The Texas State Senate, Senator Paul Bettencourt: District 7

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Paul earned his bachelor's degree in industrial distribution from Texas A&M. He and his wife, Susan, are members of Saint John Vianney Catholic Church.

Paul is the president and chief executive office of Bettencourt Tax Advisors.

Paul Bettencourt currently serves as Texas State Senator for District 7. He was first elected in 2014 and is serving his third term. He is the chair of the Senate committee on local government. He previously served as the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector from 1998 to 2008. 

Opposes the Harris County universal basic income program that will award low-income family winners $500 a month for 18 months and believes "there is 1 lucky winner for every 40 losers."

As state senator, supported the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act of 2019, which lowered tax rates.

- Opposes the Harris County universal basic income program that will award low-income family winners $500 a month for 18 months and believes "there is 1 lucky winner for every 40 losers."
- As state senator, supported the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act of 2019, which lowered tax rates.

Economy

Wants to address squatting, the unauthorized stay on someone's property, stating, "We are going to make it easy for homeowners and business owners to 'Come and Take it Back' from squatters.”

- Wants to address squatting, the unauthorized stay on someone's property, stating, "We are going to make it easy for homeowners and business owners to 'Come and Take it Back' from squatters.”

Public Safety

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Supports adult stem cell therapies and reducing government regulation to improve patient quality of life.

Supports adult stem cell therapies and reducing government regulation to improve treatments for terminally and chronically ill patients.  

- Supports adult stem cell therapies and reducing government regulation to improve treatments for terminally and chronically ill patients.  

Healthcare

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Supports Senate Bill 1365, which gives school districts A through F rating to point out low performing schools that would need to create a model for improvement.

- Supports Senate Bill 1365, which gives school districts A through F rating to point out low performing schools that would need to create a model for improvement.

Education

Believes US energy independence will lower energy costs, which would lower inflation, increase jobs, and improve national security.

Co-sponsored Senate Bill 2627, which creates a low-interest loan and grant program for natural gas, coal, and nuclear production.

- Believes US energy independence will lower energy costs, which would lower inflation, increase jobs, and improve national security.
- Co-sponsored Senate Bill 2627, which creates a low-interest loan and grant program for natural gas, coal, and nuclear production.

Energy & the Environment

Supports having the county clerk and tax assessor-collector managing elections.

Believes mailing voter registration applications to addresses without current voter registrations would "undoubtedly result in registering non-citizens to vote."

- Supports having the county clerk and tax assessor-collector managing elections.
- Believes mailing voter registration applications to addresses without current voter registrations would "undoubtedly result in registering non-citizens to vote."

Voting & Elections

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Paul Bettencourt

Paul Bettencourt lives in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Distribution. He and his wife Susan are active members of Saint John Vianney Catholic Church.

Paul Bettencourt is currently a Texas State Senator representing Senate District 7. He previously served as the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector from 1998 to 2008. He is also the President and CEO of a tax consulting company in Houston.

Paul Bettencourt has served as a Texas State Senator for District 7 since 2014. He previously served as the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector from 1998 to 2008. Bettencourt is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Property Tax and serves on the Senate Finance, Education, and Higher Education committees.

Believes in addressing squatting issues to protect property rights and maintain community standards.

As senator, sponsored SB 2 & 3 to save Texas business and property owners $4.5 billion.

Believes there are sufficient funds to eliminate property taxes in Texas.

Supports property tax reductions to improve Texas's economic outlook, as evidenced by the state's rise to sixth in the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) economic rankings.

Believes contributions to his campaign are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Supports property tax relief, and as a state senator, passed SB 26, which provides tax relief for veterans and tax exemptions for certain properties.

Opposes "squatting" and invited the public to share their "horror squatter stories and proposed solutions."

Believes in addressing squatting issues to maintain property values and rental market stability.

Plans to make it easier for homeowners and business owners to remove squatters.

As chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government, held a hearing to discuss securing Texas against “squatters” after receiving an interim charge from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Believes there are many squatters and over 65 property tax deferred payment homes in his district.

Believes squatting is a significant issue, estimating "possibly thousands of squatting cases in Harris County and up to ten thousand in the State of Texas."

Believes in addressing issues of squatting to protect property managers and maintain the integrity of rental properties.

Supports the Texas Senate’s $16.5 billion Property Tax Plan to provide relief to homeowners, business owners, and all taxpayers.

Supports the Senate’s “Texas Two-Step” property tax plan, which would provide $1,250 to $1,450 per year in tax relief for 5.72 million Texas homesteads.

Opposes the misuse of public funds for political gain.

Supports increasing criminal penalties and setting up "rocket dockets" to expedite eviction processes.

Opposes the veto of SB 467, which would have addressed criminal gangs stealing motor vehicle fuel.

Supports increasing penalties for tampering with retail motor fuel pumps.

Supports SB 1750, which prohibits the use of county funds for lawsuits against the state.

Opposes frivolous lawsuits against Senate Bill (SB) 1750.

Believes families need protection and criticized the San Antonio Police Department for not supporting her family during a dispute with squatters.

Believes in strong public safety measures, highlighting a personal experience where a squatter with a weapon was arrested by the San Antonio Police Department.

Believes squatters pose a significant threat to home and personal safety, as evidenced by the experience of Terri Boyette, whose home was occupied by squatters who turned it into a “drug den” and sold her possessions at a yard sale while she was caring for her sick mother in another state.

Believes in maintaining high standards for personal relationships, as evidenced by her comment, “Look, I may not be in my prime, but I don’t have to date crackheads yet.”

Opposes the lottery system of distributing Universal Basic Income (UBI) funds, calling it "Lottery Socialism" and "ludicrous" to select only a few families from thousands of applicants.

Supports "Right to Try" and adult stem cell research to improve treatment access for terminally and chronically ill patients.

Believes the lottery system for selecting applicants for health programs is unfair, saying it results in "1 out of 41 'winners'" and "a 'lucky 6,000' are chosen for the final program and then randomized to 1,928."

Supports policies that address school attendance.

Supports restoring Texas’ education system oversight and A-F accountability system.

Joint-authored bipartisan legislation to enhance educational opportunities through ISD/Charter partnerships (SB 1882).

Supports increasing state education funding, and as a legislator, helped budget a $5 billion increase in new state education funding.

Supports bipartisan efforts in education, as demonstrated by passing Senate Bill (SB) 1861 with Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) to enhance educational standards.

Supports the bipartisan Virtual Education bill, which passed the Texas Senate 28-3.

Supports using $5 billion to boost natural gas electrical generation.

Believes Texas has better voter integrity than "battleground States" during the Presidential election.

Supports returning County Election Administration to the elected County Clerk and Tax Assessor-Collector.

Supports clear and accurate ballot language to prevent misleading voters. As a state senator, passed Senate Bill 221 to ensure transparency in proposition ballot language.

Supports stricter election integrity measures, believing there were "over ten thousand voter irregularities" in the 2022 Harris County elections.

Supports SB 1750, which restores "voter trust, accountability, and transparency in Harris County elections" by changing election management policies.

Supports the Texas Election Marshal bill to "restore public trust in elections."

Believes in conducting election audits to ensure election integrity. As a state senator, passed Senate Bill (SB) 1039, which mandates audits of all elections in Texas.

Supports clear and understandable ballot language.

Supports the introduction of preliminary district maps to initiate debate and finalize district maps across Texas.

Served as the Chair of the Texas Senate Republican Caucus and has been named to the Redistricting Committee by Lt. Governor Patrick.

Supports collaboration with House and Senate members to ensure election integrity.

Believes in oversight of elections, saying "First ever oversight of elections by Texas Secretary of State is now law in Harris County."

Supports Senate Bill (SB) 1750, which mandates the county elections administrator to be a person who has served as a county election officer for at least 2 years and has not been employed by a person or entity that has been found to have violated election laws.

Supports the passage of transparency bills to ensure election records are clear and accessible to voters.

- Your state senator represents the interests of your district in the Texas State Senate. The State Senate, along with the State House of Representatives, makes up your state lawmaking body: the Texas Legislature.
- Your state senator can author, sponsor, and vote on bills that may become state laws after going through the legislative process.
- There are 31 Texas state senators, each representing a single district with a constituency of around 1 million.
- State senators are elected to 4-year terms and one 2-year term per decade, and there are no term limits.
- They are paid a salary of $7,200/year and a per diem of $221/day.