Post-legislative session, most representatives and senators go back to their districts. Most will meet with constituents individually or at various club meetings or other group settings. This is a great opportunity to hear directly from your elected officials regarding their performance during the legislative session.
Here are some questions you may want to ask:
What do you consider to be your most important accomplishment during the session?
What were your priorities going into the session?
Were you aware of the Legislative Priorities of the Republican Party of Texas?
Did you and/or your office know which bills the Legislative Priorities Committee were working to advance?
Which priority bills did you sign on to and when? If not, why not?
What issues did your office get the most phone calls and emails about? What was your response?
How did you help further the RPT priorities?
Did your office work with the SRECs on the LP Committee? If not, why not?
What committees did you serve on and which priorities came before your committee?
Did you make a motion to move our priority bills out of committee? If not, why not?
Who are the lobbyists most helpful to your office?
If elected to another term, will you commit to working publicly to advance the RPT priorities next session? (Or those placed on the call for a special session?)
How can your constituents help you better next session?
Have you been a delegate or guest at the RPT state convention? Have you testified before the convention’s platform or legislative priorities committee?
Why are you a Republican?
You may think of other good questions, but the important thing is that you confidently engage with your elected official. Remember, he or she works for you, and that office does not belong to anyone other than who the voters say. Collectively, the legislative body makes decisions that affect all of us in major ways, whether it be regarding our freedoms, our ability to do business without burdensome regulation, our physical safety, or fiscally. It is important to have a representative who takes the job seriously and is not swayed by greed, moral temptations, or friendships to make poor decisions for our state.
The other thing you can do, right now, is to continue to contact Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Patrick regarding our unpassed priorities. Election Integrity and banning Child Gender Modification practices are both critical items that were left undone.
Also, banning Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying, and the Chairman’s priority, reigning in Executive Overreach, still need work. They need to hear that the citizens of Texas want these issues addressed.
We are hopeful for a special session very soon. We urge the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker, and our Representatives and Senators to complete the business of the people.
For God and Texas,
Jill Glover SREC, SD 12 Chair, SREC Legislative Priorities Committee