Matthew Ray Schaefer, known as Matt Schaefer, is the current Texas State Representative for District 6.
Education
Schaefer attended Cisco Junior College, where he played football. Then he attended Texas Technical University in Lubbock, Texas, where he obtained a bachelor"s degree in finance and a law degree from Texas Technical University School of Law. Upon Senator. Gramm"s retirement, Schaefer joined the Navy Reserves and attended law school at Texas Technical University in Lubbock.
Career
Schaefer is assigned to the Defense & Veterans" Affairs and Urban Affairs committees. In 1999, he worked on staff for Senator Philosophy Gramm in Tyler. Schaefer subsequently served as counsel to the chairman of the Sunset Advisory Commission, state representative Carl Isett, on bills regarding insurance and transportation.
Schafer was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in November 2012, after successfully challenging incumbent representative Leo Berman.
Schaeffer unseated Berman in the Republican primary election, on May 29, 2012. He received 11,138 votes, or 57.7%, to Berman"s 8,172 votes, or 42.3%.
Schaefer was unopposed in the November general election. 83rd Legislative Session: 2013 84th Legislative Session: 2015
Anti-Abortion Republican
Schaefer put forward an amendment to a health agency bill which would end require women to carry non viable fetuses to term.
Even though a non viable fetus would not result in a live birth, Republican Schaefer justified his amendment by asserting that the disabled deserve the same protection inside the womb that they receive once born. Republican Schaefer’s amendment passed with a solid majority, but Democrats retaliated by killing the whole bill using a technical objection.
When the bill returned to the House floor weeks later, it had been re-written so that Schaefer’s amendment would no longer be “germane,” or topically relevant to the bill and unable to be attached.
In 2013, Schaefer voted for Texas Senate Bill 5 to make it more difficult for women to obtain abortions or counseling on their options by requiring doctors who provide abortion services to be registered at hospitals within 30 miles of their office. Gun Rights In 2015, Republican
Schaefer passed an amendment to the Open Carry bill which will lower the penalty for inadvertently entering a place that displays a sign prohibiting handguns (aka 3006 notice). Currently, this unintentional act could result in serious jail time and permanent loss of the person’s handgun license.
Schaefer claimed that the punishment didn’t fit the crime.
Education Despite his insistence that doctors should go through extra regulations, Republican Schaefer worked hard to lower standards in schools, by allowing vocational classes to be taught by uncertified teachers. Local schools will now be able to hire highly qualified career and technology teachers who may not have a traditional education degree.
The bill he authored was included in a larger education bill signed by Governor Abbott! In the summer of 2013, state representative John T. Smithee headlined a fund-raiser for Schaefer in Tyler.
Speculation mounted that Smithee would in January 2015 challenge the reelection of Speaker Joe Straus, who was expected to seek a fourth term as the presiding House officer Joining Smithee in support of Schaefer were Rick Miller, Drew Springer, Junior., David Simpson, and two members who were running against each other for the Texas State Senate, Steve Toth and Brandon Creighton.
He defeated Tyler businessman Skip M. Ogle, 9,888, or 61.1%, to 6,304, or 38.3%.
Politics
Most of the lawmakers in attendance were associated with the Tea Party movement.