Legislative Panel with Senator Bryan Hughes & Representative Sarah Davis
Senator Bryan Hughes and Representative Sarah Davis discussed how they got into politics, their relationship with TBB, their political process of campaigning, and working with politicians in the House and the Senate. They led an engaging discussion with the attendees about the atmosphere of the House and the Senate during the 85th Legislative Session.
Representative Sarah Davis is a successful attorney, fourth-term state representative and a fiscal conservative dedicated to limiting the size and scope of government in our lives. Sarah was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2010, and served on the Public Health and Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committees. Her subsequent re-election in 2012 saw an increase in responsibility in committee assignments. She served on the Public Health, Calendars, and Appropriations committees. Currently she is Co-Chair of the Select Committee to Determine a Sufficient Balance of the Economic Stabilization Fund, Chair of the Appropriations Sub-Committee on Budget Transparency and Reform, and serves on Appropriations, Public Health, Mental Health, Calendars, and General Investigating and Ethics Committees. She served as the Conference Committee Chair of Article II Health and Human Services for the 2016-2017 budget cycle. Davis worked with Hughes in the House on several bills bringing many different opposing groups together. The comradery was evident as they spoke about their respective careers and work as well as their respect for each other.
Senator Bryan Hughes is serving his first term in the Texas Senate, representing the 16 counties and approximately 850,000 people of Senate District One in Northeast Texas. Previously, he represented District Five in the Texas House of Representatives for seven terms. Born and raised in East Texas, Bryan attended Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler, receiving his BBA in Economics, cum laude, in 1992. He went on to Baylor University School of Law, where he received his law degree in 1995. Bryan then served as law clerk to US District Judge William Steger of Tyler from 1995–1997. He has received numerous awards for his work in the Legislature, including the Taxpayer Champion Award from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, the Horizon Award from Texas Right to Life, and “Defender of the American Dream” from Americans for Prosperity. In 2011, Texas Right to Life named Bryan Hughes the Pro-Life Whip of the Texas House.
Both Hughes and Davis encouraged attendees to “meet your representatives face-to-face, whether at a fundraiser or at their office so that they understand your business and the issues you face as a trade organization.” During the legislative session, which lasts 140 days, Davis mentioned “we should not be hearing from you for the first time about an issue that is being brought about in bills that matter to you. We need to know prior to the session what potential significant issues will affect your businesses or your industry and how we can resolve them.”
