TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
*Increasing transportation funding is essential to the economic future of Texas.
*Mass Transit will provide a viable solution to the road congestion caused by the rapid population growth in the cities/towns of Senate District 2
*Oppose the Trans Texas Corridor(TTC)/NAFTA Superhighway due to its:
(1) Eminent Domain abuse
(2) Plan to subject our roadways to private and foreign company control
*Oppose freeway toll roads but will support traditional toll roads, such as turnpikes, which are new roads approved by voters, where the money and control remain local and the toll is removed once the bond is paid off
*Oppose motor fuel tax increase
*Support ending diversion of transportation funds
ENVIRONMENT
*Support mandated requirements for specific contributions of renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and nuclear power
*Support Greenhouse gas regulation that forces coal-producing industries to cut their emissions
*Support investments in carbon-capture technology
*Support for funding of new water projects to counter a looming 1.2 trillion gallon water shortage in our state
EDUCATION
*More state funding is necessary to aid the advancement of student achievement
*Investments in Early Childhood education are a matter of economic survival. Research has shown that returns are highest for investments made at younger ages, and remedial investments are often costly. It has also been estimated that effective early intervention would save as much as $409 billion in taxpayer, crime victimization, and employer costs.
*Improvements in public school Math and Science Education are vital and can be achieved by (1)attracting more Math and Science teachers into the classrooms, (2)by matching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education to higher education and industry needs, and (3) by strategizing creative ways to keep our children engaged in the "STEM" curricula
*The institution of a public school financial literacy campaign is essential to help avoid future recessions. Only 7 of 50 states require high school students to take a personal finance course to graduate. The lack of a basic financial education means many citizens are ill-equipped to make long-term, sound financial decisions.
*Decrease the high school dropout rate by expanding curriculum options and holding schools accountable for increasing the graduation rate
*Regular teacher salary increases should be mandated in accordance with regular cost-of-living adjustments to keep instep with inflation and the rising costs of health care
* College Affordability - reining in tuition costs and expansion of higher education funding in order to serve an additional 200,000 middle- and low-income residents
IMMIGRATION REFORM(Although largely a federal issue, there is still much that can be done on the state level to help progress efforts towards the overall effort of reform)
*More aggressive efforts are needed to encourage and aid assimilation of immigrants into American culture
*Dual-Language Learner program in our schools that allows Limited English Proficiency students to learn core subjects in their native language while still learning to speak English
*Restructured Naturalization process that is sreamlined to provide a smooth pathway to U.S. citizenship
