Member Press Releases 2013

• May

• 05/08/2013

  Texas House passes Hilderbran tax relief legislation

  by: Rep. Hilderbran, Harvey

• March

• 03/08/2013

  Manziel resolution is first action from Legislature to receive governor’s signature

  by: Rep. Hilderbran, Harvey

• 03/06/2013

  Bill that updates graduation requirements, accountability system receives local support

  by: Rep. Hilderbran, Harvey

• February

• 02/04/2013

  Hilderbran named chairman of House Ways and Means Committee

  by: Rep. Hilderbran, Harvey

• January

• 01/30/2013

  Legislation would protect constitutional rights from foreign influence in family courts

  by: Rep. Hilderbran, Harvey

• 01/07/2013

  Rep. Hilderbran - House Ways and Means chairman outlines priorities for legislative session

  by: Rep. Hilderbran, Harvey
• Archived Member Press Releases...

Newsletters:

• Hilderbran2007fall.pdf
• Hilderbran05Spr.pdf
• Hilderbran04nov.pdf

Press Conferences:

Media

Archived Photo Gallery

	Rep. Hilderbran addresses the crowd at a Wildfire Preparedness Seminar on January 30, 2012. The event was sponsored by the Upper Guadalupe River Authority (UGRA), Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Kerr County, and Headwaters GCD. Approximately 170 people gathered to hear a panel of speakers discuss the drought, wildfire preparedness, and burning regulations.
	Rep. Harvey Hilderbran received the Texas Association of Counties' Distinguished Service Award for his work as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and as a senior member of the legislature. The Texas Municipal League honored him with their Legislator of the Year Award for his role in defending municipal authority and local control.
	Representative Harvey Hilderbran stands in front of a replica of, "The Destruction of the Mission San Saba," one of the oldest Texas historical paintings in existence. He is joined by descendants of mission victims, including a Spanish Ambassador Juan Manuel Romero de Terreros Castilla, whose ancestor is prominently figured in the painting's foreground.
	Representative Hilderbran meets with District 53 constituents in the House chamber to discuss the Trans-Texas Corridor.
	Representative Harvey Hilderbran, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, private investigator Sam Brower, author Jon Krakauer, and publisher Randy Mankin pose for a picture before testifying on HB 3006. The bill was left pending in the House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues.
	Representative Harvey Hilderbran shakes hands with David Ewing Stewart of Van Vleck, Texas, on the South Steps of the Capitol at the culmination of the Huff Diary Wagon Train Project. Stewart is the great-great-grandson of William P. Huff, whose 300,000-word diary shares the most detailed account available of the southern gold rush trail, recounting his mid-1800's trip from Houston to Fresno, California.

Biography

Rep. Harvey Hilderbran was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1988 and was most recently re-elected in 2010 to serve the people of District 53.

In 2011, he was appointed chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which deals will all legislation relating to the state’s tax code. As chairman of the committee, he authored and passed legislation that will generate over $294 million for the state without raising taxes. The chairman also sits on the Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Budget Board, the latter of which prepares the draft appropriations bill and budget estimates for each state agency. Additionally, Hilderban serves as a member of the Redistricting Committee, the State Affairs Committee, and the Select Committee on Voter Identification and Voter Fraud.

During the 80th Legislative Session, he served as chairman of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism. As chairman of the committee, he authored a comprehensive funding bill aimed at restoring excellence to the state park system and state historic sites. House Bill 12 provided “truth-in-taxation” by guaranteeing that revenue generated from the sporting goods tax would be used for much-needed park repairs and operations – just as the tax was originally designed to do.

Additionally, Hilderbran served as chairman of the Human Services Committee for three sessions. During that time he wrote and passed 1995’s landmark welfare reform legislation. In 1997, he was instrumental in passing the state’s most significant legislation protecting residents of Texas nursing homes.

Hilderbran also previously served as a member of the Natural Resources Committee, which oversees the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as it relates to the regulation of water resources, and the Texas Water Development Board. He served as co-chairman, along with Sen. Kip Averitt, of the legislative oversight committee for the Edwards Aquifer Authority.

In early 2012, NFIB/Texas presented Hilderbran with the Guardian Award to recognize him for his support of small businesses. He also received the award, which is the highest honor NFIB grants to legislators, in 2010. In 2011, the Texas Municipal League named Hilderbran a Legislator of the Year – an award the league also bestowed upon him in 2007. The Texas Association of Business named Hilderbran as a “Fighter for Free Enterprise” in 2011 and 2009. He also received the Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Association of Counties in 2011. Hilderbran was named to the Texas Association of REALTORS Legislative Hall of Fame in 2009, 2007, and 2005. The Texas Deer Association awarded him the Frank Madla Award for Representative of the Year in 2008, and the Texas Recreation and Parks Society honored him with the Distinguished Legislator Award in 2006. Hilderbran is also the 2004 recipient of the Vietnam Veterans of America-Texas State Council's Legislator of the Year Award. He was named Legislator of the Year by the Texas Yong Republicans in 2001, was the 1999 recipient of the Bob Bullock Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship, and was named Freshman of the Year by the Young Conservatives of Texas. Hilderbran also won the Legislative Courage Award for his involvement in school finance reform. In 2003, he created the Hilderbran Scholars Fund to award deserving high school graduates from District 53.

His first public policy assignment was service as a congressional legislative assistant for agriculture and small business issues in Washington D.C. in the mid-1980s. He later served as assistant director of state affairs for the Texas Farm Bureau, where he concentrated his efforts on property and water rights.

In the private sector, Rep. Hilderbran has worked in real estate, ranching, advertising and business management and marketing. Born in Uvalde in 1960, he is a 1983 graduate of Texas Tech University. He lives with his wife, Tracy, and their two daughters in Kerrville, where they are members of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.