Sen. Perry Reflects Upon His First Legislative Session

Earlier this week Senator Charles Perry (R – Lubbock) finished up his first legislative session in the Texas Senate. Over the course of the last 140 days, Perry worked hard to pass significant legislation that advance the conservative, rural values his constituents sent him to Austin to represent.

“This session we passed a conservative budget that properly funds public education, while significantly reducing both our state’s property tax and business tax,” said Perry. “Additionally, we passed a strong border security package, much needed pro-life legislation, and greatly expanded Second Amendment Rights.”

Perry passed a total of 27 senate bills and 35 house bills, placing him in the top five senators for total number of bills passed.

“We had a strong first session in the senate,” continued Perry. “What an unanticipated blessing to serve as the first freshman chairman since 1993 and having the ability to stand up for West Texas water and agriculture."

The legislation passed by Perry touched on a variety of topics from water conservation to improving college readiness and workforce development in the classroom. Below are some of the more significant bills authored or sponsored by Perry:

SB 461: Helps prohibit the sale of dangerous synthetic drugs that our local communities in West Texas have been fighting to eliminate.

SB 473: Allows for properly licensed gun owners to possess certain prohibited weapons such as gun suppressors.

SB 795: Protects the ballot box by allowing Texas to join the Interstate Crosscheck Program. This will eliminate duplicate registration on voter rolls and prevent voter fraud.

SB 1339: Helps our local farmers by ensuring that a farmer's property is not unjustly confiscated.

SB 1664: Implements the ABLE Act in Texas. This legislation empowers individuals with disabilities to save money and become more financially independent.

HB 18: Education reform package that will ensure students receive more access to college credit and workforce development in high school.

HB 655: Implements a streamlined permitting process that encourages the development of aquifer storage and recovery projects, which involve injecting treated surface water underground for storage and later recovery. These projects can save a tremendous of water from evaporation and can be used to store floodwater, such as the water that caused flooding in Austin and Houston in recent weeks. Aquifer storage and recovery projects are an excellent water supply strategy in many parts of the state, and will only become a more integral piece of meeting our state's future water needs

HB 3994: This legislation strengthens parental rights, protects minors, and reduces unlawful abortions through ensuring the judicial bypass process is used as intended, not frivolously.

“It always amazes me how 181 individuals from different backgrounds across the state can come together and fight to make the state a better place,” said Perry. “I look forward to continue working with my fellow legislators throughout the interim to ensure Texas remains the envy of the nation.”