One of the key pieces of pro-life legislation moving through the process is H.B. 2364, The Pre-Born Pain Act. This bill prohibits the performance of abortions after 20 weeks, making sure that abortions are never performed on unborn children capable of feeling pain. This bill will present attorneys fighting the legal battle against abortion in federal courts a new, unique approach to fight against the taking of the life of unborn children.

Texas faces its third year of a drought and our reservoirs are only 65 percent full, the lowest levels since 1990.  The need for water is one of the highest concerns of the Legislature as our state is on track to experience the second worst drought on record.  To illustrate the problem, Texas’s population is projected to jump from 25 million to 46 million by 2060. Within that time water supplies are estimated to decline while the needs of our residential, industrial, and agricultural communities substantially increase.

The Texas Legislature recently convened and there are many issues that need to be addressed. However, our first order of business, as required by the Texas Constitution, is to pass a balanced budget for the 2014-15 biennium.

Before we begin debating the budget for the upcoming biennium, we must close out the current budget year. Walking into this session, Texas faces $6.78 billion in unfunded obligations for 2013. Although an $8.8 billion cash surplus remains on hand, we will have to use these funds to cover those outstanding obligations, which include items such as a shortfall in Medicaid funds, wildfire costs and satisfying a school payment that was deferred to August 2013.

State Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, filed ahead of the session bills to cap welfare and state spending, freeze state hiring and give school districts testing choices.

“The greatest issue Texas has right now is the federal government,” King said this week. “They can’t continue to borrow $4 billion a day. If they do, they’re going to drive us into a recession. Then at some point they are going to reduce spending – they’ll have to – and that’s going to come back on the states. It’s very, very concerning.

King, who has represented Wise and Parker counties in the Texas House since 1998, like most Republicans is not thrilled with the way the presidential election turned out. And as a state lawmaker, King is concerned that many of the problems Texas will deal with in the upcoming session will emanate from Washington.

During this time of year, especially during Presidential election years, it's very easy to become disenchanted with all of the noise coming from both sides. I would like to urge you to do your best to break through the rhetoric, TV ads, emails and all the rest of it and put yourself in the mindset of an employer looking to hire a new employee. Think of the candidate as someone you are solely responsible for hiring to the position he or she may be running for (Justice of the Peace, Congressman, President, and anything in between).

The Barnett Shale is responsible for over 100,000 jobs in North Texas and produced over $11 billion in annual output in 2011 alone. Barnett Shale activity accounted for 38.5 percent of the incremental growth in our local economy over the past decade. While our communities continue to benefit from the oil and gas industry, Barnett Shale activity has declined dramatically, primarily due to low natural gas prices and the high cost of drilling in our urban and suburban areas. This is why it was so disturbing when I read about a local city's recent decision to implement a new local tax on each gas well on top of very high permitting and other fees already in place.The Barnett Shale is responsible for over 100,000 jobs in North Texas and produced over $11 billion in annual output in 2011 alone. Barnett Shale activity accounted for 38.5 percent of the incremental growth in our local economy over the past decade. While our communities continue to benefit from the oil and gas industry, Barnett Shale activity has declined dramatically, primarily due to low natural gas prices and the high cost of drilling in our urban and suburban areas. This is why it was so disturbing when I read about a local city's recent decision to implement a new local tax on each gas well on top of very high permitting and other fees already in place.

It concerns me that a municipality would attempt to raise revenues with a tax focused on a single industry, particularly an industry that has provided tremendous economic benefit for the residents of North Texas and the entire state of Texas. This sector of our economy drives job growth and provides billions of dollars in revenue for state and local municipalities. The oil and gas industry paid $9.3 billion in taxes and royalties to the State of Texas in 2011. Cumulative economic benefits in the Barnett Shale region from 2001-2011 include $65.4 billion in output and 596,648 person years of employment.

Listen here to Phil's interview with WallBuilders Live about the Texas legislative session, why Texas' balanced budget amendment is the model for what Washington, DC needs to do, pro-life legislation, and much more.