From the moment I arrived in Austin I committed myself to providing effective, conservative representation for my Denton County district. I was fortunate in securing important committee assignments, including becoming the first freshmen legislator since 2003 to earn a seat on the powerful State Affairs committee. I was also given the opportunity to serve as a strong conservative voice on the Human Services committee when shaping policy that allocates your tax dollars, and I played a key role on the subcommittee on Technology Implementation. In my first session, I was able to craft an aggressive bill package dictated by strong conservative principals and the goals and objectives I outlined when seeking your support during my candidacy.

The 80th Legislative Session has now concluded and I am proud of several accomplishments my colleagues and I have achieved. We have eliminated out-dated taxes, provided additional property tax relief, preserved students' rights to religious expression in schools, and passed education reforms that will end the practice of "teaching to the test" while simultaneously improving graduation rates.

Fiscal conservatives stood strong and won an important battle when passing our state budget. Working together, we were able to fund important government functions and increase funding in such areas as public education, border security, criminal justice, and our state parks. Even more impressive, we accomplished this without increasing overall spending beyond the rate of inflation and population growth.

Border security and immigration policy were two key issues that took center stage this session. I am proud to say that I joined forces with a key member of the leadership team to author legislation that will prevent government subsidies from being awarded to businesses who participate in illegal hiring practices. During the budget process I fought hard alongside fellow conservative lawmakers to increase our investment in border security and to get more law enforcement agents on the ground to stop the illegal activity that occurs along our 1,254 miles of international border.

I was privileged to have authored several bills that will become law in the coming days. These measures include such successful initiatives as improving efficiency in hospital patient databasing, extending Good Samaritan liability protections to volunteer EMS personnel, measures designed to enhance Denton County economic development, assisting county government in streamlining operations, and improving lake activity safety.

I am proud of all that was achieved, but I know that there is still much work to be done. I appreciate the strong support received from so many of you during the legislative session and I look forward to working with you in the months ahead.