State Rep. Cindy Burkett, Dist. 113, who represents portions of Garland, Rowlett, Mesquite, Sunnyvale, Balch Springs, Combine, Seagoville and Dallas, enjoys spending time visiting with people in her district.
“I’ve lived in the district for a long time and I just really like the people. I’m concerned about what they are concerned about,” she said. I like the work and this is not a stepping stone for me to go anywhere else.”
The representative’s concern for her constituents was made clear after devastating tornadoes hit Garland, Rowlett and Sunnyvale. Parts of her district were destroyed and she immediately began doing everything she could to help the affected families.
“I so wanted to help these folks, to just get out there and let them know that I care and that I’m concerned,” Burkett said.
She was amazed by the support offered by surrounding communities, churches, various nonprofits, small businesses and corporations.
“There were more than 30 communities that worked with Garland in recovery efforts,” Burkett said. “What was so impressive in our cities was that they might always have a disaster plan in place and they might practice it, but until they have to put into effect, there is no way to know how it is going to come together. It was amazing to watch…how all of Dallas County came together so quickly.”
Burkett visited shelters and donation centers and kept in touch with the mayors and city managers to stay updated on what was needed. She also spent one day each in Garland, Rowlett and Sunnyvale working on clean-up.
She used the phrase “Texas proud” to describe how she felt about the way people and communities pulled together to help the victims.
She added that it is important that they are not forgotten as things settle down. Recovery will be a long process and the affected families will continue to need help and support.
Burkett recently took time to discuss some key issues.
Immigration
She said that because the United States is now looking at terrorists coming up from the southern border and down from the north, the government has to know who is here. She cited last year’s incidents in Garland and Houston as examples of the importance of this issue.
“Because our federal government doesn’t seem to want to tackle immigration, Texas just passed a bill that put almost $800 million down on the border to fund 250 DPS officers and electronic surveillance,” Burkett said. “Changes were also made to the policy on prosecuting human trafficking and drug cartel cases.”
Jobs
Many Texans are frustrated that undocumented individuals are taking jobs that should be filled by citizens. Burkett would like to require businesses to use e-verify to prove eligibility to work in the U.S.
Additionally, changes in job requirements and the knowledge needed to perform jobs is changing as employers’ needs change.
Education
“We’re good at getting people retrained when jobs have been phased out by technology or for other reasons,” Burkett said. “And we’ve tried to pass legislation that will help the education system fit citizens’ needs by offering more certifications and specific job training or recommending community colleges where students can learn trades or take their basic courses.”
She added that college is a great goal, but the timing may be somewhat nontraditional when considering young adults that decide to enter the workforce in a field that requires certification versus a four-year degree. Additionally, the need of a more mature workforce that wants to diversify their education or change careers also requires different options.
Burkett experienced this in her own life when at the age of 37, she started night school and continued to work full time during the day. Eight years later, she graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a 4.0 GPA and degrees in political science and business.
Assistance for businesses
Burkett believes that the best way to help Texas business is to provide tax relief.
“In general, I think that lowering taxes is a better way to create jobs and keep the economy strong,” she said. “This past session we passed $4 billion in tax relief that included a 25 percent decrease in tax rates for our businesses, and for homeowners, the homestead exemption for school property tax was increased from $15,000 to $25,000.”
Health insurance
The Affordable Health Care Act is not working and Burkett believes that there are better methods. For example, clinics with a sliding scale fee would be a way to offer affordable care to everyone.
“Constitutionally the country is set up to let states run their state issues. States’ medical needs are all different and the same plan isn’t going to work everywhere,” she said. “Obamacare hasn’t worked. Premiums are not affordable and people who have it can’t afford to use it because of high deductibles.”
Second Amendment
Burkett voted in favor of both open carry and campus carry.
She heard on a radio show that it takes even the most efficient police department seven to 10 minutes to reach a scene and that the first shootings usually take place in the first five-seven minutes of an incident. She believes that lives could be saved if there are law-abiding people with guns on the scene.
Transportation
Burkett said that because citizens would like to discontinue the creation of toll roads, legislators have made a decision to inventory existing toll roads, as well as the contracts and debt associated to those roads, to determine if the contracts can be paid out and tolls removed.
She co-authored a bill that requires the Transportation Commission to create a scoring system to prioritize projects seeking state funding. The bill also provides additional transparency and oversight of TxDOT by the legislature.
Burkett also passed a bill that requires the Texas Transportation Institute to conduct a study on all processes for the abatement of traffic noise.
Visit cindyburkett.org for more information.