Issue Position: Agriculture/Rural Texas

Issue Position

"As Texas becomes more urban, I will always fight to protect rural Texas and see that it gets a fair shake. Not only do I believe in small town values, I'm living proof. My ancestors have called rural Washington County home for four generations." -- Lois

*She wrote and passed the recent re-authorization bill to continue the Office of Rural Community Affairs (to be renamed the Department of Rural Affairs). Since its creation, the agency has awarded more than 4,891 federal and state grants totaling more than $642 million to rural areas for economic development, disaster relief, infrastructure and healthcare measures. And as a former Vice-Chair of the House Rural Caucus, she has worked closely with rural leaders across the state.

*In 2005, she wrote and passed the much-praised HB 2928, which helps rural communities recruit and retain businesses. For that effort, she received the Legislator of the Year Award from the Association of Rural Communities in Texas.

*Lois is a longtime friend to Texas agriculture. Recently she teamed up with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raiser's Association to be the House sponsor for Senate Bill 1163, to help fight the spike in cattle thefts. Signed by Governor Perry in June of 2009, the bill toughens the penalties for theft of livestock, horses and exotic animals.

*She is a former member of the House Agriculture Committee, and she is a recipient of the Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND endorsement. She fought a Federal mandatory animal ID plan, and she's fighting just as hard to protect agriculture exemptions on property taxes that save family farms and ranches.

*She passed legislation to revise and continue the Texas Animal Health Commission as well as the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at Texas A&M.

*She's been a leading force in Austin to voice rural concerns about the Trans-Texas Corridor. In 2007, she persuaded over 100 of her fellow lawmakers to stand with her to successfully call for a two-year moratorium on the kind of questionable private equity toll deals that would finance the Trans-Texas Corridor and other highways in Texas.
*Besides the problems of leasing our roads for 50-plus years to a foreign company, Lois shares the belief of many Texans that eminent domain issues need to be fixed to to give fair leverage to property owners. That's why in 2007 she co-wrote and helped pass HB 2006, to reign in eminent domain power grabs. Unfortunately, this bill was vetoed in 2007.

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