James Frank for Texas State Representative District 69
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Special Session #3 Recap – The One with the Maps & Money October 22, 2021

November 3, 2017 by ewebdesign in Election General News
From the newsletter sent October 22, 2021

 

After nearly 10 months of being in Austin for session (through May) and 3 different 30-day special sessions, I am thrilled to finally be back home. The 3rd–and hopefully final–special session ended a little after 1am Tuesday morning. After dealing with topics like election integrity and a 13th check for retired teachers in the previous special session, Governor Abbott put ten items on the call for this third special session:

 

  1. Redistricting,
  2. Appropriating federal relief and recovery funds,
  3. Prohibition on COVID vaccine mandates from government entities,
  4. Transgender athlete participation in UIL sports,
  5. Dog tethering,
  6. Property tax relief (added with 28 days remaining in the special),
  7. Bail reform constitutional amendment (added with 28 days remaining in the special),
  8. Increases in penalties for illegally voting (added with 20 days remaining in the special),
  9. Prohibition on COVID vaccine mandates from all entities (added with 8 days remaining in the special),
  10. Higher education improvements (added with 4 days remaining in the special)

 

As a reminder, when we are in a special session, we cannot pass bills that are not on the Governor’s agenda.

 

The biggest and absolute MUST-PASS item was redistricting and we were able to pass all of the necessary maps on time. Every ten years, the Texas Legislature is tasked with drawing the districts for the Texas House, Texas Senate, State Board of Education, and Texas’ Congressional seats. Our state’s growth over the past ten years resulted in Texas gaining two seats in the US House of Representatives, which means two additional congressional districts had to be drawn into the state.

 

Closer to home, our Texas House district (HD-69) needed to grow by about 30,000 people. To gain that population, the district is growing from 6 counties (Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Knox, and Wichita) to 14 counties (by adding Cottle, Fisher, Hardeman, Haskell, King, Motley, Stonewall, and Wilbarger).

 

Of those 9 items listed above, there were a couple of topics that did not make it across the finish line. The most notable issue that did not make it to the Governor’s desk was the prohibition on COVID vaccine mandates. I supported legislation that would have protected individuals from mandated vaccination by either the government or business owners, but in the end the votes were not there to get something passed out of either the House or Senate. The Governor did issue an executive order that accomplishes the same thing and that is effectively law until his emergency declaration on COVID expires.

 

Below, we have provided a brief breakdown of each of the bills passed this special session. If you have any questions about what passed (or did not pass) over the past ten months, please reach out to me or my office.

May God bless you and your family,
James B. Frank Signature
James B. Frank
READ FULL NEWSLETTER HERE
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The Cost of a Thankless Heart, The Importance of Being Grateful, and Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation November 26, 2021

November 3, 2017 by ewebdesign in Election General News
From the newsletter sent November 24, 2021

 

“Never in the history of man have so many had so much, and thought they had so little.”

 

This in my estimation is American life in 2021. By just about any measure of material well-being, Americans are fantastically wealthy compared to the vast majority of people alive in the world today and certainly at any point in world history. Yet, if our suicide rates, drug usage and reported mental health problems are any indication we are an increasingly unhappy people despite our abundant wealth. While many will point to increased income inequality as the culprit, today’s poor in this country are fabulously wealthy compared to most other countries and, again, any earlier time.

 

It’s almost as if there is more to life than material possessions. While there are many issues at the heart of our collective unhappiness as a country, I believe one of the root causes is that as a culture and as individuals, we have lost our sense of gratitude and have forgotten the source of our blessings. We live in a world with dueling ideologies where the worst of one side has made the pursuit of money (greed is good) a god that will somehow satisfy, while the worst of the other extreme has made an idol out of envy and jealously of anyone who has more than they do (regardless of their own blessings). Regardless of whether envy or greed, the result is feeling that you never have enough.

 

I am certainly not immune to this thankless attitude that seems to permeate our society. It is why I think having a national day of Thanksgiving as a country is such a potentially important day. Imagine if everyone focused on what they as individuals have for which to be thankful. Imagine if we actually acknowledged the source of these blessings as a country, instead of looking at what we don’t yet have or what someone else has that we don’t.

 

I realize that many of you may be going through trials that make you feel as if Thankfulness is unattainable for you or somehow you don’t need to be grateful. This is why every year I reread the Thanksgiving Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, who did not allow the bloodiest war in American history from deterring him from giving thanks. In fact, I would guess that his willingness to recognize his (and this country’s) many blessings and their source, was likely the only thing that sustained him during some of the darkest hours in our county’s history.

 

For many of us, the best thing we could do for our mental health and for the well-being of those around us would be to cultivate gratitude and be the kind of people who are focused on the gifts we have received rather than the things we do not have. We compare our wealth to the titans of industry, our looks to the most beautiful in Hollywood and our athletic prowess to professional athletes. Meanwhile in the real world, we could simply spend any amount of time with real people in our own cities to realize just how blessed most of us are.

 

It is my hope that you have a happy and truly thankful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

May God bless you and your family,
James B. Frank Signature
James B. Frank
READ FULL NEWSLETTER HERE
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Constitutional Amendments October 15, 2021

November 3, 2017 by ewebdesign in Election General News
From the newsletter sent October 15, 2021
Starting October 18th through 29th (early voting) and on November 2nd (election day), Texans will have the opportunity to vote on eight potential amendments to our state constitution. For amendment proposals to make it onto the ballot, they must first be approved in the form of a Joint Resolution by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the Texas Legislature. Unlike passage of normal laws, Joint Resolutions do not go to the Governor for a signature or veto. They also often have accompanying “enabling legislation” which are normal bills that modify existing state code, not just the Constitution, in order to enact the changes called for in the amendment proposal.

 

 

It is difficult to get the necessary votes to get an amendment on the ballot. As such, most (but certainly not all) amendments are fairly non-controversial and easily approved by voters. While they are all important, Proposition 6 has a special place for me as it is the result of a ton of hard work by my staff and individuals across the state to ensure that nursing home residents are never again denied their right to in-person visitation by a loved one. In addition to Prop 6, I will be voting in support of 7 of the 8 amendments.

 

The proposed amendments are as follows:

 

Proposition 1: Allows charitable foundations linked to professional rodeo associations to conduct raffles.

 

Proposition 2: Provides municipalities the authority to finance infrastructure in underdeveloped areas.

 

Proposition 3: Prohibits the state from limiting religious services.

 

Proposition 4: Raises the qualifications to serve as a judge or justice on certain courts.

 

Proposition 5: Allows the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate and take action against judicial candidates in the same manner as they do for sitting judges.

 

Proposition 6: Establishes the right of individuals in long-term care facilities to designate an individual as an essential caregiver for in-person visitation.

 

Proposition 7: Places a tax freeze on school district taxes on the homesteads of eligible surviving spouses of disabled individuals.

 

Proposition 8: Creates a property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of a servicemember killed in the line of duty.

 

We’ve included a more in-depth explainer on each proposition below. The Texas House Research Organization also has produced a good non-partisan briefing on the amendments that you can read here. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.

May God bless you and your family,
James B. Frank Signature
James B. Frank
READ FULL NEWSLETTER HERE
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2nd Special Session Wrap-up & 3rd Special Coming Soon September 8, 2021

November 3, 2017 by ewebdesign in Election General News
From the newsletter sent September 8, 2021
It was a long time coming, but once the House finally reached a quorum, we were able to work through most of the special session agenda relatively quickly. In total, there are 15 bills set to become law, each pertaining to the issues the Governor placed on the special session call.
We’ve talked about it before, but the marquee issue of this special session was the election integrity bill. Without rehashing all the details, this bill makes election laws consistent across the state, expands early voting hours for most counties, and increases the penalties for those who commit voter fraud. It’s a good bill that is the result of lots of negotiation and input from Texans across the state. I, along with the majority of my colleagues, voted yes, and the bill is set to become law before the 2022 midterm elections.
In other news, the Legislature passed SB 4 to shore up protections for women’s health. This bill strengthens existing reporting requirements for abortion-related complications and tightens the regulation of drug-induced abortions. Given the fertility and health risks associated with these drugs, this legislation will protect children and their mothers. Though some tried to make this a partisan issue, it was actually continuing safety regulations started during the Clinton Administration.
We also appropriated over $3 billion this session which will go towards property tax relief, securing the border, increasing rates for foster care providers, and funding Article X of the budget (ensuring that legislative staff and legislative agency staff will continue to be paid for their work).
Additionally, there are bills headed to the Governor’s desk to provide a 13th check to retired teachers, reform the bail system, improve K-12 education, address critical race theory in school classrooms, and prevent censorship on social media. We’ve included a full list of bills set to become law below.
Finally, the Governor announced yesterday that the Legislature will convene for a third special session on September 20, less than two weeks away. Redistricting will be the main priority as we work to draw state and congressional maps for the next election cycle. There are a handful of other issues on the call as well: appropriations of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, vaccine mandates by governmental entities, transgender athlete participation in UIL sports, and dog tethering restrictions.
That means that we’ve had another special session announced before we were able to get out this recap newsletter of the last special session. It’s truly been a long summer!
As always, if you have questions about specific bills that did or did not pass, please contact us and we’ll be happy to get you additional information.
May God bless you and your family,
James B. Frank Signature
James B. Frank
READ FULL NEWSLETTER HERE
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Voter Suppression? Election Integrity? READ THE BILL! July 23, 2021

November 3, 2017 by ewebdesign in Election General News
From the newsletter sent July 23, 2021
The most frustrating part of politics is hearing people (including elected officials) make incendiary claims about legislation that seem to have nothing to do with the actual bill. At a time when it has never been easier to read bills for yourself, it seems very few actually do so before commenting. People seem content to shout their team’s slogans and accuse others of having the worst of motives.
I have outlined some of my thoughts on what HB 3–the election integrity bill making the news recently–actually does on the following pages, but if you’d like to read the bill yourself, you may do so by going here. You may not agree with everything that’s in it or you may have specific questions. If that’s the case, I invite you to reach out to me at votejamesfrank@gmail.com and I’d love to respond.
The Texas Constitution requires 100 of the 150 House members be present for the body to act. Enough House Democrats fled the state a couple of weeks ago to deny that quorum. Regardless of your thoughts about HB 3 or other elections bills, there are several other important issues that should be before the Legislature during this special session, but are currently on hold due to the lack of quorum. Among these items are increased benefits for retired teachers, property tax relief, and important reforms to the bail system that would keep our state safer.
With the decision by House Democrats to leave the state, the members remaining took the extraordinary step of issuing a Call of the House. It’s been a procedure rarely used in the past and I explain the specifics later on in the newsletter. If you’re interested in reading about elected members of the Legislature being locked inside the House chamber, read on!
May God bless you and your family,
James B. Frank Signature
James B. Frank
READ FULL NEWSLETTER HERE
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End of Session Recap, New Laws, Personal Bills June 25, 2021

November 3, 2017 by ewebdesign in Election General News
From the newsletter sent June 25, 2021
Every session has a certain personality to it. Some are characterized by partisan rancor or fiery rhetoric, while others can feel fairly benign. Sessions also typically get described by the issues that make the most headlines–regardless of whether or not those issues took up the lion’s share of the time. Though this session will be remembered by some as the “one with the Democrat walk-out”  or as the “COVID session,” I think it’s important to judge a session by the work product in full–not the headlines.
That’s why we are sending out this end of session recap: to provide an overview of the various bills that passed and the issues the Legislature worked on over the last 5 months. While we try to cover the items that most people will be interested in, this newsletter can in no way cover everything. There were nearly 7,000 bills filed this session, and over 1,000 of those passed both the House and Senate. Therefore, if you have specific questions that aren’t answered in this newsletter, I invite you to contact us and we’ll be happy to get you answers. In that vein, be on the lookout for a follow-up newsletter where we will cover the unfinished business from this session, including the issues that will likely be considered in a special session.
Though it may change over time, I think I’ll remember this session for the strangeness of being at the Capitol during COVID protocol and for the ERCOT/PUC issues in the wake of Winter Storm Uri. I’ll also remember it for the passage of meaningful pro-life legislation, firearms rights protection, and as a meaningful start on a health care plan for Texas.
From a personal perspective, I don’t know that we’ve ever had a more successful session. I filed 23 bills and sponsored 8 Senate bills ranging in topics from health insurance coverage and Medicaid reform to foster care and water. Of those 31 bills, 20 of them either passed on their own or were included as parts of other bills. I am proud of that success rate and appreciate the support of my colleagues in making it possible. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the hard work of my staff–Travis Stedje, Gregory Cline, Carlye Bindel, Maureen Metteauer, and Jim Johnson–without whom none of this would happen.

Finally, I want to say thank you to you-the people who work and live in Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Knox, and Wichita Counties. This was the 5th regular session that I have had the honor of representing you in Austin. Even though sessions are full of hard work, long hours, and a long time away from home, I know what a privilege it is to do this and continue to appreciate the support and faith shown in me.

May God bless you and your family,
James B. Frank Signature
James B. Frank
READ FULL NEWSLETTER HERE
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