On Sunday, May 4, we recognize the dedication, service, and sacrifice of our firefighters on Texas Firefighters Day. Over 28,000 brave men and women in Texas sacrifice their time, service, and, too often, lives to protect their friends and neighbors every day. Thank God for these selfless servants who keep us all safe, and may He continue to keep them and protect them.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down their life for their friends.” – John 15:13
With that, here’s an update from your State Capitol…
Capitol Update
This past week, my office has received numerous calls from back home about controversial bills that are currently being considered in the House. I always appreciate hearing from constituents who want to inform me of their concerns with bills moving through the process, and I want to encourage you to continue engaging my office to keep us informed.
That being said, it has come to my attention that text messages have been sent out in the district with inaccurate information designed to mislead folks about various pieces of legislation. As such, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight and provide some clarity about the intent of the bills in question.
First, the House Public Education Committee heard testimony on House Bill 4 this week. HB 4 reshapes the public school assessment and accountability system in Texas and replaces excessive testing with meaningful learning. HB 4 does this by eliminating the STAAR test and replacing it with a nationally norm-referenced test, which is far less burdensome than the current version of STAAR.
HB 4 also streamlines assessments to meet federal testing requirements and ensures accountability for school districts by maintaining the annual A-F ratings while adding other indicators, such as local workforce development, early childhood readiness, and student engagement in extracurricular activities, into the ratings system.
Over the course of a nearly 23-hour hearing, we heard from countless parents, teachers, students, administrators, and other members of the public education community who wholeheartedly support this bill that would finally alleviate the burden of high-stakes testing in Texas schools.
Next, the House considered House Bill 366 this week, which seeks to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for political use by registered political entities. HB 366 requires political entities, such as campaigns or political action committees, to disclose their use of AI for political purposes when distributing altered or fake content.
Texas already requires a political disclosure for a number of materials, including mail pieces, campaign signs, and commercials. HB 366 simply seeks to bring the use of AI in line with those disclosure requirements only for political entities and not for private individuals.
Finally, House Bill 4866 and its companion Senate Bill 30 both seek to reform how medical and non-economic damages are awarded to a successful plaintiff in a personal injury case. Particularly, both bills seek to prevent personal injury lawyers from inflating medical bills to manipulate juries and increase damages awarded to their clients.
I want to assure those of you who may have heard otherwise that I would never support a measure that protects doctors from mutilating children, Chinese corporations from harming Texans, or illegal immigrants from dangerously operating commercial vehicles on our roads. It is regrettable that some political entities are trying to mislead Texans with text messages that grossly distort reality, and I encourage all of you to remain vigilant against purposeful misinformation distributed while the Legislature is in session.
The mobile office is on the road again in May and our district director looks forward to seeing you on the following dates, in the following locations: May 7 at the San Augustine County Courthouse from 9:30-11:30 am, May 14 at the Polk County Commissioner’s Court Room in Livingston from 9:30-11:30 am, or at the Tyler County Courthouse in Woodville from 1:30-3:30 pm; May 21 at the Houston County Courthouse Annex in Crockett from 9:30-11:30 am, or at the Trinity County Courthouse in Groveton from 1:30-3:30 pm.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office if we can help you in any way. My district office may be reached at (936) 634-2762. Additionally, I welcome you to follow along on my Official Facebook Page, where I will post regular updates on what’s happening in your State Capitol and share information that could be useful to you and your family: https://www.facebook.com/RepTrentAshby/.
