Steve Toth

Toth won the 2012 election to the State House district 15. In February 2013, newly inaugurated Representative Toth was elected by his colleagues to the House Republican Caucus Policy Committee as the East Texas representative on the panel. Representative Toth was a member of two House committees: Corrections and Criminal Jurisprudence.[1]

In his first legislative session in 2013, Toth authored and carried the CSCOPE Transparency Act in the House (SB-1406). The bill brought the CSCOPE (Common Core) curriculum under the purview of the Texas State Board of Education. Toth was a co-sponsor of the measure which drew the most attention of the session, the forbidding of abortion after twenty weeks of gestation; the bill passed the House, 96-49. He voted for companion legislation to increase medical and licensing requirements of abortion providers.

He opposed the bill requiring the immunization of minors without parental consent, a measure which the House approved, 71-61. Toth co-sponsored legislation to provide marshals for school security. He co-sponsored the law to extend the franchise tax exemption to certain businesses. He co-sponsored the bill to require testing for narcotics of those receiving unemployment compensation. He voted against term limits for certain state officials because the legislation exempted both House and Senate Members.[7] He voted for the redistricting bills for the state House, the Texas Senate, and the United States House of Representatives.

He authored the Firearms Protection Act (HB 1076) restricting federal control and regulations of firearms, which made it a Class A misdemeanor to interfere with a Texan's Second Amendment rights.[8][9] The act also protected Texas' state and local law enforcement officers from violating the U.S. Constitution, and prevented the federal government from targeting certain firearms and accessories with restrictions.[10] Texas Monthly Magazine called this the "nuttiest gun bill ever" and placed Steve on their dishonorable mention list of the worst Legislators in Texas that year. [11] Toth received assistance from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in drafting the bill.[12] On May 6th 2013 HB 1076 received enough votes to pass in The Texas House but was never approved by The Senate so did not become law. [13] He also supported another law allowing college and university officials to carry concealed weapons for campus security reasons. Toth supports constitutional carry for Texas.

In 2013, the Eagle Forum, founded by the late Phyllis Schlafly and managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, rated Toth 95 percent favorable, as did the Young Conservatives of Texas.[14] Texans for Fiscal Responsibility rated him 92 percent.[14] The Texas Association of Business gave him an 80 percent score. He ranked 57 percent from the Texas League of Conservation Voters and 92 percent by the National Rifle Association.[15] Texas Right to Life rated him 112 percent favorable.[16][15][14]

On January 11, 2019, Toth filed House Bill 792 (Senate Bill 345) with the 86th Legislature and entitled it the Jones Forest Preservation Act ("Jones Forest Act"). The Jones Forest Act protects the 1,722 acre William Goodrich Jones State Forest from development. Texas A&M University suggested that the university would develop a Texas A&M campus on the land, which sits next to The Woodlands, Texas. Neighborhood associations in the area complained that the development would add to traffic congestion and eliminate a forest that has been part of Texas heritage since 1923.[17][18] It was passed by both the Texas House and the Texas Senate and sent to Governor Greg Abbott on May 25, 2019.

In January 2019, he was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee by Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen.[19] On January 25, Toth along with Will Metcalf and Cecil Bell filed House Bill 1042 which would require Texas schools and law enforcement agencies to establish active shooter response plans and law enforcement agencies to conduct annual drills while also requiring law enforcement to immediately contain or eliminate a threat.[20][21]

On February 7, 2019, Toth filed the JD Lambright Local Government Ethics Reform Act (HB-1495), which requires cities, counties, and other political subdivisions statewide to post contracts they have with taxpayer funded lobbyists and to post how much they are paying the lobbyists. It was filed in the Senate by Brandon Creighton on February 8 as Senate Bill 710. The house bill was passed by both chambers and was sent to the governor for signature on May 29, 2019.[22] Governor Abbott signed the bill into law on June 14, 2019.[23]

In February 2019, Toth co-authored Texas House Bill 1500 which would ban abortions after the detection of an unborn child's heartbeat.[24] He also co-authored Texas House Bill 896 which would prohibit abortion.[25] In March 2019, Toth became a cosponsor of SB 22 which prohibits government entities from providing taxpayer funded resources (including cash, goods, services, and anything of value) to Planned Parenthood. It was a response to a Planned Parenthood's $1-per-year rental agreement with the City of Austin for a clinic. It passed both chambers and was sent to Abbott on May 25, 2019 for signature.[26] The bill was signed into law by Abbott on June 7, 2019.[27]

On March 5, 2019, Toth introduced Texas HB 3145, the School Lunch Bill. It clarifies that each parent, including the non-custodial parent, in a divorce can visit their child during school lunch and school activities regardless of possession schedule. It passed both chambers and was sent to the governor on May 28, 2019.

In March 2019 Toth introduced Texas House Bill 2518 which aims to reduce cannabis possession from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor. To take it down from B to C would remove jail time for simple possession (180 days is the current penalty) and lower the monetary penalty from $2,000 down to $500.[28][29]