Update from the Capitol - March 20, 2023

Hi Kronda,

Today is the 70th day of the 88th Legislature, so we are halfway through the session. It is also the first day of spring!

Our office is really looking forward to many visitors from Denton County this week... from several Chamber of Commerce groups to the Denton County Days delegation (be sure to check out that group pic from the 2019 delegation at that link!). Are you coming to the Capitol soon? Be sure to contact the HD-65 staff so we can assist with your visit.

Of course not all our visitors are people! I loved getting to meet Pierce, the working dog in training, when my good friend Jill Tate with Patriot Paws visited the Capitol last week.

I'm always partial to a black Labrador -- I'm biased since our sweet Raider back home is one! He prefers bird hunting to legislative trips though, so I left him in good hands with Jeff and the boys when I got on the road to Austin last night.

Okay, headed to the House floor for session at 2pm! Don't forget you can always watch the Legislature live at this link.

All my best,

Our HD-65 team continues to work on legislation in many areas of impact; you can see a list here of all the bills we have filed to date, as well as their status. We will continue to update you with featured legislation.

HB 1542: Reported Favorably Out of Committee

Restoring some permits to Texas Motor Speedway that were inadvertently removed

I presented my first bill to committee this week! For a bill to pass the House after it has been filed, it must first be assigned to a committee and reviewed -- where they will decide whether to send it to the full House for a vote. So the bill author goes before the committee to explain the bill, or "lay it out", making the case to the committee as to its purpose and value. I was a little nervous but the committee members were very patient! The bill is a straight-forward administrative clean-up bill that restores some licensing and permit language which was accidentally removed during the sunset review process.

HB 92, HB 1348, HB 1750, et al: Reported Favorably Out of Committee

Then, as a member of the Agriculture & Livestock Committee, I participate in the bill hearing process from the other side. I heard several bills which we reviewed and voted favorably. You can see all bills before the Ag Committee here.

HB 4656: FILED

Authorizing a temporary teaching certificate for qualified K-12 educators

Always pleased to author a bill which will help increase teacher staffing! You can read the bill in full here. This will help with our teacher shortage by expediting the ability of school districts to hire new educators from out of state who are certified and qualified but are merely awaiting their Texas teaching certificate. Thank you to our friends at Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD for bringing this idea to our attention!

Our next Legislative Coffee in the district will be this Saturday, March 25, 9:00-10:30 am at the Denton County Pct 3 Government Center. 

We will also have some special guests joining us to provide community updates, including Denton County Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell, Lewisville Mayor TJ Gilmore, Highland Village Mayor Dan Jaworski, LISD President Tracy Scott Miller and more.

Need more info? Give us a shout.

Several freshmen legislators took a border tour at Eagle Pass to get a firsthand view of the work being done for Operation Lone Star.

We are dealing with a security and humanitarian crisis at the Texas border, and while it should be a cooperative relationship between federal, state and local law enforcement and leadership to solve the crisis, it is not. Two years ago, Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star to secure the border and protect Texas communities. Every day since, our troopers have been working to prevent, detect and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry along the Texas/Mexico border. This has led to 355,000+ apprehensions, 25,000+ criminal arrests, and over 366 million deadly fentanyl doses seized. 

As a legislator from North Texas, I am committed to seeing the border situation with my own eyes, so I can contribute productively and knowledgeably to support the Texas efforts in Operation Lone Star.

Last week, several House members met with a local Austin restaurant to learn about an eminent domain issue, and I got to try a famous burger from "Dirty Martin's"

We want to celebrate important events in our community -- student accomplishments, business milestones, and significant dates and anniversaries -- with you. Please get in touch with our office to inquire.

And please let us know if you have an event you would like our office to attend!

Click here for the archive of Rep. Thimesch's newsletter.



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