Eddie Rodriguez is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 51. Rodriguez was first elected to the chamber in 2002. Rodriguez is running for re-election in 2018. The primary election took place on March 6, 2018. The general election is being held on November 6, 2018.
Rodriguez attended the University of Texas-Austin for both his bachelor's degree and his law degree. From 1997 to 2002, he served as chief of staff to former state Representative Glen Maxey, his District 51 predecessor. In addition to that role, he worked as executive director of the Travis County Democratic Party from 1996 to 2001. He earlier worked as assistant director of staff for Draco Group Homes from 1993 to 1996.
Rodriguez has served as a founding board member of Austin Pets Alive!, Alliance for Public Transportation (APT), Hispanic Technology Institute of Austin (HTIA), the Anti-Defamation League, Habitat for Humanity, ZACH Theater, and the Economic Growth Business Incubator.
Rodriguez is self-employed as a business development consultant in Austin. He is chairman of the Texas House of Representatives Farm-To-Table Caucus, Vice-Chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, (MALC), and a member of the House Democratic Caucus, the Environmental Caucus, the Manufacturing Caucus, and the Legislative Study Group. He is a member of the One Texas PAC.
Former Member, Calendars Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Economic and Small Business Development Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Vice Chair, Environmental Regulation Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Redistricting Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, State Affairs Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Calendars Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Economic and Small Business Development Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Vice Chair, Environmental Regulation Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Redistricting Committee, Texas State House of Representatives
Former Member, Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Texas State House of Representatives
Member, Corrections Committee
Member, Ways and Means Committee
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legal.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- No Answer
5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
6. Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
- No Answer
7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- No Answer
8. Other or expanded principles
- Abortions should be legal within the first trimester and when the life of the woman is endangered. If woman's health is at issue, then should be allowed past the first trimester.
1. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Increase
2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase
3. Emergency preparedness
- Greatly Increase
4. Environment
- Greatly Increase
5. Health care
- Greatly Increase
6. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase
7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Greatly Increase
8. Welfare
- Slightly Increase
9. Other or expanded categories
- Greatly Increase
1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
3. Corporate taxes
- Greatly Increase
4. Gasoline taxes
- Slightly Decrease
5. Margin taxes
- Slightly Increase
6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status
7. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status
8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
9. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- Yes
10. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- No
11. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- No
12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Texas governors?
- Yes
2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Texas state senators and representatives?
- Undecided
1. Individual
- No
2. PAC
- Undecided
3. Corporate
- Yes
4. Political Parties
- No
5. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
6. Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
- Yes
7. Should Texas participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- No
8. Should the Texas Lottery be sold to a privately owned business?
- No
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer
2. Support the death penalty in Texas.
- No Answer
3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
4. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
5. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- No Answer
6. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer
7. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- X
8. Support hate crime legislation.
- X
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
- X
2. Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
- No Answer
3. Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
- No Answer
4. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- X
5. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- No Answer
6. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- No Answer
7. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- X
8. Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
- No Answer
9. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X
10. Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Texas to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- X
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today?s job market.
- X
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
- No Answer
3. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X
4. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X
5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X
6. Include sexual orientation in Texas anti-discrimination laws.
- X
7. Include gender identity in Texas anti-discrimination laws.
- X
8. Increase the state minimum wage.
- X
9. Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
- No Answer
10. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- X
11. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- No Answer
12. Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X
13. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X
2. Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
- No Answer
3. Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
- No Answer
4. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- X
5. Support funding for improvements to Texas power generating and transmission facilities.
- X
6. Support funding for open space preservation.
- X
7. Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
- No Answer
8. Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
- X
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes
2. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes
3. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- Yes
4. Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Undecided
5. Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- No Answer
6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
- X
2. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer
3. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer
4. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer
5. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- No Answer
6. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Texas.
- No Answer
7. Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should Texas recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- Yes
2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- No Answer
3. Should Texas provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
- Yes
4. Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
- No Answer
5. Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
- Yes
6. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- Yes
7. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- No Answer
8. Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
- Yes
9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- No Answer
10. Should Texas continue affirmative action programs?
- Yes
11. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- Yes
12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- Yes
13. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- No
14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- No Answer
Type: resolution Chamber: lower
Type: resolution Chamber: lower
Type: resolution Chamber: lower
Sat 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CDT
5201 Ross Rd, Del Valle, TX 78617-3202, United States
Sat 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM CDT
Wed 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM CDT