Kitzman, Vasut share legislative priorities at Highway 36A Coalition luncheon

By George Slaughter, News Editor
Posted 1/12/23

Property tax relief, and getting into the swing of things at the state Capitol, were among the priorities discussed by two state representatives at a Jan. 4 Highway 36A Coalition luncheon in Rosenberg.

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Kitzman, Vasut share legislative priorities at Highway 36A Coalition luncheon

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Property tax relief, and getting into the swing of things at the state Capitol, were among the priorities discussed by two state representatives at a Jan. 4 Highway 36A Coalition luncheon in Rosenberg.

Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, will be serving his second term. Stan Kitzman, also a Republican, is from Waller County. He will be serving his first term. Both men were scheduled to take their oaths of office Jan. 10 in Austin.

While Kitzman is new to the House of Representatives—“It has been quite a year for Stan Kitzman,” he said—he has been a part of the Highway 36A Coalition. It comprises local governments, elected officials, private businesses and individuals, and focuses on developing regional transportation running from Brazoria County and Freeport, which has a deep-water port, up through Fort Bend, Waller and Austin counties.

“I was here when we formed the 36A coalition and here when we wrote the bylaws,” Kitzman said. “I encourage you to stay energized. From my perspective, the work you do is important. I don’t know another project in the state, road-wise, as important as 36A.”

Kitzman said the coalition’s work to improve transportation for economic development reasons as important, but it was just as important to remember that the transportation work was also for hurricane evacuation purposes. With more residents on the Gulf Coast, this becomes a priority, he said.

“The reality today is that we have more neighbors,” Kitzman said.

Vasut urged coalition members to “stay the course” on developing the regional transportation options.

“The squeaky wheel is going to get the grease,” Vasut said.

Vasut said the state is looking at a $27 billion surplus, but with money comes problems. Besides transportation, Vasut said he would be working towards property tax relief. He said a number of proposals were before the legislature. He also wanted to see the state government do what it could to continue encouraging business investment in Texas.

Vasut also spoke about getting along in the Texas Legislature and his experiences during the 2021 session, which was his first.

“It’s a learning process,” Vasut said. “You come into a body and you have ideas. The freshman representatives, we listen to them the most because you, Stan, you were just on the campaign trail.”

Vasut said he had a great experience in the last session. He said he learned a lot and expected to learn even more in this session.

Texas House of Representatives, Highway 36A