Bastrop-News.com recently asked Republican and Democratic candidates for Texas House Dist. 17 to answer questions of general interest to voters in the Nov. 2 general election. The questions were prepared and submitted by Doran Williams.
Both Republican Tim Klienschmidt, the incumbent seeking a second term, and Democratic challenger Pati Jacobs responded. Klienschmidt is a lawyer whose office is in Giddings. Jacobs is a partner in Bastrop Cattle Co. in Cedar Creek.
What follows are the questions and answers proved by Klienschmidt. The next set of answers are from Jacobs. In each case the questions are identical and in the same order.
–Editor Davis McAuley
GENERAL QUESTIONS
1. What are the most cr itical, or pressing issues for District 17? How do you propose to deal with these issues as a Legislator?
TK: The most critical issues the citizens of District 17 face today are:
a) the current recession, including job loss and loss of income—which should be addressed by controlling the spending of local, state and federal governments, as well as decreasing taxes and governmental fees on our citizens to increase monies available to families and the private sector for business growth and job creation.
b) the rapidly increasing cost of medical care—which should be addressed by defeating Obamacare, continuing to protect the medical profession from needless lawsuits, and expanding the availability of private health insurance.
c) controlling illegal immigration—which should be addressed by increased pressure on the federal government to fulfill its obligations and protect our borders and by increased action by the State of Texas, if necessary.
d) dealing with the growth of our area—which should address the wise use of our natural resources, including our land, water and protection of our air quality.
TEXAS ECONOMY
2. What actions would you urge the Legislature take to improve Texas= economy?
TK: SEE 1. A) above.
3. If you believe that cutting taxes will lead to improvements in Texas’ economy, which taxes would you urge the Legislature to cut? Specifically, tell us which, in your opinion, of the following taxes should be cut in order to improve Texas= economy:
TK: 1. Retail sales tax—No cut recommended
2. Gasoline/diesel fuel taxes—No cut recommended
3. Franchise taxes-Cut recommended
4. Ad valorem taxes-Cut recommended
5. Attorney occupation tax-No cut recommended
6. Other occupation taxes and licensing fees-Cut recommended
7. County fees for filing lawsuits and recording documents-No cut recommended
8. Tuition at Texas’ publicly funded colleges and universities-Cut recommended
9. Taxes on telephone and other electronic communications-No cut recommended
10. Tobacco taxes-No cut recommended
GROUND WATER AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF DISTRICT 17
4. What actions will you as a Legislator propose or support to assure the people of District 17 that they will continue to have access to sufficient ground water to support agriculture, domestic use, wildlife, and reasonable development in the District?
TK: I will continue to support legislative action that promotes the wise use of such an important resource as our water. I will support increased studies of our groundwater system to obtain more accurate information on the desired conditions of our underground aquifers, their use and the recharge rates of those aquifers so that our citizens have sound knowledge upon which to base their opinions of the use of such an important resource. I will use all available local, state and federal law to make sure that the rights of the citizens of District 17 are protected concerning water usage.
5. Do you flatly oppose export of ground water out of District 17?
TK: Here you propose a question that uniquely affects me as the elected State Representative of District 17. From an emotional point it is easy for me to state that yes, to any extent the export of ground water harms a citizen of District 17, I flatly oppose it. As your State Representative please remember that I, and not my opponent, have sworn before God and the people of this State to uphold the laws of this great State of Texas, our federal law and both the Texas Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, and to the extent those laws and constitutions make it legal to export water from a district I am duly sworn to uphold those existing laws and constitutions.
6. In your opinion, can the export of ground water out of District 17 limit economic development in the District?
TK: Yes, such is possible.
7. Do you think there is a conflict, or tension, between economic development in District 17 and maintaining the predominantly rural character of the District? If so, describe that conflict or tension.
TK: Yes—such conflicts exist involving competition for available resources, increased burdens on our infrastructure and school systems, and an increasingly faster pace of life that most of us would rather avoid. However, I have confidence in the wonderfully talented people of District 17 to deal with such conflict successfully to allow each of us, and the businesses of the area, to grow to our/its full potential while maintaining the quality of life we enjoy in rural Texas.
8. What legislation would you support as a Legislator to assure that the predominantly rural quality of life in District 17 is not significantly degraded by developments?
TK: I will support the continued ability of our city and county governments to control growth through zoning and ordinances (which by the way already exist and are working successfully in many areas). Most counties already have subdivision ordinances which locally control development. I would continue to monitor the effectiveness of such controls. Utility districts (which are necessary for more complex developments) are already created by the legislature in order to monitor the need and appropriateness of the development of an area. I would support legislation to continue the reasonable, and within the sphere of our capitalist economic environment, control of developments as well as to increase the transparency to the local people of the processes involved in such development.
9. Do you think there is a need to change existing laws which have created and which regulate the activities and authority of ground water conservation .
TK: No, I believe the local control of groundwater is important and would trust a local group of citizens with such a duty rather than some bureaucratic board or agency from a distance.
10. In your opinion what are the most pressing issues regarding transportation in District 17– roads, railroads and aviation–and what legislation would you urge and support to address those issues?
TK: The improvement and maintenance of our road system is the most pressing transportation issue in District 17. In our rural setting we have 100s of miles of farm-to-market roads without shoulders, with inadequate passing lanes and narrow bridges that create hazards for our citizens. We have inadequate access to some of our school facilities which endangers our school children and creates inconveniences. We have many state and federal highways (FM 95 and US 21) that were never intended to carry the crush of daily traffic that such roads now experience.
I will support legislation that prevents the diversion of highway funds from the Texas Department of Transportation to increase funds available for the construction and improvement of our roads. I will support legislation that increases the transparency of TxDOT so that we the people can see how and where our tax dollars are being spent.
11. Are you satisfied with the performance of TxDOT?
TK: Not entirely—we have many dedicated and talented individuals working for Tx DOT, but to some extent TxDOT is perceived to be unresponsive to the needs and priorities of the people.
12. Did you support the Trans Texas Corridor?
TK: No, in fact I was not a member of the Texas House of Representatives when the Trans Texas Corridor legislation was passed. That was before my time. I have been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Trans Texas Corridor, and signed on to legislation to get rid of it.
13. Please tell us your definition of “mass transit” and let us know if you support mass transit as a viable alternative to more highways and roads.
TK: Mass transit involves the movement of people or good by means other than the individual transportation (ie. one at a time) of persons or goods.
I do not at this time support mass transit systems in District 17, other than those proven and efficient systems such as car pooling. The people of District 17 (myself included) are not, at this time, willing to give up the independence of our vehicles.
14. In your opinion, how should the construction of new roads and highways, and the acquisition of rights-of-way, be financed?
TK: By stopping the diversion of highway funds from TxDOT and the continued use of fuel taxes. Fuel taxes are one of the fairest means of financing roads because of the relation of the wear and tear on our roads to increased fuel usage.
15. Which do you support: Eminent domain or a market-based approach to acquire rights-of-way for the following:
1. Pipelines to transport water
2. Pipelines to transport natural gas, crude oil, and refined oil such as gasoline and diesel products
3. Pipelines to transport chemicals
4. Pipelines to transport waste water, sewage
5. Public roads and highways
6. Privately owned roads and highways
7. Electrical transmission lines
8. Airports and related infrastructure
9. Rail lines
10. Fiber optic and other information transmission lines
TK: I support a fair market based system of paying any citizen for the taking of their property by any governmental entity or subdivision of the government. I further support the payment of landowners for any decreased access caused by any act of eminent domain or condemnation. I support legislation to prevent any taking of private property for anything other than a public need. I do not want to see cities taking private property to increase sales tax revenues or allow development by means of other than a fair market sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer.
Specifically as to No. 6 above, I oppose any use of eminent domain or condemnation for the acquisition of privately owned roads or highways.
EDUCATION
16. What are the problems facing public education in Texas and what do you propose the Legislature do to solve those problems? In your response, please directly address how Texas should finance public education.
TK: Texas schools are faced with social problems primarily created by the continued and increased loss of the family structure. Social and economic pressures are making it increasingly difficult for single parent families to give their children the social skills and abilities to cope in a modern world. Such problems are evidenced by decreased discipline, truancy and an unacceptable dropout rate in Texas. I will support legislation giving teachers increased alternatives to maintain discipline in the classroom. I will support legislation providing teachers innovative means of supporting a learning environment for all children in the classroom.
Furthermore, many of the problems faced in public education have resulted from attempts to remove God from the classroom and school system. Let’s put God back in the classroom! I don’t mean to force a child to study and learn about God, I mean to permit a child to study and learn about God.
Texas should finance public education by a lesser, but continued, use of property taxes to provide a stable source of tax revenue until such time as a school finance system based upon sales tax can be developed, with a required and corresponding cessation of property taxes. Such would probably involve a cessation of property taxes on residential property with a continued property tax on business properties to some extent.
17. Please tell us which of the recent textbook selections by the State Board of Education you approve and which you do not approve.
TK: I have not had the opportunity to read the textbooks selected and feel that any comments I made would not be helpful to the public. There are literally hundreds of textbooks. The textbook selection process is a function of the State Board of Education in Texas. I will defer to their abilities to make the best decisions on instructional materials for our children and urge anyone interested in more detail to contact the State Board of Education members. They are elected officials and should be responsive to your questions.
I also urge anyone interested in examining the exhaustive textbook information available in Texas to go to the Texas Education Agency website (www.tea.state.tx) or more specifically to the textbook information at www.tea.state.tx/us/textbooks/materials.
18. In your opinion, are public school teachers in Texas adequately paid? If not, what legislation do you propose to assure they are adequately paid?
TK: Teachers are not adequately paid in Texas. We must increase teacher pay in order to attract and retain the most talented teachers available. Under the current conditions of an economic recession it may not be possible to increase teacher pay for the next budget period of the state in that we are faced with a potential 5-10% decrease in available state revenues. However, the long term goal should be to make teachers’ pay competitive with private industry.
AIR QUALITY
19. Are you satisfied with air quality in District 17? If not, state the nature of your dis-satisfaction and tell us what you as a legislator would propose or support to improve air quality in District 17.
TK: I will answer this question with a qualified “yes”, in that I feel that air quality in District 17 is currently acceptable. I definitely feel the need for continued monitoring of air quality, especially as technology and scientific data increase to determine more specifically what substances affect our health. I believe that as technological innovations are created to better monitor and clean industrial air pollutants that such should be efficiently employed to maintain and better our air quality. Primarily, as a legislator, this means continuing to support the efforts of our Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to make sure it has the resources to protect the State’s natural resources and to promote legislation that effectively protects those resources.
Pati Jacobs responded to the same questions as follows:
GENERAL
1.
A) Water
I am very much in favor of legislation to place a moratorium on inter-basin transfers. I am against the State of Texas and its tax payers financing pipelines that would allow private water marketers to profit from moving water across the state.
B) Agriculture
We should consider agriculture a 21st century industry and treat it as such. I believe there is a major shift occurring in how our food is produced, processed and distributed. This shift is to a regional structure which, if promoted and encouraged, could offer District 17 major opportunities in job creation and economic development.
C) Education
I would like to encourage more vocational training & apprenticeship programs in our district’s high schools. This could be promoted and financially supported through public-private partnerships with industry both already in the area and with industry encouragement to move here.
TEXAS ECONOMY
2.
Shift the Enterprise Fund from recruitment of “outside the state” companies to encouragement, promotion, and growth of farms already in the state. Use the funding for R&D done by companies already here.
3. I think the following taxes should be cut:
D. Ad Valorem
H. Tuition at Texas’ publicly funded colleges and universities
GROUND WATER AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN DISTRICT 17
4. See #1 Water
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. Not inherently; smart growth such as envisioned by Opportunity Bastrop County sees and examines development guided in such a way that our rural character can be preserved. I would like to see each of the counties in this district go through the same exercise.
8. I would like to see legislation increasing the power of County Commissioner Courts such that they could guide and encourage development that is supportive of our way of life. This could be done by allowing the County Commissioners to be able to promote, with some incentives, conservation subdivisions, rain water catchment, use of gray water energy conservation, etc.
9. Long-term we will see a redefining “right of capture”, “water rights” and the differentiation of surface water versus ground water. However, for now, given the water grab that is aggressively developing and all the lobbyists who see profit in “centralizing control” in the Texas Water Development Board, I think we should back up our current districts as the first line of defense.
TRANSPORTATION
10. Roads
11. No
12. No!!!
13. Mass transit – light rail, inner-city rail – bullet trains, HOVs, buses. It will eventually be a viable option after we have exercised all others.
14. I don’t necessarily think we should be building new roads & highways. We should be repairing & upgrading the ones we currently have and this should be done with a “dedicated” gas tax.
15. Market-based approach
a. MBA
b. MBA
c. MBA
d. We should be recycling & reusing, therefore not transporting for disposal. We should be repairing and upgrading current pipelines in cities & that is a ratepayer issue.
e. Public roads and highways should thoroughly use their current right of ways before we use either approach to acquire more.
f. Private projects of any kind should never have recourse to eminent domain
g. MBA – the electrical companies need to get their acts together before they start asking the government to help them put in more transmission lines.
h. MBA
i. MBA
j. MBA
EDUCATION
16. Problems:
Too many children not graduating from high school
Too many children graduating without any skills and unable to pursue jobs
Curriculum that is too focused on tests and not to expand the minds and skills of our children
I would like to see more vocational training, apprenticeship programs and aggressive public/private partnerships to allow job development for graduating seniors.
I think there needs to be a more balanced approach on financing education. It needs to be less heavily dependent on property taxes. However, this is really a difficult issue as no one wants to pay for it, but they all want world class education.
17. I believe that the SBOE should stop being so consumed with fighting ideological battles and more concerned about making sure they are doing everything in their power to ensure that our children are receiving a world-class education.
18. No they are not, but this will be extremely difficult to address given the massive budget deficit we will be facing.
AIR QUALITY
19. I think our air quality is probably suffering in the western part of the district. This is due to urban-encroachment. I would need to study the issue further before I would suggest any possible legislation.