AMARILLO, TEXAS -- State Senator Kel Seliger was first sworn in to the Texas Senate in 2004 serving the citizens of District 31, covering 26 counties from the Panhandle to the Permian Basin.
Appointed Chairman of the Redistricting Committee, he's well aware of the importance of redrawing the lines, which means his district too will also change.
"This district will be so much larger from 675,000 to about 780-840,000. This district will go from 26 counties to about 35-40."
The budget is the other top priority for the senator and other lawmakers this session. However while that one is at the top of everyone's list he's also looking at other issues that he thinks need to be addressed, including a border problem and the lack of federal action.
"Formulating the law and enforcing the laws regarding the border and immigration are the province of the federal government..they did it this way..and they do a remarkably inadequate job of it."
And he believes a porous border puts American's safety at risk.
"We don't respond positively and effectively enough until we have a crisis. it's going to be something akin to a pretty bad terrorist act or something like that and then someone in Washington will wake up and say, 'Maybe we ought to control and protect our border.'"
Natural resources, such as our water here in the Panhandle, will continue to be a top priority for the politician.
"How are we going to conserve that resource to see to it that we've got it for a long long future."
And he's hopeful lawmakers won't need a special session to finish up the state's business for the next two years.
