Wes Virdell, Texas House District 53
Wes Virdell represents Texas House District 53 and is a Republican. This page is the record: of the 67 votes this site publishes, Wes Virdell cast 60, and on the 47 of those where the two parties took opposite sides, they voted against their own party 10 times.
Where they broke with their own party
- HB 3335 — Lets a county donate surplus property to a civic or charitable group without first showing that an auction would fail, but requires it instead to find that the county can keep enough control to ensure the donation serves its public purpose. history
- HB 2446 — For medical bills of $50,000 or less, removes the need for a sworn affidavit to prove the charges were reasonable and the care was necessary. history
- HB 2341 — Makes time credit automatic, rather than up to the judge, for state jail inmates who take part in an education, treatment or work programme. history
- SB 2185 — Requires school districts excused from running a bilingual programme to report which alternative language methods they use, so those methods count towards bilingual education funding. history
- HB 5525 — Requires the parole board to write separate guidelines for people convicted of crimes they committed before turning 18, weighing rehabilitation and education. history
- SB 1563 — Requires the state to create training for county jailers on dealing with veterans in custody. history
- HB 121 — Lets the Texas Education Agency commission its own police officers, requires a district claiming a good cause exception from the armed security requirement to adopt an alternative standard such as a school marshal, and changes who sits on the state’s School Safety Center board. history
- HB 23 — Lets an applicant have a licensed engineer review or inspect development documents, instead of waiting for the local government to do it. history
- HB 3178 — Lets the county where the Guadalupe River rises charge its own hotel tax, except at hotels a city already taxes. history
- HB 3179 — Lets the county where the Llano and James rivers meet charge its own hotel tax, except at hotels a city already taxes. history
How they voted on the bills people have heard of
These seven drew the most attention of the 67 this site publishes. Every member has a position on record for each one, whichever way they went.
- SB 2 Education savings accounts Voted for
Creates state-funded accounts that families can spend on private school tuition and other approved school costs. The money comes from the state budget. history - SB 8 Immigration enforcement Voted for
Requires the sheriff of every county that runs a jail, or contracts one out, to request an agreement letting their deputies enforce federal immigration law, and to ask again each year if no agreement is reached. Creates state grants, sized by the county’s population, to pay for it. history - SB 10 Ten Commandments in classrooms Voted for
Requires every public school classroom in Texas to display a copy of the Ten Commandments. history - SB 3 THC ban Voted for
Bans hemp products containing THC — the ones sold in smoke shops and convenience stores — and adds licences, fees and criminal penalties for selling them. history - SB 14 Regulatory review Voted for
Creates a state office that reviews agency rules and recommends repealing ones it finds unnecessary. It also tells judges to decide for themselves what a law means, rather than accepting the agency’s reading. history - SB 6 Electric grid and large power users Voted against
Sets terms for power users above 75 megawatts at one site, such as data centres. They must help pay to connect, and can be ordered to cut usage during an energy emergency alert. history - SB 5 Dementia research institute Voted against
Creates a state institute that awards grants for dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research and prevention. It takes effect only if voters approve a constitutional amendment setting up the institute and its fund. history
ZIP codes in District 53
78028 · 78016 · 78639 · 78657 · 78253 · 76950 · 76943 · 78052 · 78013 · 78039 · 78058 · 78023 · 78833 · 78631 · 76872 · 78884 · 78879 · 79781 · 76858 · 79766 · 76842 · 78611 · 78057 · 79755 · 76935 · 78801 · 79706 · 76869 · 78618 · 76836 · 76932 · 76871 · 76930 · 76820 · 76825 · 76831 · 76841 · 76848 · 76849 · 76852 · 76854 · 76856 · 76859 · 76874 · 76885 · 76887 · 76936 · 78003 · 78009 · 78010 · 78024 · 78025 · 78029 · 78055 · 78056 · 78059 · 78063 · 78066 · 78607 · 78609 · 78643 · 78672 · 78828 · 78850 · 78861 · 78873 · 78880 · 78883 · 78885 · 78886 · 79730 · 79731 · 79735 · 79743 · 79744 · 79752 · 79778
Most people first. Nearly half of Texas ZIP codes sit in more than one House district, so a ZIP on this list may also be in another one, and your street decides which.
See how your own answers compare
The site asks you about these same votes with the party labels hidden, then shows you where you landed next to the members who actually voted.
There is also a one-page fact sheet, to print or to hand to someone.
Who made this. Marco Arras, a Texas resident. I donate to the Democratic Party, and I say so before anything else rather than in a footnote. The rule that picks which votes appear is published and runs identically on both caucuses, and every vote and count is in a file you can download and check.
Sources. Roll calls from the Texas House Journal and LegiScan. Districts and ZIP codes derived from 2020 Census blocks; the method and its known error are documented in ZIP_TO_DISTRICT.md.