Jane Gray Nelson (born October 5, 1951) is an American businesswoman and former school teacher who serves as the

Secretary of State of Texas The secretary of state of Texas is one of the six members of the executive department of the State of Texas in the United States. Under the Constitution of Texas, the appointment is made by the governor of Texas, with confirmation by the Texa ...

since 2023. She was a Texas state senator who represented Texas Senate District 12. She was elected to the Senate in 1992 after serving two two-year terms (1988–1992) on the

Texas State Board of Education The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

. In 2023, Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott ( ; born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...

appointed Nelson to succeed John B. Scott as Secretary of State. She was sworn in to that office on Saturday, January 7.

Texas Senate

Nelson was the highest-ranking Republican woman in the Texas Senate. The tenth woman ever elected to the Texas Senate, she was the first Republican woman ever appointed chair of a standing committee and held the distinction of being longest-serving chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in Texas history. In 2015, she was appointed chair of the Senate Finance Committee, being the first woman to hold the position in the history of the Texas Senate. She also served as chair of the

Sunset Advisory Commission The Sunset Advisory Commission is an agency of the Texas Legislature that evaluates state agencies and makes recommendations to the legislature on the need for, performance of, and improvements to agencies under review. The commission is headqua ...

. During the 2013 legislative session, Nelson authored 40 bills that were passed into law by the Legislature, and she served as the Senate sponsor on 30 successful bills authored by House members. She served on 19 conference committees, including for SB 1, the appropriations bill. Nelson chaired the Article II workgroup, which increased the women's health budget by $100 million and made significant new investments in mental health and Child Protective Services. In October 2019, the Texas Parent Teacher Association named Nelson a Texas PTA Champion for Children for her leadership during the 86th legislative session. In July 2021, Nelson announced she would not seek an 11th term to the Texas Senate.

Senate Health and Human Services Committee

In July 2013, Nelson presided over a 16-hour hearing on an abortion bill that drew testimony from over 3,800 people, including 357 who provided oral testimony. The bill, HB 3, sought to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill also required abortion facilities to

upgrade Upgrading is the process of replacing a product with a newer version of the same product. In computing and consumer electronics, an upgrade is generally a replacement of hardware, software or firmware with a newer or better version, in order to ...

to ambulatory surgical standards.

Senate Finance Committee

In 2014 Nelson was appointed chair of the Senate Finance Committee, the first woman of either party to hold that position. In that capacity she authored four state budgets. Her chairmanship ended in January 2022. In June 2022, the Senate Finance committee dedicated its conference room to Nelson in her honor.

References

External links

Campaign website

State legislative pageProject Vote Smart - Senator Jane Gray Nelson (TX)
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Politifact Check Senator Jane Gray Nelson (TX)
*''Follow the Money'' - Jane Nelson
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campaign contributions * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Jane 1951 births 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American businesspeople Living people People from Flower Mound, Texas Presidents pro tempore of the Texas Senate Republican Party Texas state senators Secretaries of state of Texas Women state legislators in Texas 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature