SENATOR KOLKHORST ANNOUNCES RE-ELECTION BID FOR TEXAS SENATE
State Senator Lois Kolkhorst has announced she will seek re-election to the Texas Senate.
Kolkhorst, who had previously served seven terms in the Texas House, will be seeking her second full term to the Senate. She was initially elected to the Senate in a special election in December of 2014, fulfilling the unexpired term of now Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar. A fifth-generation Texan, Kolkhorst is only the 17th female to serve in the Texas Senate since 1845.
During the 86th legislative session, Kolkhorst passed 107 bills for Senate District 18, which includes all or parts of Aransas, Austin, Burleson, Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Goliad, Gonzales, Harris, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, Victoria, Waller, Washington, and Wharton Counties.
Kolkhorst said she considers last session to be “a big success for the needs of our district”, citing $6 billion in investments for schools and $5 billion in property tax relief. She authored and sponsored Senate Bill 6, House Bills 5 and 6, and joint authored Senate Bills 7 and 8 – all bills related to disaster relief and future flooding mitigation. She also authored Senate Joint Resolution 24 and Senate Bill 26, the Sporting Goods Sales Tax dedication for state and historic parks. In addition, she worked to add an additional $106 million in enhanced payments to rural hospitals for labor and delivery and additional Medicaid rates.
In recognition of her efforts during the most recent session, Kolkhorst received honors and awards from the AARP of Texas, Texas Organization of Rural Community Hospitals, Texas Health Care Association, Texas Right to Life and the South Texas Property Rights Association.
Kolkhorst serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, and as a senior member on the Senate Committees of Finance, Transportation, Nominations and Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs. She also serves on the Select Committee for Ports, State Water Infrastructure Fund Advisory Committee, and the Texas Agriculture Policy Board.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has already endorsed Kolkhorst’s re-election, saying he is grateful for her work in this past session to “reform our school finance and property tax systems and secure much-needed disaster relief for the state of Texas”.