Rep. Charlie Howard Town Hall Forum
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas State Rep. Charlie Howard in conjunction with The Texas Conservative Coalition held a Town Hall Listening Forum at Clements High School in Sugar Land recently. Five Republican State Reps from around the state were present to discuss the upcoming 2011 Legislative session.
Seated on the stage with Howard as a panel to take questions from the audience were:
- Representative Debbie Riddle of Tomball
- Representative Randy Weber of Pearland
- Representative Wayne Christian of Center
- Representative Bill Callegari of Katy and
- Representative Ken Legler of Pasadena.
The importance of Fort Bend county in the political climate of Texas was evident in having an unprecedented number of state representative on hand to answer questions from the residence of Fort Bend and surrounding districts.
The five visiting representatives were present in respect for Representative Howard and to demonstrate his leadership in the Texas state house.
The program compared the results of less government and more freedom with more government and less freedom. All present have endorsing the 2011 Texas Conservative Coalition Pledge which includes:
- Balancing the budget without raising taxes
- Limiting federal intrusion
- Cutting taxes
- Improving election integrity and
Securing the Texas border
The legislators gave a helpful explanation of some of the issues facing the upcoming legislative session followed by a lively question & answer session with the audience of over 200 Texas residents.
Issues discussed in depth included eliminating discretionary and wasteful spending that fall outside state responsibilities.
The dialog showed that there was no economic or social crisis when the budget cuts were made in 2003 to balance the budget that afforded the fiscal strength to position Texas to be the nations fiscal powerhouse for almost a decade and to weather the current economic downturn better than other states.
The
Texas Conservative Coalition illustrated types of programs that may have to be cut in order to balance the budget to cover 2012-13 without raising taxes.
The legislators reasserted ways of limiting the role of the federal government by rejecting federal funds as an enticement to create new programs offering heath care freedom legislation for choices in health care and supporting balanced budget amendments to the US Constitution.
The Texas Constitution requires the state legislators to balance the state budget which continues to prove expedient for our states progress.
The critical nature of the November 2 elections was made clear by giving the impact of new district lines on the state representatives state senators and the congressmen.
Texas stands to get three or four additional congressmen with the final results of 2010 census.
Final subjects of discussion included:
Controlling immigration- Lowing property taxes and
- Making revisions to the business franchise tax.
Few people realize that under the current 10 percent appraisal cap the tax bill on your home will double every 7 ½ years even if the tax rate remains the same. Several reforms and viable solutions were discussed at the forum.
A standing ovation was given at the end of the two hour forum as Representative Howard was awarded the Courageous Conservative" award for his contributions during the 2008 legislative session.
