Jessica Christina Farrar (born November 26, 1966) is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a former Democratic member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

. She was first elected to the legislature in 1994 at the age of twenty-seven and was the longest serving

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

member of the House from Harris County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. She served as the representative for House District 148. She resigned her House seat effective September 30, 2019. Farrar served as the vice-chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence and was a member on the House Committee on State Affairs. In addition, Representative Farrar served as the chairwoman of the Texas House Women's Health Caucus. During the 82nd Legislative session, she served as the head of the Texas House Democratic Caucus.

Early life and education

Reared in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Farrar graduated in 1984 from Lamar High School. She received a Bachelor of Architecture from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

Texas House of Representatives

In the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held on November 6, 2018, Farrar won her eighteenth consecutive term in the state House. With 32,147 votes (67.9 percent), she defeated the Republican candidate, Ryan Taylor McConnico (born July 15, 1989), who received 15,213 (32.1 percent).

Past committees

*74th Legislative Session **Corrections **Criminal Jurisprudence *75th Legislative Session **Corrections **Criminal Jurisprudence **Rules & Resolutions *76th Legislative Session **Appropriations **Corrections *77th Legislative Session **Appropriations **Corrections – Vice Chair *78th Legislative Session **Corrections **County Affairs *79th Legislative Session **Agriculture & Livestock **State Affairs *80th Legislative Session **Juvenile Justice & Family Issues **State Affairs *81st Legislative Session **Environmental Regulation **Land & Resource Management – Vice Chair *82nd Legislative Session **Environmental Regulation – Vice Chair **Border and Intergovernmental Affairs – Member *83rd Legislative Session **House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence – Vice-Chair **House Committee on State Affairs – Member

Caucuses

*Texas Women's Health Caucus – founder and Chairwoman *House Democratic Caucus – Member *Texas Veterans' Caucus – Member *Legislative Study Group – Member *Texas Farm-to-Table Caucus – Member *Education Caucus – Member *Fine Arts Education Caucus – Member *Young Texans Legislative Caucus – Member *National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators – Member *Mexican American Legislative Caucus – Member

Notable legislation

Each legislative session, Farrar introduces a bill to abolish the death penalty in Texas. In 2003, Farrar sponsored legislation that would prohibit employment discrimination based upon

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...

. In 2009, she proposed a bill that would recognize

postpartum psychosis Postpartum psychosis (PPP), also known as puerperal psychosis or peripartum psychosis, involves the abrupt onset of psychotic symptoms shortly following childbirth, typically within two weeks of delivery but less than 4 weeks postpartum. PPP is ...

as a defense for mothers who kill their infants. Under the terms of the proposed legislation, if jurors concluded that a mother's "judgment was impaired as a result of the effects of giving birth or the effects of lactation following the birth," they would be allowed to convict her of the crime of infanticide, rather than murder. The maximum penalty for infanticide would be two years in prison. Farrar's introduction of this bill prompted liberal bioethics scholar

Jacob M. Appel Jacob M. Appel (born February 21, 1973) is an American polymath, author, bioethicist, physician, lawyer, and social critic.Nagamatsu, Sequoia "A Few Words with the Ubiquitous Jacob M. Appel" ''Prince Mincer'' Journal http://primemincer.com/ con ...

to call her "the bravest politician in America." In 2011, Farrar introduced legislation that would prohibit peace officers from inquiring as to the immigration or nationality status of a witness or victim in a criminal investigation. In March 2017, Farrar proposed a bill to fine men for

masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...

and require consultations and medically-unnecessary examinations before vasectomies, colonoscopies, and the prescription of

Viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of certain symptoms in secondary Ray ...

tablets. The bill is a response to what Farrar calls "the obstacles that Texas women face every day, that were placed there by legislatures making it very difficult for them to access health care." Farrar said that masturbation could be deemed "an act against an unborn child" and a "failure to preserve the sanctity of life."

The Killer Ds

In May 2003, Farrar helped to organize a group of House Democrats who left Texas for Ardmore,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. The absence of fifty-two House Democrats prevented Republicans from obtaining a

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

and hence blocked passage of the

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

plan during the 2003 regular session. The Killer Ds were followed by a group of eleven state senators, called the Texas Eleven, who fled the state in August 2003 for the same purposes.

Community involvement

Farrar founded a non-profit mentorship and educational program for Latina college students known as Latinas on the Rise in 1998, and she serves on the board of directors. In 2001, she authored a bill to create the Greater Northside Management District, a group dedicated to promoting the economic development and quality of life for commercial property owners and to creating opportunities for new development in portions of Farrar's district. She also co-founded the Texas Women's Health Foundation in 2007, a non-partisan non-profit aimed at de-politicizing women's health issues, and she serves as an ex-officio member of its board. Farrar also serves on the board of directors for Air Alliance Houston (formerly known as the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention), Avenue CDC, Rice Design Alliance, Women Action for New Direction Education Fund, and the National Advisory Committee of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. She also serves on the Postpartum Support International's President's Advisory Council.

References

External links

Texas House of Representatives – Jessica Farrar
''official TX House website''
Project Vote Smart – Representative Jessica Farrar (TX)
profile *''Follow the Money'' – Jessica Farrar
2006

2004

2002

2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrar, Jessica Living people 1966 births Lamar High School (Houston) alumni University of Houston alumni University of Texas School of Law alumni American women architects Politicians from Houston Architects from Texas 20th-century American architects Women state legislators in Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature