Joe Montemayor | District 127

The Issues

Education

We must realize that the future of Texas is our children and we must invest in this future by providing our public school system with the resources to prepare our children for college and career. We will do this by ensuring that we recruit the best people available to teach our children, and by keeping our best teachers in Texas with salaries and benefits valued above the national average. More than anything, providing for an equitable and fair funding system of the education system must be foremost on our minds. The following are definite things that we must consider as constituents:

The U.S. Congress should amend and fund No Child Left Behind (NCLB) so we can better prioritize federal dollars to address the needs of our children and teachers and not the wants of politicians.
Our Texas leaders must demand reimbursement from the Federal government for state funds used to comply with the NCLB unfunded mandate.
The state must close corporate tax loopholes that rob revenues that we allocate for education, and that only benefit corporations that outsource Texas jobs to other states and/or other countries.
The state must demand an investigation of the present property tax system to assess the fairness of the system at all taxing levels, including residential, commercial and industrial properties. The burden should not only be on homeowners, and corporations must pay their fair share.
Our state leaders must stop the practice of diverting earmarked funds to other programs without the approval of the state legislature.
We must demand an audit of Gov. Perry's $300,000,000.00 corporate slush fund controlled by a select group in his office that continues to siphon funds from all taxable revenues. Have these tax dollars directly benefited local schools?
And we must give consideration to other revenue opportunities, such as an expansion of gambling as long as proceeds are diverted to the state's education investment, while creating local jobs, increasing sales tax revenue, and creating more small businesses. All possible sources must be on the table.

Our universities and our community colleges must be supported, as well. Since tuition was deregulated, the cost of attending college has skyrocketed, and the value of state and federal financial aid (grants and loans) has decreased, leaving families and our future workforce in a sea of student loan debt. As a parent who has experienced the challenges of sending his children to college, I am committed to bringing relief to Texas families, while we continue to build a home-grown workforce.

Public Safety

Having served as a law enforcement officer for over 25 years, I am concerned about the current law enforcement shortage that has put our community at risk, the quality of the officers being recruited by the law enforcement community, and the current benefits and salary standards for all law enforcement officers in the state. Lately, the public seems to have lost faith in our government's ability to provide law enforcement services, and we will only regain their faith if we require higher police recruitment standards, improve our recruitment efforts, and ensure our law enforcement officers are treated fairly as they protect our communities. As your state legislator, I will put my experience to work to ensure our safety and security.

Improving Our Quality of Life

There is little doubt that our state is one in which business and industry thrive; however, we must take a responsible approach to ensure a productive workforce. We must increase access to health care for those with financial challenges, we must work to strengthen and enforce environmental laws to protect our citizenry, and we must work to make Texas a leader in preventative medicine and medical research. It takes a healthy workforce to make our businesses work. I will work to increase our state's investment in our workforce.

Services for Seniors, Special Needs Residents, and Veterans

This issue is close to my heart because, like most Texans, I have family members who fall under these categories and the issues affecting these communities . With an elderly mother, uncles and aunts, as well as members of my family with various physical and emotional disabilities, I understand the needs of these communities. Whether it is increasing access to medical services for the elderly, improving services for the disabled, or easing the process for Veterans to lead productive lives through educational and workforce programs, I am committed to fighting for these communities.