About John
• Biography
• Working for Texas
• Legislative Accomplishments
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Working for Texas
Lower Property taxes
Skyrocketing appraisals are making a mockery of
legislative efforts to slow annual property tax increases. I
will work to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot
that will limit such increases to 5 percent a year.
Quality Education
In the last session, we reformed the school finance
system, reducing local school property taxes one-third by
increasing the state share of funding. We also raised
teacher salaries and classroom standards. I will press for
further reform to ensure that additional money goes into the
classroom, not the bureaucracy, and that students are taught
the basics.
Immigration Control
Due to the federal government's failure to secure our
border, we expanded state efforts to cut off common crossing
areas, implemented new technology to identify where the
leaks are and increased penalties on employers who knowingly
hire illegal immigrants. I support increased efforts in all
these areas and more, including laws that require photo ID
at the polls and prevent illegal immigrants from getting
Texas driver's licenses.
Property rights
I strongly supported the Republican-led efforts that
limited the government's power under eminent domain to take
a person's property for private development and enacted a
Landowner's Bill of Rights that protects land owners from
abusive government practices. I will fight any effort by
local jurisdictions or the courts to circumvent these
limits.
Government spending
We
must limit government's ability to grow faster than the
combined rates of inflation and population growth, ensure
greater transparency in budgeting and spending, and prevent
revenue raised from a specific tax from being used on
anything other than its intended purpose.
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