“H.B. 2767 seeks to establish a framework to encourage water recycling in the oil and gas industry, a crucial step we must take as oil and gas production water usage continues to grow,” King stated, “The recovery of oil and gas waste is essential to support growth in the Texas oil and gas industry while preserving our precious water resources that are so strained during this long drought.”

"Texas has done a good job of being fiscally responsible with its spending during the tough economic times we have faced over the past few years," King explained, "However, it is very important that we implement a conservative spending cap to ensure that even in the good times, Texas does not become irresponsible with its taxpayers' dollars like the federal government has done."

Today, State Representative Phil King (R – Weatherford) renewed his call for the head of the Travis County Public Integrity Unit to resign.  Rosemary Lehmberg, the Travis County District Attorney, is currently serving a jail sentence for a DWI conviction in which she was three times over the legal limit.  She has refused to resign from office. Ms. Lehmberg heads the Public Integrity Unit, the only law enforcement organization in Texas whose sole responsibility is to ensure the integrity of public officials.

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.

AUSTIN - State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) today expressed his frustration with high stakes testing and the public education system’s test-driven accountability system.  As former Commissioner Robert Scott has stated, testing has become “a perversion of its original intent.” The heavy emphasis on testing as a measure of success in Texas public schools is failing our students.   
 
“There is a better way to measure teacher, school, and student accomplishments than to have an education based primarily on testing,” King stated, “We must relieve districts of these burdensome mandates so schools can transition over to student-centered education. This will not only help school districts to manage their budget in tough economic times, but it will allow our students to receive a high-quality education where they will become more competitive and prepared.”

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.

"Energy production accounts for over one-fourth of the Texas economy and is an essential driver of our economy in the Barnett Shale area. The Pensions Committee oversees management and investment of some of the largest pension plans in the United States, some of which are experiencing difficulties right now. The Teacher Retirement System alone has over $110 billion in net assets, serving one of every twenty Texans.”

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.