Happy President's Day!

Hi Kronda,

This past week Appropriations Committee hearings began. Our second meeting was 11.5 hours long, as we heard from state agencies including the Dept. of Health & Human Services, and Texas Education Agency.

I am honored to have been chosen to serve on Article III Subcommittee on Appropriations which oversees higher education and public education. Our subcommittee meeting will have hearings this week with testimony from universities across the state. With these committee assignments comes stakeholder meetings to have a better understanding of the requests and needs for each entity.

Agriculture & Livestock Committee will also begin hearings this week. Did you know that HD65 is one of the only House districts that includes urban (City of Dallas and Fort Worth), suburban (Lewisville, Carrollton, Plano, The Colony, Highland Village, Flower Mound, Roanoke) plus more rural areas (Justin, Northlake, Argyle, Bartonville, Double Oak, Copper Canyon, Rhome and unincorporated land at the western county border) precincts? ❤️ I love the unique diversity of HD-65!

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with friends from the district; I make every effort to meet with constituents at the Capitol. With committee hearings and House floor sessions also on the calendar, it helps for you to schedule a meeting ahead of time to ensure we have time to visit. Please contact my Chief of Staff as you plan your trip to Austin at Ruth.Mesta@House.Texas.Gov.

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. There are many more still being drafted as well! We will continue to update you with featured legislation.

HB 2134: FILED

Giving local jurisdictions more tools to crack down on massage parlors

Illicit massage establishments are often a front for prostitution rings and human trafficking operations. Our office recently filed House Bill 2134 to help arm cities and counties with more options to end human trafficking operations in their communities. You can read more about it here, and see the full bill language here. Rep. Ben Bumgarner and I are proud to stand with Texas leadership in the fight against this terrible criminal activity.

HB 1581: CO-AUTHORS ON BOARD

Strengthening penalties for fentanyl distribution

I'm thrilled to share that my colleagues Rep. Frederick Frazier of Collin County and now Rep. John Lujan of Bexar County are joining me in the fentanyl fight. As we announced last time, this bill creates a standalone charge and would create a clearer path for prosecutors to successfully press charges when fentanyl is a factor in an injury or death. As former first responders, Reps. Frazier and Lujan both understand that we have to do whatever it takes to get this deadly poison off the streets.

Thanks to everyone who came out to join us at the Queen Margaret Community Center in Castle Hills. We had a great turnout and lots of good updates from Denton County officials, Lewisville ISD and city leaders, and Carrollton city and CFB-ISD leaders.

Our next Legislative Coffee in the district will be Saturday, March 11, 9:00-10:30 am at the Denton County Southwest Courthouse (6200 Canyon Falls Drive, Flower Mound).

We will also have some special guests joining us to provide community updates, including Denton County Commissioner Dianne Edmondson, Northlake Mayor David Rettig, Denton County Constable Danny Fletcher and Denton ISD Trustee Amy Bundgus.

Need more info? Give us a shout.

🗓️ And... mark your calendar for the one after that:

Saturday, March 25, 9:00-10:30 am at Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell's office

Precinct 3 Government Building (400 N Valley, #2068, Lewisville 75067)

Denton Chamber of Commerce members stopped by the Capitol. Enjoyed visiting with long time friend and President of Denton Chamber Erin Carter!

NFIB Conference speaking about the importance of small businesses to the Texas economy - I'm committed to finding ways to reduce regulations and support small business!

Legislative update to the North Texas Commission Executive Board

First Appropriations Committee Hearing! with fellow freshman colleagues Mano DeAyala, Carl Tepper and Angelia Orr

Denton County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner with keynote speaker Governor Greg Abbott

Bergundi Cain and her boys stopped by to deliver Valentine's cards to staff 🥹 Precious!

City of Lewisville Celebration of Black History Month featured an achievement fair with student exhibits on someone who inspires them.

Thank you to Lewisville Mayor TJ Gilmore and Carrollton Mayor Steve Babick for attending our 1st Legislative Coffee with Kronda! ❤️ Love our HD-65 Mayors!

Enjoyed meeting with CoServ friends on their visit to the Capitol

Good Elementary students from CFBISD taking a tour of the Capitol!

Freshman legislators and Secretary of State Jane Nelson at the 2023 Legislative Ladies Luncheon hosted by Gov. and First Lady Cecilia Abbott

Flower Mound Chamber Annual Awards Luncheon celebrating businesses, volunteers and community leaders

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.



Did someone forward this email to you? You can get your own subscription -- sign up right here.

We will never share your information.

Stay connected with Rep. Thimesch and her team on social media: