October 16, 2019 830 PM
Lytle, Ozona, Del Rio, San Antonio––This fall started with visits to all parts of Senate District 19, giving me an opportunity to continue meeting constituents, catching up with old friends, updating everybody on the good work done in the 86th Texas Legislature.
A recent district tour included a town hall in Eagle Pass, coffee and donuts in Del Rio, lunch in Brackettville, and another town hall in Uvalde. Although my calendar has been packed with events, this was among the first hosted by my Senate office to connect with you. Thank you to the hundreds of folks who came out.
We have another town hall in Castroville this week and future events in West Texas and San Antonio. As always, watch this column, my social medias, and my Senate website to remain updated on all events. If you are a part of an organization and would like me to visit, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
A big event is around the corner that we should all participate in: Election Day. November 5, 2019 is Election Day in Texas, where citizens will vote on ten Constitutional Amendments plus various municipal and county decisions, depending on where you live. Early voting begins Monday, October 21. Please contact Texas Secretary of State or your local county clerk to see a sample ballot and find polling places.
Amending the Texas Constitution is no trivial task; I encourage Texas voters to take this responsibility seriously and explore all ten propositions on the ballot. Today I want to highlight two propositions in particular.
Proposition 4 prohibits the imposition of an income tax in the state of Texas. I remain fully supportive of prohibiting an income tax, allowing Texas families to keep more of their hard-earn money and preserving the Texas model of low taxation and regulation. Voting “For” prohibits the imposition of any possible income tax in the future; voting “Against” leaves the option of a future income tax open, should the Legislature decide to do so.
Proposition 5 redirects revenue of an existing sporting goods tax to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission to protect Texas’ parks and historic sites; the proposition does not create a new tax. The sporting goods sales tax is already collected from bicycles, hunting equipment, fishing tackle, and related items typically enjoyed in a state or local park.
For that reason, the Legislature has historically allocated most or all of the sporting goods sales tax to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission. This proposition cements that status quo, guaranteeing the revenue in the future. Voting “For” this proposition guarantees Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission will receive sporting good sales tax revenue in the future; voting “Against” leaves the option open to future Legislatures.
Have you checked your mailbox this week? My official Senate newsletter should be arriving any day now; this six-page newsletter goes into detail how my colleagues and I in the Texas Legislature worked for you, focusing on eight key policy areas from education to water rights. A hard copy of the newsletter was sent to every registered voter household in Senate District 19. The newsletter will also be available online at my Senate website, www.flores.senate.texas.gov.
Among the policy updates, the newsletter also includes the link to online survey. I need feedback from my constituents to serve you as a Texas Senator in the manner you deserve and expect. The survey takes around 5 minutes to complete; you can access the survey at the following link: www.senate.texas.gov/SD19survey.
Sen. Pete Flores is a Republican Texas Senator representing Senate District 19. To contact Sen. Flores, call his Capitol office at (512) 463-0119 or send an email to District19.Flores@senate.texas.gov.
