Updates from the Capitol

FM 529 widening project TxDOT meeting The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will conduct an in-person hearing on the proposed widening of FM 529 from SH 99 (Grand Parkway) in Harris County to FM 362 in Waller County. The hearing will be Tuesday, August 30 from 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. in the Paetow High School cafeteria (23111 Stockdick School Road, Katy). I encourage you to attend or to learn about the proposed construction on line. You are invited to attend the hearing, where you can see TxDOT's presentation of the proposed project, review hard copies of the project materials, and ask questions of the project team. You can also leave written comments. (If you choose to leave written comments, I also encourage you to email them to me at mike.schofield@house.texas.gov so I can be aware of your concerns.). The plans for the project are preliminary and may be changed based on public comments (or other factors like cost, problems acquiring land, etc.) So, if you don't like something you see - or don't see - in the proposal, please be sure to speak up while there is still time to change the plan. As currently proposed, the project would widen FM 529 from its current two lanes to six lanes in Harris County (three lanes in each direction), and would include 10-foot-wide "shared use" paths for bicycle and pedestrian use on both sides of the roadway. The "rural" part of the project (from Katy Hockley Cut Off Road to FM 362 in Waller County) would widen FM 529 from two to four lanes (two lanes in each direction) and would similarly include the shared use paths on both sides of the roadway. The total length of the project is 12 miles. Assuming no changes are made to the current proposal, the project would require approximately 109 acres of right-of-way, and potentially displace one commercial business, one non-residential structure, and one overhead utility tower. (Apparently, no homes are affected.) The proposed project would require acquisition of approximately 13.1 acres of right-of-way from two historic sites - the Eba Herbert Ranch (6.3 acres) and Beckendorff Farm (6.8 acres). If you are unable to attend in person, TxDOT's video presentation of the project will be available online from 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 30 through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, September 15. You will be able to view the presentation during that time by visiting TxDOT's website (www.txdot.gov) and typing "FM 529 from SH 99" in the search bar. If you do not have internet access, you can call (713) 802-5137 during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) to ask questions about the project and access project development materials. Whether you attend the in-person hearing or not, you can make verbal comments by leaving a voicemail message at (832) 409-2567 during the comment period, August 30 to September 15. You can also leave written comments during the comment period by email (to HOU-PIOwebmail@txdot.gov) or by mail (to TxDOT Houston District Office, Advanced Project Development Director, P.O. Box 1386, Houston TX 77251-1386). While TxDOT expects this project to allow FM 529 to better handle all the traffic that is coming as new subdivisions like Elyson are completed, there is no question that tripling the width of FM 529 will change its nature from a country "farm to market road" to a more urban, commercial thoroughfare. That's why I encourage you to learn about the proposed project and hear for yourself what is being proposed. Hurricane season is here Although it has technically been hurricane season on the Gulf Coast since June 1 (lasting until November 30), experience has shown us that the highest likelihood of severe storms in our area is in late August and September. While we are not currently aware of any potential hurricane or tropical storms headed our way, it is a good idea every year at this time to review your plans and make sure you are ready. There are several good websites that will help you set up an emergency plan for your family, plan an escape route, and make sure you have the correct supplies. Among them is the federal government's hurricane preparedness site at https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes#before. You can always keep track of current weather alerts in Texas (updated every 2-3 minutes) at https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/tx.php?x=1. Bookmarking this website is a good idea for storm preparedness. The Texas Department of Insurance recommends that you consider flood insurance (as most of us have learned, most homeowner's insurance policies do not cover flooding or other water damage), store your homeowner's and flood insurance policies on line so they aren't lost if your documents are inundated with flood water and your home computer is destroyed, and keep your insurance agent's contact information stored on your phone, so you can find it quickly to make a claim if a storm hits. TDI's other tips can be found at: https://www.tdi.texas.gov/tips/protect-home-hurricane.html. A few minutes of preparation now can make a lot of difference if your home is damaged by a storm. Rep. Schofield updates Cy-Fair Chamber I had the honor of speaking on July 19 to the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce to update the business community on what the Texas Legislature is doing in the "interim" between legislative sessions to prepare for the next session, which begins in January. The discussion included the Comptroller's recent estimate that our $250 billion (that's a quarter of a trillion dollars) two-year budget was projected to have a $13.75 billion surplus. While that would be good news if it was the result of growth and a strong economy, it is really due to inflation driving up sales tax revenue. The Legislature needs to find a way to return that money to the taxpayers, who are having trouble paying their bills due to ever-rising consumer prices. We also talked about the state's efforts to control the border, not only to stem the tide of illegal immigration, but also to protect our citizens from the tidal wave of drugs the cartels are smuggling into the country. Texas's "Operation Lone Star" program has seized 4,875 pounds of cocaine at the border, as well as 34,545 pounds of meth, and 1,409 pounds of fentanyl, enough for 319,528,544 lethal doses -- almost enough to kill every American. (Since I spoke to the chamber, Operation Lone Star has reported a new total - they have now seized 1,438 pounds of fentanyl - 326,061,241 fatal doses.) I also updated the chamber members on my ongoing efforts to provide property tax relief. Not only should the legislature use some of the surplus to buy down property tax rates, but I am drafting bills to freeze senior citizen's property taxes (currently only the half of their tax bill that goes to fund schools is frozen) and to lower the interest rate on seniors who choose to defer their taxes, so they can actually afford to use this tool to stay in their homes. I want to thank Leslie Martone and the chamber for inviting me to speak. The best way to keep people informed is to talk with them, face to face. [gallery columns="2" link="file" size="medium" ids="375925,375926"] House District 132 Every ten years, the Legislature is required to redistrict the boundaries of all of Texas's 150 House of Representative districts, to try to even out their populations as much as possible, so your vote counts the same as anyone else's in the election. Districts in areas that experienced heavy growth during the past decade will have to shrink in order to have the same population as every other district, while other districts will have to get bigger. If you've seen Katy and Cypress recently, you have a pretty good idea that we are growing faster than most other areas. But you may be surprised to learn that of the 150 Texas House districts, two of the four fastest-growing in the entire state are right here in the Katy area. Each district should have grown from 167,000 ten years ago to 194,300. District 28 in Fort Bend County (represented by Gary Gates) was the biggest in the entire state, and our district, District 132, is the fourth. Rather than growing to 194,000 people, our district had over 282,000, so we were going to lose about 90,000 people in redistricting. As a result, District 132 will no longer have the area from Barker Cypress Rd to Mason Rd, from I-10 north to FM 529 in some areas and as far north as West Rd in others. The new districts will be in place for the November election (you have already nominated candidates based on the new district lines) and will officially take effect when the legislature convenes again next January. I have very mixed feelings about our redistricting. While it is important to get down to a more manageable size so I can better keep in contact with everyone and represent you better, I have really enjoyed representing the entire area and, if you send me back to the legislature next session, will really miss serving a great many people. District 132 even gained some new people in Green Trails and Kelliwood behind the Barker Reservoir and in Canyon Lake and Copper Lake in the northern part of the district. I look forward to continuing to serve all of you, whether you are in the new district or not. Contact Me I am your State Representative, but I am also your neighbor. If there is anything I can do to help you, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. If you'd like to get in contact with our office, please feel free to go onto my webpage and click the "Email" button to fill out the form. The page can be found here: https://house.texas.gov/members/member-page/?district=132 You can also call our Capitol office at 512-463-0528 or our Katy district office at 281-492-0684. Our district office is located in the new Houston Community College building at 22910 Colonial Parkway, Suite 1001, Katy TX 77493.