Women across America are pushing forward and demanding change – in the workplace and at the ballot box. But whether it’s in Washington D.C. or Austin, politicians continue to look backwards when passing legislation.
As Reform Austin has previously reported, State Representative Matt Rinaldi (R – Irving) has placed the public education of Texas children at risk and receives over half a million dollars from special interest groups. Rinaldi has been a disaster for Texas women, casting a series of votes against health, safety, and economic opportunity for Texas women. His record includes:
- HB 1036 – Rinaldi opposed extending insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings.
- HB 2813 – Rinaldi voted against extending insurance coverage for ovarian cancer screening.
- HB 279 – Rinaldi voted against extending the life of the Women’s Health Advisory Committee, which was created to help reinforce women’s health plans.
- SB 17 – Rinaldi voted to continue “studying” maternal mortality, rather than take action, despite the life and death urgency of the problem.
- SB 1, Amendment 118 – The expansion of health insurance access and lowered healthcare costs was opposed by Rinaldi, hurting women especially.
- HB 189 – Instead of empowering survivors of sexual assault, Rinaldi voted against extending the statute of limitations for serial sex predators.
- HB 2032 – Rinaldi voted against increasing the criminal penalty for sexual offenses committed on public transportation systems.
- HB 240 – Rinaldi opposed holding landlords responsible for alleged prostitution and sex trafficking activity in massage parlors.
- HB 2552 – Rinaldi voted against legislation aimed to train commercial drivers to identify signs of human trafficking and report it. The bill also sought tougher enforcement penalties tied to human trafficking.
- HB 525 – Rinaldi opposed to requiring domestic violence offenders to register on a public database after three convictions.
- HB 3655 – Rinaldi opposed providing grants to encourage counties to utilize GPS monitoring in cases involving family violence as a tool to deter future violence.
- HB 1, Amendment 20 – Rinaldi voted against requiring the state comptroller to analyze the salaries of male and female workers based off of job classification at all state agencies and contracted organizations.
When trends in healthcare and the economy cut against women, and with a new urgency to stop public or private predation against women, his votes reveal his values.
Rinaldi can’t claim to work tirelessly on behalf of everyone if he ignores the needs and priorities of half of his constituents and all Texans. We need public officials to see, hear and serve everyone in our state. We need to Reform Austin.