Issues

Crime Prevention

Rep. Anchia has worked tirelessly in the legislature to make the neighborhoods of District 103 a safer place. He has passed legislation that cracks down on burglary of motor vehicles by increasing the penalty to a felony on the third offense.

Rep. Anchia has also worked with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to crack down on problematic bars in Dallas which have become nuisances to local residences and where other sorts of criminal activity occur.

Rep. Anchia has worked over the course of his tenure in the Texas Legislature to close illicit massage parlors and to provide law enforcement and prosecutors with the tools they need to combat human trafficking syndicates.

In an effort to reward the officers who fight crime and protect our communities, Rep. Anchia successfully passed legislation that provide Dallas police and firefighters the overtime compensation that they deserve.

Health Care

Rep. Anchia has worked to pass legislation which makes health care affordable and accessible to all Texans. In 2007, Anchia co-authored a bill which restored many of the cuts made to the Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program made in 2003, covering an additional 118,000 Texas children since its passage.

Rep. Anchia also worked to support and increase the prevalence of school-based health centers in Texas schools. This past legislative session, Rep. Anchia passed legislation which expanded the availability of funding for these programs which provide physical, mental and emotional health services to Texas students and their families.

Last Session, Rep. Anchia worked earnestly to control skyrocketing health care costs though additional regulation of health insurance companies. Anchia fought for legislation that would require that a certain percentage of every premium dollar that a customer spends be dedicated toward health care costs. That legislation didn’t pass in Texas, but a similar provision is included in both of the Health Care Reform bills currently being considered in Congress.

Education

Rep. Anchia has worked to improve the Texas public education system by improving teacher pay, increasing the relevance and opportunities for success for both college-bound and vocational students, and decreasing the reliance on a single test to determine a student’s level of performance.

Throughout his tenure at the legislature, Rep. Anchia has a consistent voting record supporting teacher pay increases. He has passed legislation which broaden the curriculum to include room for more vocational and technical courses, while matching the quality of those courses with related math and science education requirements. This last session, Anchia supported legislation which would have allowed the Texas Education Agency to research and document alternate methods of evaluating student performance that do not simply rely on a multiple choice test, but instead strengthen assessment standards by requiring students to demonstrate their acquired skills.

As a freshman legislator, he also took on the powerful forces behind the movement to privatize public schools by confronting the Chair of the House Committee on Public Education on the House floor, asking him to use his own district as a pilot for private school vouchers. The issue died when the Chair declined the offer.

Energy

In response to the growing concern over the need to meet increasing energy demand while balancing the state’s air quality and public health concerns, Rep. Anchia has become a leader in the Texas House of Representatives on energy issues. He has authored numerous legislative proposals that would save businesses, government, and residential consumers money while protecting the environment by promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy and alternative technologies like plug-in hybrids and combined heat and power plants.

Homeowner & Tenant Rights Legislation

Rep. Anchia shares Texans’ concerns with rising home owner’s insurance rates. Last session, Anchia led the call control insurance rates by authoring legislation that would to strengthen the regulations on homeowner’s insurance companies.

For those who are not yet able to afford a home, Rep. Anchia has worked to preserve the rights of tenants in their contractual relationships with landlords. In 2007, Rep. Anchia passed legislation which has been described by both tenants’ right advocates and the Texas Apartment Association as the most comprehensive tenant’s rights legislation in a decade. That bill puts limits on late fees, puts new limits on landlord lockouts, and requires landlords to advise tenants of their rights in several important areas.

Elections / Civil Rights

As a member of the House Elections Committee, Rep. Anchia has consistently fought to protect and expand Texans’ right to vote. Among Rep. Anchia legislative initiatives, he has authored legislation that would allow voters to register to vote during the early-vote period; create an election-day holiday; and extend additional voter registration efforts to eligible high school students. He has also supported legislation that creates a publicly funded campaign system for state judicial candidates. Last session, Anchia passed legislation which would make it easier for armed service personnel and other Americans serving overseas to register to vote using the Federal Post Card Application.

As a freshman legislator, Rep. Anchia was one of only five House members who courageously debated the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.  In addition to standing up for the civil rights of all his constituents, Rep. Anchia has fought tirelessly for three sessions to keep voter disenfranchisement legislation from becoming law.  The so-called “voter identification” bills would make it harder for Texans to their right to vote, especially the elderly, disabled and low income citizens.