AUSTIN — State Representative Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) took the oath of office on Tuesday at the Texas Capitol to once again serve the Permian Basin as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Landgraf and the other members of the Texas legislature convened at the Texas Capitol building for the 88th Texas Legislative Session on January 10th, 2023. Members of the Texas House and Texas Senate meet for a 140-day regular session beginning the second Tuesday in January every odd-numbered year to vote on legislation and pass a balanced state budget.

“It’s the honor of a lifetime to serve as a voice for the Permian Basin in the Texas House of Representatives,” Landgraf said. “The hardworking men and women who live and work in Ector, Ward, Winkler, and Loving counties deserve to have their voices heard in their state government. I’m headed back to the state capitol to continue fighting to defend and expand their rights and liberties.”

During the next 140 days, the Texas House of Representatives, along with the Texas Senate, will consider legislation on hundreds of issues impacting the state. Lawmakers will propose bills and prioritize how to allocate the state’s record budget surplus of nearly $30 billion.

In addition to passing a balanced state budget without raising taxes, Landgraf's priorities this session include defending the oilpatch from unnecessary regulation, expanding individual liberty, increasing transparency at every level of government, and reducing the negative impact of “Robin Hood” and STAAR testing on public school students and families in West Texas. As part of his effort to expand freedom and liberty, Landgraf has filed House Bill 92 and House Joint Resolution 9, dubbed the “Texas Homesteader's Bill of Rights.”

“The Texas Homesteader’s Bill of Rights is ultimately all about fulfilling the basic governmental role protecting life and property,” Landgraf said of the legislative proposal. “Texans should not be restricted – during times of emergency or otherwise – in their ability to fend for themselves or provide for their families. My aim is to make this a constitutional right here in Texas, and to provide laws necessary to protect what I view as the basic human right of self-sufficiency.”

HJR 9 would amend the Texas Constitution to establish that Texans have the right to conduct activities on their homestead property necessary to secure access to food, water, electric power, and shelter. HB 92 prohibits municipalities, counties, and property owner's associations from enforcing ordinances that prohibit certain activities on residence homestead properties, such as growing fruits or vegetables, or installing a rainwater harvesting system or a standby electric generator.

“There are many lessons to be learned from the pandemic and 2021 winter storm, like how access to the most basic human needs -- like food and water -- cannot be guaranteed during times of widespread crisis. This lesson was learned by many Texas families, who are now seeking ways to be more self-sufficient so that they are better prepared if and when another major crisis occurs.”

“I took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. This duty is the ultimate role of any elected official, and an oath I will diligently uphold as I continue fighting to ensure West Texas voices are heard in the chambers and halls of their state Capitol,” Landgraf concluded.