TexasBuilders.org
31
Speaking Out
BRANDON CREIGHTON
Texas State Senator –
District 4
On August 26, 2014, Senator Brandon
Creighton was sworn in the Texas State
Senate to represent the citizens of Senate
District 4, which encompasses parts of
Montgomery, Harris, Chambers, Jefferson and
Galveston Counties.
During his tenure as State Representative for
District 16, he was elected by his peers to serve
as Chairman of the Texas House Republican
Caucus. He also served as Chairman of the
House Federalism Committee, tasked with
overseeing the state’s relationship with the
federal government and ensuring that Texas’
constitutional rights are protected.
Brandon is an eighth-generation Montgomery
County resident, where he resides with his
wife, Fawn, and two children. Brandon is a
graduate of the University of Texas and holds
his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Oklahoma
City University School of Law. Brandon is Vice
President and General Counsel of the Signorelli
Company in The Woodlands and is the owner
of Creighton Realty Partners in Conroe.
Biography
funding as a significant priority for our
industry. This past session, the House and
Senate explored different ways to increase
funding to the State Highway Fund. The
final solution was a dedication of excess
general sales tax and motor vehicle sales
tax to the State Highway Fund in SJR 5,
which you co-authored. This was Prop
7 on the November 2015 ballot. From
your perspective, why is transportation
infrastructure critical to the growth and
well-being of our state?
Put simply, you cannot move goods and
services without roads. We are the second
largest state in the nation in land area and
in population. Our road system is massive
compared to most other states and it also
takes a heavy dose of wear and tear from the
level of traffic. As large as our state is, if we
ever lose track of our roads funding, it could
really hurt us economically. Imagine trying
to get millions of dollars in cotton from the
Panhandle to the Port of Houston for export
without an adequate roads system. I represent
the second largest Port in the state and I hear
from constituents from Magnolia, to The
Woodlands, to Beaumont, to Galveston who
are all desperate to find a long term solution
to adequate transportation funding to improve
the conditions of our highways and get Texans
moving. I will continue to work on this and
promote the importance of finding a solution.
Thank you for serving as a co-author of
SB 900, which made positive operational
changes to the Texas Windstorm
Insurance Agency (TWIA). This was
a critical piece of legislation for TAB’s
coastal home builder members, businesses
and the financial stability of the state
as a whole. With a Senate district that
borders the ocean – from Port Arthur to
Galveston - you have many homeowners
that are affected by TWIA policies. How
does the passage of SB 900 benefit them
and what more can the legislature do to
improve access coastal insurance?
Senate Bill 900 addresses two of the big
issues with TWIA. It provides a better
funding structure so when a storm hits,
legitimate claims can be paid more
quickly. It also reduces TWIA's exposure
by bringing more private insurers into the
coastal market, which should also help
drive down prices for coverage. Ultimately,
the end goal is to reduce the footprint of
TWIA on the market and consequently
reduce the size of TWIA. These reforms
will make wind insurance more affordable
and provide better protection for those
who are still covered through TWIA.
You are a proven friend of Texas
homeowners and have demonstrated
your dedication to maintaining the
quality and affordability of homes for
future generations. Along with the
bills previously mentioned, you also
supported and co-sponsored a bill that
addressed metal theft, which has been a
persistent problem on job sites in certain
parts of Texas. HB 2187 requires metal
recyclers to issue cash transaction cards
to sellers of metal. Do you think this bill,
which TAB supported, will help deter
metal theft in Texas?
Yes, it will. One of the major incentives
behind metal theft is the opportunity for
quick cash in a transaction that is not
always on record. House Bill 2187 ensures
that these transactions are properly
recorded and that cash will be a little less
easy to come by for would-be criminals.
This was a priority of mine and I am happy
we were able to get this through to help law
enforcement find and ultimately stop bad
actors in this industry.
Having served on the board of your local
groundwater district, you understand
the recurrent water-related issues that
arise in the Houston area. What can the
Legislature do to protect or create more
water resources for our growing state?
The easiest thing to do is conserve, but
conservation alone will not get us across the
finish line for water resource sustainability. It
has been decades since Texas built a reservoir.
We need to consider planning for more
reservoirs for surface water. Desalination has
also been a major focal point for many people
involved in water. A lot of that discussion has
centered on sea water desalination along the
coast. Inorder to see benefits in this technology
for the entire state, we need to look more
closely at and research the possibility of using
desalination technology to transform brackish
groundwater, reuse, and underground storage
and reservoir development.
The Texas housing economy continues
to lead the nation in the areas of
production, affordability and job
creation. A large measure of this success
is due to the economic well-being of the
state and our tremendous population
growth. What do you think needs to
be done (or not done) at the state level
to ensure that Texas sustains its top
ranked status in the future?
Get out of the way and let our businesses do
what they do best: create jobs. We need to
keep our regulations as minimal as possible
and our taxes low.
Is there anything else you would like to
share with the readers of Texas Builder?
Encourage business owners, builders and
everyone in the residential construction
and development industry to vote and get
involved in the political process.
