Charlie’s View on the Issues
Current Legislative Agenda
- Issues that are important to the taxpayers of District 26.
Legislative Agenda Accomplishments
- A list of accomplishments on key local and state issues, from better roads to lower taxes.
Voting Record
- An effective conservative who produces results for you.
Taxes
- Cap Real Estate Appraisals at 5%
- Reform Appraisal Boards – protect taxpayers by adding two elected members
- Replace Financing Method for Public Schools - Consumption Tax is a Better Way to Fund Schools
- Abolish the Business Franchise Tax
Elections
Government Spending
Control the Border
- Give Local Sheriffs Additional Funds for Border Enforcement
- Work with Federal Officials to Enforce the Border
Transportation
- Keep Winning Higher State Priority for Fort Bend Road Improvements
- Alternate Financing for Transportation Must be Found
Education
- Improve High School Graduation Rate
- Extend Local Control
- Use Education Dollars Wisely and Effectively
Legislative Agenda Accomplishments
- More Local School Control
- Property Tax Reduced
- $100 Million for Local Law Enforcement to Control the Borders
- 65% of Education Dollars spent in the Classroom
- Textbook Content Determined by Elected School Board
- Increased Teacher Pay
- Expansion Hwy 59
- Expansion Hwy 90A
- Hwy 6 Overpass of 90A
- Wharton Technical School
- U of H Sugar Land Campus
- Sale of the Prison Property in FB for expansion of SL airport
- Moratorium on Trans Texas Corridor
- Allowed the Fort Bend Toll Authority to continue building roads in FB
- Preserve Quail Valley Golf Course
- Joint Control of Stafford Municipal School District
- Impound Non-insured Automobiles of Non-licensed, Non-insured Illegals
- Served on House Task Force on Illegal Immigration
- Saved $4 Billion in Rainy Day Fund
- $2.7 Billion in Appropriations Bill Set Aside for Future
- Property Tax Relief
- Jessica’s Law on Sex Crimes
- Concealed Hand Gun Permits
- Castle Doctrine to Protection of Homes with firearms
- Child Abusers to fund Women’s Shelter
- Increase Punishment for Sexual Predators
- Replaced TAKS Test with End-of-year Test
- Freedom of Religious Expression in Public School
- Bible classes Allowed in Public School
- Developed State Water Plan
- Deregulated Electric Rates
- Limited Eminent Domain Powers, Preserving Private Property Rights
- Abstinence Sex Education
- Welfare Reform
- Tort Reform
- Marriage Amendment
- Legislation to Promote Family Values
Current Legislative Agenda Details
Cap real estate tax appraisals
Currently most real property appraisals are going up 10 percent per year, which is much greater than the growth of inflation. Many people are being taxed out of their homes. Because of the skyrocketing appraisals, taxing authorities get huge tax and budget increases, much greater than the growth of inflation, without having to publicly vote to increase their tax rates. We need to cap real estate appraisals at 5% or less. We passed legislation reducing school property taxes by 1/3. However, the 1/3 reduction in property taxes will soon disappear with appraisals increasing at 10% per year.
Charlie Howard has been a leader on this key issue. Charlie was the first legislator to introduce a bill to cut property taxes. He has worked long and hard to reduce your property taxes, and his efforts bore fruit when the property tax rate was cut from $1.50 to $1.00.
We need to place at least two taxpayer-elected board members on the property appraisal board for each county. Currently members of the appraisal board are selected by the taxing entities themselves – the cities, the county MUDS and LIDS, FBISD, etc. These taxing entities have no incentive to keep their appraisals and thus your taxes low.
Replace property tax with consumption tax for financing public schools
Property taxes are not the best method to finance our schools. A consumption tax would be more equitable, and the amount of taxes generated would not be boosted by property appraisals. Other alternative methods of financing should also be investigated.
Abolish the business margins tax
I was one of the few who voted against the margins tax in the 2005 special session. The tax is not needed. We had $2.7 billion more revenue than we needed to finance the budget even after $4 billion was put in the rainy day fund. This tax unfairly taxes businesses even when they do not make a profit. It is basically a gross revenue tax.
Require photo identification to vote
Currently we have voters who are not citizens voting and sometimes people vote more than one time. This must be stopped to protect your vote from being stolen, in effect, by fraud.
Limit state spending to inflation and population growth. There are always more “wants” than “needs” placed in our state budget. At present, more revenue is being generated than the state requires under the current system. The extra money should to be returned to the taxpayers in the form of reduced property taxes.
Enforcing border control with local Sheriffs’ offices is the best way the state can help to control our borders. This is the Federal government’s responsibility, but they cannot or will not do the job of controlling our borders and the people of Texas must be protected from the flood of criminals and drugs. A “Rapid Deployment Team” consisting of DPS and National Guardsmen should be developed to assist the local Sheriffs.
I visited the border with Sheriffs from the Valley area, and we authorized $110 million to the border Sheriffs to buy additional equipment using new technology. We also passed legislation penalizing employers who hire illegal aliens, this needs to be expanded.
We need to require all state agencies to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities in enforcement of federal immigration laws. State agencies must check the status of an immigrant before permitting them to use government services. We should keep drivers licenses out of the hands of illegal aliens.
We need to withhold payment of any state dollars to cities which have a policy of “sanctuary city” and to require their police force to enforce immigration laws.
Alternate financing for transportation is needed. The gasoline tax received by the state is barely adequate to maintain our roads and bridges, much less build new ones. Toll roads, public/private partnerships, and bond programs must all be analyzed.
State Representative Charlie Howard has worked effectively with other elected officials to move Fort Bend projects higher up on the State priority list, so that many key projects are being constructed now, ten years before the original funding dates for these improvements. Among those are the widening of Highway 59, Highway 6, Highway 90A, and the overpass of Hwy 6 at Hwy 90A and the railroad tracks. He has also worked to make the Sugar Land airport one of the best regional airports in the nation.
Education and teacher pay raise
Educating our children is the state’s primary and most important responsibility, and I strongly support our local schools and our teachers. An educated work force is our future.
I helped pass legislation giving all teachers a pay raise, funding the Teachers Retirement Fund to make it actuarially sound, and requiring 65% of all education dollars to be spent in the classroom. We must continue to push for more education reform ensuring that more money goes directly into the classroom and that standards are continually raised.
Improve high school graduation rate
Currently only 50% of students entering our state public high schools graduate. Elimination of the TAKS test in 2011 will give teachers more time to teach the required subjects instead of “teaching to the test.” A qualified teacher is needed in every class room. A recognized phonics reading program is needed at an early age in our public school systems.
University of Houston Sugar Land campus
Charlie authored and passed the law giving State prison land to the University of Houston in order to build the UH-Sugar Land campus. Charlie started the effort to get UH to build a campus in Sugar Land in the 1980’s, when he was Education Committee Chairman, and later President, of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce.
Wharton County Junior College in Fort Bend County
Charlie Howard wrote and passed the legislation which expanded the WCJC service area to include the city of Sugar Land, allowing local students to attend but exempting Fort Bend County from WCJC property taxes. Also as a result of his efforts the University of Houston and Wharton County JC are building a joint campus in Sugar Land, allowing Fort Bend students easy access to quality courses.
Charlie also wrote and passed the legislation that resulted in the cooperation between the Texas State Technical Institute in Waco and Wharton County JC to establish the new Wharton County JC Tech Center campus in Fort Bend County. This major addition to Fort Bend’s stellar educational system provides local students with top-notch skills training and certification for technical professions.
Charlie Howard does not just make conservative promises - he is producing results that have made Fort Bend County a better place to live and raise our children. His agenda accomplishments and the testimonials of local officials bear witness to his responsiveness and effectiveness in working for the citizens of Fort Bend.