I was going to post an excerpt of it, but the whole letter is so good, I had to post all of it. For those of you who don't like long posts...well, don't read it.
The Riddle Report
February 22, 2010
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I can hardly believe January and February have already flown by and the March primary season is upon us. Before you know it, 2011 will be here and we will be commencing the 82nd Legislative Session. We are allowed to file new legislation as early as November 8th of this year for the upcoming session, and I always like to file a big chunk of my bills on the very first day, to give them the best chance possible to be passed.
During the interim between sessions is when I am working on legislation to introduce the following year. I have specific priorities for next session that will include property taxes, border security, and economic development. Those, however, are not the only priorities. We have a multitude of issues we are working on. The feedback I receive from my constituents is always the most important element in drafting my legislative agenda, so please continue to let me hear from you as we work together.
DEFENDING THE 2ND AMENDMENT
These last few years have been crucial for the advancement of our Second Amendment rights. In 2007, I joint-authored the Castle Doctrine that has expanded your right to defend yourself and your family at home or at work. Then, in June of 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States (the Court) issued the landmark decision of District of Columbia vs. Heller, which struck down a D.C. ban on handguns.
With gun-control advocates on the ropes, the NRA is looking to land a knock-out punch with McDonald vs. Chicago, a case which will be before the Court beginning on March 2. The city of Chicago has a similar handgun ban as the one ruled unconstitutional in Heller. It's a very complicated argument from a legal perspective, but essentially, the question in this case is whether or not the Fourteenth Amendment would make the protections of the Second Amendment binding on all states, not just a federal district (such as Washington, D.C.).
In other words, if the Court rules on this case as they did in the Heller case, all state and city governments would be prohibited from banning firearms.
For this reason, I've added my name to an "amicus brief" that has been filed by hundreds, if not thousands, of state legislators across the nation. This brief asks the Court to stay the course of their previous decisions and strike a blow for liberty and self-defense in keeping with the wishes of our Founding Fathers.
The Texas State Rifle Association has also been very instrumental in bringing forth this challenge, and most experts agree that the Court will rule in favor of Second Amendment rights on this issue. In a time where there has been very little to cheer for in the federal political scene, this is very good news. I am proud to add my name to this brief and stand up for District 150's right to self-defense!
CRACKING DOWN ON ILLEGAL MASSAGE PARLORS
It is no secret that our area has become infested with brothels posing as massage parlors. These despicable establishments use the good name and reputation of legitimate massage therapists to run human trafficking operations and prostitution rings, the scope of which would absolutely take your breath away if you were able to personally witness it. By posing as legitimate businesses, these criminal organizations have been able to largely avoid legal consequences up to this point. But that is all changing very quickly.
Last session, Representative Patricia Harless, Senator Dan Patrick, and I teamed up with Precinct 4 Constable Ron Hickman to pass Representative Harless's HB 3094, which allows counties to pass regulations aimed at targeting these fake businesses. Recently, I accompanied Constable Hickman on raids of two of these establishments. I cannot fully relate to you the horrors of what I saw.
These young women, most of whom are here against their will, live in conditions so unsanitary that it is difficult to even describe. They are treated no better than animals. In fact, most of us would not dare keep our pets or livestock in conditions as cruel as these. Some employees are very young girls. Some are much older women. But none of them are treated like humans. It was absolutely sickening.
HB 3094 will go a long way in getting after these businesses, but the fight has really just begun. I will continue to search for legislative solutions to prevent these evil persons from exploiting the loopholes that allow their businesses to operate.
Additionally, the Speaker of the House has recently issued the Interim Committee charges for our respective committees in Austin. The Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, of which I have been a member for seven years, is charged with studying human and sex trafficking in Texas this next year. This study has profound implications, not only for these brothels, but for our illegal immigration issue as well. I will be very closely involved with this issue as it progresses, and plan on continuing to introduce legislation in the 82nd Session to wipe these businesses out once and for all.
SPEAKER RELEASES INTERIM CHARGES
As I just mentioned, the Speaker of the House has given us our Interim Charges for 2010. For those of you who may not be familiar with the process, we call the time in between sessions "the interim." Since we're only in session for five months every other year, a lot of the heavy lifting gets done during the interim, in terms of researching and hashing out the issues we'll address during session.
Every member of the House is on at least two committees, and each of those committees get anywhere from five to 10 "interim charges" for the committee to look into and hold formal public hearings on. I am still the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, and as such, it appears that my subcommittee will have two charges to investigate this interim.
One is to examine the implementation of the diversion pilot programs, juvenile case management system, and other policy and funding initiatives to determine whether the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and the Texas Youth Commission have adhered to legislative directive in implementing these programs, and the impact of these programs on commitments at the Texas Youth Commission. We will join the House Committee on Corrections in this charge.
The second charge is to monitor and review the disbursement and use of border and homeland security funds, and evaluate the effectiveness in meeting the state's border and homeland security program goals and objectives. We will join the House Committee on Defense and Veteran's Affairs in continuing to investigate and develop workable solutions. Obviously, border security has been one of my top priorities since I first began serving in this position. I will keep you updated as we make progress towards these public hearings. I know many of you will be interested in monitoring their development.
Here are a few other interim charges that may interest you:
House Committee on Elections: Examine the prevalence of fraud in Texas elections. Study new laws in other states regarding voter identification and recommend statutory changes necessary to ensure that only eligible voters can vote in Texas elections.
House Committee on Land and Resource Management: Examine unresolved issues relating to eminent domain legislation introduced during the 81st Legislative Session. Monitor any pending litigation.
House Committee on Public Safety: Investigate best practices to process concealed hand gun licenses in order to alleviate backlog and make recommendations for implementation, if appropriate.
House Committee on Redistricting: Conduct public hearings in appropriate locations to obtain public input on all issues relating to the redistricting of legislative, congressional, and State Board of Education districts following the release of the federal census in 2011.
House Committee on State Affairs: Review state compliance with federal law regarding undocumented immigrants. Evaluate the costs of services and benefits provided to undocumented immigrants by state agencies and local governments.
Thank you for allowing me to provide you with this update! Please share it with anyone you think would be interested in receiving it. As always, if you would like to be added to my e-mail list, please send an e-mail to jon.english@house.state.tx.us with the words "e-mail updates" in the subject. And if you would like to be removed from our list, we will be happy to do so. Please send an e-mail to the same address.
Sincerely,
Debbie Riddle
State Representative
District 150
