82nd Legislative Session
During the 82nd Legislative Session, Taylor served as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on End of Life Issues in addition to serving as a member of the Human Services Committee and the Committee on Defense and Veteran's Affairs.
Keeping a campaign promise, the first piece of legislation Taylor filed for consideration was a bill to ensure that military personnel can cast a vote while serving overseas. The bill passed unanimously in both the House and the Texas Senate and was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry. Taylor authored legislation to prevent politicians and government employees from receiving pension benefits if convicted of a felony. He also proposed legislation at the request of Collin County to prevent taxpayer subsidized health care from being given to legal immigrants who are able to afford it.
Throughout the session, Taylor took strong stances in support of requiring photo identification to vote, 2nd Amendment rights, and lowered taxes, while opposing the use of accounting gimmicks to balance the budget. Taylor also fought against the federal healthcare reform (popularly called Obamacare) by supporting an increase in states' rights to decide healthcare issues for themselves.
Taylor was cited as a "Taxpayer Champion" by the interest group, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. He was recognized by the Texas Conservative Coalition and Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum for his conservative voting record during the session, receiving a rating of 90 percent or greater from both organizations.
Read more about this topic: Van Taylor
Famous quotes containing the words legislative and/or session:
“However much we may differ in the choice of the measures which should guide the administration of the government, there can be but little doubt in the minds of those who are really friendly to the republican features of our system that one of its most important securities consists in the separation of the legislative and executive powers at the same time that each is acknowledged to be supreme, in the will of the people constitutionally expressed.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“I need not tell you of the inadequacy of the American shipping marine on the Pacific Coast.... For this reason it seems to me that there is no subject to which Congress can better devote its attention in the coming session than the passage of a bill which shall encourage our merchant marine in such a way as to establish American lines directly between New York and the eastern ports and South American ports, and both our Pacific Coast ports and the Orient and the Philippines.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)