If you’re a legislator and you really want to knowbrwhat’s on constituents’ minds, just go door to doorbrand ask. That’s what Giovanni Capriglione does. Asbrthe State Representative for Southlake and surroundingbrareas, block walking is one of his favorite ways to staybrconnected to the community.br
Capriglione has some extra time to be out ringingbrdoorbells and chatting with citizens now that the 84thbrTexas legislative session is in the books. For 140 daysbrfrom January 13 to June 1, 2015, all 150 members of thebrTexas House of Representatives were in session, debatingbrhot-button issues such as education and taxes.br
On a sunny day in June, we caught up with Capriglionebrat Keller Town Hall, which is where he works when he’sbrnot in Austin. Everything in his office emanated statebrpride – from the giant Texas flag behind his desk to abrsmattering of historic Texas photographs on the walls.br
Capriglione serves approximately 175,000 residents inbrHouse District 98, which includes Southlake, Keller, Colleyville, Grapevine and Westlake, along with portions ofbrHaslet, North Ft. Worth and Trophy Club.br
He has always had a passion for politics, although hisbrpath to becoming a State Representative is as winding asbra Texas country road.br
After earning a degree in physics, Capriglione workedbras an electrical engineer designing computer chips. Hebrthen attained an MBA in finance and went to work for abrprivate equity firm, eventually branching out on his ownbrto manage various private equity funds through his company, Texas Adventure Capital.br
He recalls 9/11 as the turning point he needed to getbrinvolved in politics. “That was the first big moment forbrme,” he says. “I felt that I had to get more engaged in thebrpolitical process.”
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Capriglione ran for State Representative in 2010, butbrwas not elected. It didn’t take long for him to get backbron his feet. In November 2012, he was elected with morebrthan 85 percent of the vote and was sworn into servicebrin January 2013. He was re-elected for a second term inbrNovember 2014.br
“As you start to get involved in the political process,bryou realize you’re doing it all for the people,” Capriglionebrsays. “Everything we do is for Texans.”br
In this most recent legislative session, Capriglionebrserved on three committees: Appropriations, Investmentsbrand Financial Services, and Local and Consent Calendars.
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On the Appropriations committee, Capriglione helpedbrmanage the state’s $210 billion budget. On the Investments and Financial Services committee, he handled abrvariety of bills related to banking, securities and credit.brAnd on the Local and Consent Calendars committee,brCapriglione had the opportunity to vote yes or no onbrbills, deciding whether or not they move on.br
“By serving on these committees, I was really able tobrhelp our local communities,” he says.br
Better Education for Texans
Capriglione was also part of an ad hoc work groupbrcommittee that focused on the formulas relating to howbrschool financing happens.br
“Texas is so varied. The needs of our district are different than other districts,” he says. “In our area, we want tobrmake sure we focus on education and education financing. I moved to Carroll ISD for the schools [Capriglionebrhas three young daughters], and I know many otherbrpeople did as well. It’s important for me as a legislator tobrkeep this in mind when I go to Austin.”br
Carroll ISD is ranked the top district in the state ofbrTexas, according to SchoolDigger, which ranks schoolsbrbased on test scores provided by the Texas Departmentbrof Education.br
Though the Dragons enjoy a promising educationalbrlandscape, education isn’t flourishing in all parts ofbrthe state. To help promote quality education throughout Texas, Capriglione pushed for higher standards forbrteachers and more accountability for schools.br
“There are multiple ways to become a teacher, and Ibrfelt that the barrier to become a teacher through a certification process was too low,” says Capriglione.br
He filed a bill that will increase the standards necessary to complete the teaching certification program inbrTexas. Capriglione also filed a bill that will create a pre-K program that helps mostly foster kids, homeless children, and kids of active-duty military parents.br
If we can get quality education to children at the earliest age possible, the benefits compound quickly,” hebrsays. “It’s going to be an impactful tool here in Texas tobrbe able to give kids a head start on their education.”br
When it comes to testing, Capriglione aimed to easebrthe pressure on students by reducing end-of-coursebrexams from 15 to seven. “We found that we were puttingbrkids in a box,” he says.
br br br“They may be super bright, but they justbrdon’t do well on tests.”br
The classroom isn’t the only focus whenbrit comes to education reform; Capriglionebrworked to create additional training forbrhigh school counselors, making them better prepared to help students determinebrtheir career paths. “This requires a differentbrskill set,” he says.br
Creating a future that’s bright for youngbrTexans is important to legislators – andbrthe funds back up this commitment. “Webrspend the most amount of money on education,” says Capriglione.br
Texas schools spent an average ofbr$9,559 per student last school year,braccording to figures compiled by thebrNational Education Association.br
Capriglione works hard to create abrbetter Texas for young people for abrvariety of reasons. For starters, he hasbrthree daughters: Cristina, Helen andbrNatalie. And, he simply enjoys volunteering with kids. Capriglione is a formerbrOdyssey of the Mind coach, and he oftenbrvisits Government 101 classes to teachbrstudents the voting process.br
“Kids are our future, and any opportunitybrI have, I get involved with them,” he says.br
Keeping Texas Strong
Economic development was anotherbrkey issue of Texas’ 84th legislative session.brWith nearly 1,000 people moving to Texasbrevery day, according to the U.S. CensusbrBureau, Capriglione aims to ensure that ourbrarea is an attractive place to work and live.
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“We want to make sure this area remains the hotbed of economic development and vibrancy,” he says. “We vote on so many bills, but for me,brand most of legislature, jobs is job number one.”br
Texas is in constant competition with other states and other countries when it comes to attracting new businesses. But in this legislativebrsession, Capriglione and other legislators made the Lone Star Statebra whole lot more appealing by slashing the Gross Margins Tax bybr25 percent.br
Most corporations in Texas pay this business tax, and those with morebrthan $1 million in revenue will see their business taxes reduced by abrquarter.br
“Ultimately, I hope we’ll be able to cut the Gross Margins Tax completely,” Capriglione says, “but I’m glad we got rid of a fourth of it.”br
This session, Governor Greg Abbot and Texas Speaker of the House,brJoe Straus, received the first award from the Texas Enterprise Fund tobrbring the Kubota Tractor Factory to the city of Grapevine. The move isbrexpected to bring nearly 400 new jobs to Texas and $51 million in capitalbrinvestment.br
Additionally, Texas legislators eliminated fees for 16 different professions such as architects and real estate agents. “Many professionals havebrto pay a fee to have a license and work,” says Capriglione. “Though it’sbrnot technically a tax, I call it an income tax because if you have to paybrmoney to go have a job, then it’s effectively that.”br
What’s Next for Texas
Depending on your views, Texas’ 84th legislative session brought somebrbig improvements to
residents of the Lone Star State. But Capriglionebrisn’t resting on his laurels; he’s out knocking on doors, getting to thebrheart of what matters most to the people of Texas.br
“There will always be issues coming up, so we’ll be constantly gather ing the needs and suggestions of constituents to be able to address itbrin the next session,” he says.br
Although, when you’re fortunate enough to live in Southlake, thebrneeds often aren’t many.br
“When I was going door to door, one voter said, ‘What issues couldbrwe possibly have? We live here,’” Capriglione says. “I love every part ofbrTexas, but the quality of life in Southlake is second to none. I’m glad tobrcall it home.”