State Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) gave a recap of the last legislative session and listened to the concerns of Donley County residents during a stop in Clarendon last Thursday, October 10.
Speaking at the Clarendon College Bairfield Activity Center, Rep. King said his most important job at this point is the redistricting that will follow the 2020 US Census.
“Currently you need a population of about 160,000 to make a state house district,” King said. “That will change to 200,000. One rural East Texas district, and one rural West District will be lost.”
King doesn’t thing his district will be eliminated, but he emphasized the importance of redistricting to the people of this area.
King highlighted accomplishments of the last Legislature, which he said were a balanced budget and public education reforms that gave more money to teachers and more money to address the mental health of students.
“There’s never enough money in public education, but House Bill 3 was a good start,” King said.
Another highlight, King said, was Melissa’s Law, which improves the sentencing statute for sexual predators. King said the bill was authored by a district attorney here in House District 88. A bill that also came from this area was HB 2604, which expanded some grant opportunities for volunteer fire departments.
“The best legislation is always that which is brought up by a constituent, so please continue to participate,” King said.
Looking ahead to the 2021 legislative session, King said the state sales tax would be on the table. Adding a penny to the sales levy would do more for public education than anything else the state could do, he said.
King also hopes to look at health insurance options for retired teachers in the next session and consider appraisal reform to treat poorer rural counties differently than richer urban counties.
Clarendon ISD Interim Superintendent Mike Jackson thanked King for his support in getting a 13th check for retired teachers but urged him to support a cost of living increase for those retirees.
Clarendon College President Robert Riza thanked the representative for his dedication and his availability work for the interests of community colleges. King noted that, while there are a lot of lawyers and insurance salesmen serving as legislators, he is the only one who works in the oil and gas business.
Donley County Judge John Howard asked King about the possibility of economically disadvantaged counties being able to keep a higher percentage of fines that go to the state.
King, referring to his earlier remarks, encouraged the judge to put a formal proposal together that could be carried as a bill in the next session.
“I’d much rather work on your agenda than mine,” King said.
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