Texas Family Project has released their legislative ratings for the regular 88th Legislative Session, rating lawmakers according to their votes on family issues such as gambling, school choice, parental rights, and child protection measures.
Ahead of the session, parents were shocked to discover that sexually explicit materials were available in their children’s libraries and children could attend sexually explicit performances if they were hosted by drag queens in the park.
By the end of the regular session, the Texas Legislature passed multiple measures intended to protect children. Texas Family Project’s report card shows how Texas lawmakers voted on these issues.
According to the report card, Republicans in the Texas Senate did extremely well, with only State Sen. Robert Nichols (R–Jacksonville) receiving an A instead of an A+ like the other 18 Republican senators.
“I think the biggest takeaway is that the Senate did a really good job this session at getting things passed,” Brady Gray, president of Texas Family Project, told Texas Scorecard. “I think that’s a testament to how Dan Patrick has run that chamber.”
However, the Texas House did noticeably worse.
Only eight of 150 state representatives received A+ ratings, with the highest three going to Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington), Steve Toth (R–The Woodlands), and Matt Schaefer (R–Tyler) at 97 percent out of 100.
State Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth was the lowest-rated Republican with 52 percent out of 100, a mere 4 percentage points higher than Democrat State Rep. Eddie Morales of Eagle Pass, who scored 48 percent.
“The House—not quite so good,” said Gray. “We still saw a lot of good grades, we saw a lot of good bills passed—we had HB 900, SB 8, SB 12, SB 14—so we had good legislation pass and really a historic session for family issues. But there’s a lot more to be done.”
The full legislative report card can be viewed here.
