"The first thing I would like to say to every person in district 150 is 'thank you.' You have allowed me to serve you since April of 2002, and I consider representing you an honor." - Debbie Riddle
// June 29th, 2010 // Comments Off // Uncategorized
Listen to the June 26th broadcast of the MaxOut Savings radio show with Ted Geoca. Mr Geoca interviews Representative Riddle about her recent experience visiting the Gulf Coast oil disaster. MaxOut Savings can be heard every Saturday at 11:00am on KNTH 1070 AM in Houston.
CLICK HERE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE AUDIO FROM DEBBIE’S INTERVIEW.
// June 22nd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized
AUSTIN – The Third Texas Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a Belton
Little League coach who was sentenced to life in prison under the Texas version
of Jessica’s Law.
Representative Debbie Riddle, who authored the Texas Jessica Lunsford Act in
2007, said the ruling confirms the state’s commitment to imposing the harshest
penalties on pedophiles.
“Our number one priority is to make sure the safety and security of our citizens
is well established,” Riddle said. “That priority takes on a special urgency
when it comes to fiercely defending our children from predators who seek to do
them harm.”
William Thomas Jacobsen had been found guilty of molesting two children on his
baseball team during a sleep-over at his house. But Jacobsen sought to have the
conviction overturned on appeal by asserting that a statute created by Jessica’s
Law violated Texas’ constitutional requirement that a guilty verdict in a felony
case be unanimous.
The statute in question, a crime called “Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young
Child or Children,” allows the commission of two or more acts of sexual assault
against victims younger than 14 years old to be grouped together in a single
charge that carries a mandatory-minimum prison sentence of 25 years, as oppose
to the five-year minimum for most first-degree felonies. The statute specifies
that a jury does not have to agree as to which sex acts were committed, as long
as they all agree that two or more specific acts of sexual abuse actually took
place over a period of 30 or more days.
The court of appeals ruled that the statute satisfied the jury unanimity
requirement of the constitution.
“When there is evidence of more than two acts of abuse over the specified time
period, [the statute] makes it clear that the jurors need not agree as to which
individual acts were committed so long as they agree that the defendant
committed at least two,” the court wrote in its opinion. “Because the jury in
this case was required to unanimously find that [Jacobsen] committed two or more
of the alleged acts of sexual abuse, his right to a unanimous jury verdict was
not violated.”
Riddle said she believes the ruling will be heard next by the Court of Criminal
Appeals, but she expects the state’s highest criminal court to uphold the
conviction as well.
“These pedophiles who repeatedly molest little children are undoubtedly the
absolute worst of the worst criminals anywhere,” Riddle said. “I am proud of the
fact that our state has a history of treating them sternly, and I am confident
that trend will continue.”
// June 15th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Uncategorized
AUSTIN – After spending several days meeting with top officials in Washington D.C. and Louisiana, Representative Debbie Riddle (R – District 150) said the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has triggered an economic domino effect that could spell disaster for the Houston area.
“It doesn’t matter if a drop of oil ever hits Texas shores,” Riddle said. “The effects of fishing bans and drilling moratoriums combined with the environmental fallout are going to cost Texas millions of dollars and thousands of jobs unless we get this situation under control immediately.”
Riddle, who chairs the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL), visited last Friday with U.S. Coast Guard officials at the White House before travelling to Louisiana to meet with BP executives, members of the Louisiana legislature, and fishermen along the Gulf Coast regarding containment strategies and the potential impact of the disaster on Texas businesses.
The trip was coordinated by Riddle and the NFWL as a way for the Foundation’s members to educate themselves on the spill, as well as communicate their constituent’s viable solutions to the proper authorities.
“There are Houston-based businesses with some of the world’s top scientists and engineers who have developed real strategies for how to solve these problems,” Riddle said. “But they can’t get through the bureaucratic red-tape to get the ideas into the hands of the people who can really use them.”
But Riddle said the meetings made another reality clear: the link between the Houston economy and the Louisiana fishing industry.
“When shrimpers can’t catch it, then our Houston-area businessmen can’t process it, and our restaurants and grocery stores can’t sell it,” Riddle said. “That means we lose businesses and jobs, and our state economy loses millions more dollars in revenue, and that’s only one of many industries that could be impacted.”
Efforts by the NFWL members to relay their constituents’ ideas have already made an impact, and Riddle believes local companies may soon have a seat at the table as the clean-up continues.
Over the last month NFWL’s Energy, Natural Resources & Agriculture Policy Committee has jumped into action to emphasize the importance of bringing the nation together to find solutions, forming NFWL’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Coalition. Women legislators, who are active with the Coalition and serving as Team Leaders for the Committee in their states, are working to implement an organized strategy utilizing state leaders to help mitigate the economic impact.
“This is an opportunity to foster true innovation,” Riddle said. “The solutions that are going to be produced by these partnerships don’t just help fix this current mess, but they will also help us solve our future energy problems by helping us safely tap our domestic fossil-fuel potential.”
“Representative Riddle is working with a network of elected women leaders from all 50 states who believe that now is not the time to point fingers, but instead work together as a nation to identify and implement solutions,” said Robin Read, NFWL’s President & CEO.
“Despite being in the middle of a recession, it is important for the Administration, federal labs, universities, high-tech industries and the oil and gas industries to work together in facing this challenge,” Read said. “This Coalition is committed to facilitating this communication, cutting through the red-tape and bringing real solutions and collaborations to the table.”
Through critical public-private partnerships, the NFWL Coalition is able to determine the best technologies and methods to assist with clean-up efforts – efforts that will have an impact on the Gulf Coast’s wildlife, land, and economic viability.
// June 11th, 2010 // Comments Off // Uncategorized
Friday, June 11th, 2010 –
Ira Bleiweiss, founder of Bridge Houston, delivers a message of thanks to Representative Debbie Riddle for organizing the pro-Israel rally at the Israeli consulate on June 6th, 2010. Tune int to 100.7FM at 2pm, or listen live at www.kkht.com.
Here is a link to the audio from this broadcast:
// June 11th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized
// June 4th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized
HOUSTON – Representative Debbie Riddle (R – District 150) will join a group of
Israel supporters in their opposition to an anti-Israel protest that is
scheduled for 7:00p.m. this evening outside of the Israeli Consulate.
Riddle said the protest against Israel was intentionally scheduled to coincide
with the Jewish Sabbath, so that Jewish supporters of Israel would be unable to
attend.
“When I heard that, I told my Israeli friends not to worry, because Israel’s
supporters will be there to stand up for them tonight,” Riddle said. “We will be
there to show that Texas supports Israel, that America supports Israel, and that
a cowardly scheduling tactic will not be allowed to mask that support.”
Those who are interested in joining the Israel supporters should meet at
6:45p.m. in front of the Israeli Consulate at 24 Greenway Plaza, which is at the
northeast corner of Wesleyan and Highway 59, near Lakewood Church.
// June 1st, 2010 // Comments Off // Uncategorized
Brian Boeheim posted the following comment and video on Facebook and YouTube.
Recently Rep. Riddle was kind enough to give our show “Political Common Sense for America” an interview on the issue of Illegal Immigration. The radio interview received so many positive comments, I decided to produce it as a video. This way more people will have access to the interview and be able to hear what real leadership sounds like.
Copyright © 2012 Debbie Riddle. All rights reserved.
Paid Pol. Ad. by Friends of Debbie Riddle, Misty Riddle - Treasurer
