I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished this session – especially historic education finance reform that will deliver approximately $550 million over two years to Dallas ISD, and approximately $35 million over two years to HPISD and a 47% statewide reduction in recapture, meaning that more of our tax dollars stay in our local schools.

After this session, 16 pieces of my legislation will be heading to the Governor’s desk to become law. Here is a quick review of some of the meaningful legislation that we worked hard to enact this session:

Led for comprehensive education finance reform that increases education funding while reducing the burden on taxpayers and shifting more cost back to the state. Our new school finance plan includes approximately $550 million over two years to Dallas ISD, and approximately $35 million over two years to HPISD and a 47% statewide reduction in recapture, meaning that more of our tax dollars stay in our local schools.

• A 47% statewide reduction in recapture, meaning that more of taxpayer dollars stay in our local schools and are not diverted for other use.
• More than $6 billion into our classrooms and includes funding for full-day pre-K for low-income students and more funding for schools with high concentrations of low-income students.
• Funding for discretionary raises for teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses, and funding for merit pay for teachers who take on difficult teaching jobs.
• A 400% increase in funding for building and equipping new school facilities.
• New education programs focused on increasing 3rd grade reading levels, dual language programs, extended year programs that reduce summer brain drain, and the creation of Texas’ first dyslexia identification program.

• Our property tax reform delivers $5 billion reduction in property taxes statewide, and a new 3.5% cap on property tax rate increases without a citizen vote. And it makes our state’s property tax system more transparent.

Along with education and tax reform, I worked hard on legislation to protect women, children, students, at-risk populations, and laws that protect and enhance basic services like public safety and access to healthcare. These include:

• Authored the “Bumble Bill” which makes sending an unsolicited lewd photo a crime. This critical legislation is designed to fight sexual harassment and give protections to victims who are harassed via digital communications.
• Authored bipartisan legislation requiring school districts to formalize their emergency action plan in the event of an active shooter. Many of our schools have not prepared for this sort of event and creating an emergency plan can save lives.
• Co-authored critical bipartisan legislation providing $50 million to test and catalog all of Texas’ unexamined rape kits. This key legislation will deliver justice to many victims who have waited years for closure and may help future prosecutions.
• Authored legislation to prevent harmful and inhumane practices from being used to discipline students with special needs, ending harmful and antiquated practices like electric shock and physical and chemical restraints.
• Authored legislation to protect elderly and domestic abuse victims from financial fraud by expanding the definition of identity theft, giving these victims additional processes for holding abusers accountable and protecting the credit rating of victims.
• Joint-Authored legislation that creates a statewide database that tracks domestic abusers, helping local authorities improve prosecution and punishment for habitual offenders.
• Co-Authored legislation that creates an alert system, similar to the Amber Alert, for missing persons who are believed to be victims of trafficking or kidnapping.
• Sponsored bi-partisan legislation creating a student loan payment assistance program that assists in student loan payment for full-time peace officers. Programs like this are critical to increasing benefits and attracting high quality recruits to the Dallas Police Department.

To view a full list of the bills Morgan has authored, co-authored and sponsored, please click here.