhorst wrote SCR 23 to declare that Texas has been invaded, demand our government classify foreign drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and clearly declare that Texas citizens are in danger of irreparable harm. The resolution urged Governor Abbott to take all action necessary to stop the flooding of illegals into our state.
While SCR 23 passed the Texas Senate in April with a vote of 30-1, it never even received a hearing in the House. The House State Affairs Committee (Chairman Todd Hunter) killed it.
SB 260 Election Integrity
The Senate passed Senator Kolkhorst’s SB 260, which would have eliminated inactive voters from voter rolls. According to Texas Scorecard, this bill followed Ohio legislation that would give us mechanisms for removing ineligible voters. It passed the Senate in mid-April but never even got a hearing in the House. The House Elections Committee (Chairman Reggie Smith) killed it.
SB 595 Parental consent for mental health screening of kids
Another bill answering the call from Montgomery County voters, SB 595, would have required schools to get permission from parents before they perform any psychological testing on students.
“Constituents from the district testified in the Senate hearing and it passed overwhelmingly in the Senate,” said Senator Kolkhorst.
Unfortunately, the House struck again with the House Public Education Committee slow-walking the bill in committee and the House Calendars Committee (Chairman Dustin Burrows) killing the legislation by placing it on the last calendar and letting the clock run out.
TAKE ACTION
We must ask ourselves what is motivating Speaker Phelan and his followers in the House to stand in the way of legislation that protects Texans. Contact Governor Abbott and urge him to take up these important bills by calling immediate special sessions!