Maybe it was the presidential inauguration on Tuesday or another productive meeting I had with speaker Straus - whatever it was, this past week I have felt a special sense of political unity here in Austin.
Thanks to this same sense of unity the house has glided through the first week of session without a hitch. I wish I could say the same for my colleagues across the rotunda. The Texas Senate is now embroiled in a politically divisive battle over whether Texas citizens should be required to show a photo identification in addition to their registration card when they head to the voting booth.
Supporters of this Voter ID legislation claim that it is needed to prevent voter fraud. Opponents argue there have been very few, if any, cases of voter impersonation in Texas. They also point out that requiring a photo ID would disenfranchise thousands of people who are elderly, disabled, or economically disadvantaged and just do not have a drivers license or any other readily available photo identification.
While Voter ID is controversial, it pales in comparison to the more significant issues of this session - issues like putting a stop to the runaway cost of college tuition, financing our public education system, reducing higher utility costs, and most of all, balancing a nine billion dollar budget deficit.
We have serious challenges ahead of us, challenges which cannot be met unless we take them on with the sense of unity that I referred to earlier.
We received valuable feedback after the last newsletter about some issues important to you - our constituent. Please keep the communication coming. Also, please feel free to forward this newsletter to any of your friends and associates. The more constituent responses we get, the better our actions will be catered to your needs.
- by Kirk England, State Representative, District 106
