Matt Rinaldi

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Matt Rinaldi
Texas State Representative from District 115 (Dallas County)
Assumed office
January 13, 2015
Preceded by Bennett Ratliff
Personal details
Born (1975-04-11) April 11, 1975 (age 48)
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Corley M. Rinaldi
Residence Irving, Dallas County
Texas, USA
Alma mater James Madison University
Boston University School of Law
Occupation Attorney
Religion Roman Catholic

Matthew Daniel "Matt" Rinaldi (born 1975), is an attorney from Irving, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 115 in Dallas County.[1]

Background

Rinaldi graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, at which he received national recognition for his successful effort to have the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag recited prior to meetings of the student government association. He thereafter graduated in 2001 with a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University School of Law in Boston.[2]

Upon receiving his law degree, Rinaldi became a litigation associate with the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the firm that represented George W. Bush in the United States Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore, which determined Bush the winner of the disputed electoral votes in Florida and hence the winner of the 2000 presidential election. Rinaldi is an advocate of tort reform. He serves on the board of directors of a real estate investment trust in the hospitality industry.[2]

Political Life

In 2012, Rinaldi placed third in the Republican primary election for the House District 115 seat but rebounded to victory on March 4, 2014. The one-term incumbent, Bennett Ratliff, narrowly lost re-nomination to Rinaldi, who received 4,167 votes (50.6 percent) to Ratliff's 4,075 votes (49.4 percent).[3] On March 1, 2016, in the Republican primary, incumbent Rinaldi held off the challenge from Ratliff who tried unsuccessfully to regain his seat. The votes were 8,804 to 7,668 (53.45% to 46.55%) in favor of Rinaldi.[4] Ratliff is the son of former State Senator and Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff and the brother of Thomas Ratliff, a member of the elected Texas State Board of Education.

Rinaldi challenged Bennett Ratliff in 2014 and received support from the Tea Party movement, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Texas Eagle Forum and Texas Right to Life, among others. Rinaldi is affiliated with the Greater Irving Republican Club, the Coppell Republican Club and the Metrocrest Republican Club. He has been active in Rotary International and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He and his wife, Corley M. Rinaldi (married 2010), attend St. Ann Catholic Parish Roman Catholic Church in Coppell.[2]

84th Legislative Session

During the 84th Legislative Session, Rep. Rinaldi served on the Agriculture & Livestock committee and the Business & Industry committee. As a strong advocate for pro-life policies and 2nd Amendment rights, he joint- and co-authored many successful pieces of legislation that were signed into law, including: SB 1[5] (giving property tax relief to Texas homeowners), HB 11[6] (authorizing additional troopers for border security and strengthing smuggling laws, HB 283[7] (increasing government transparency by requiring certain governmental bodies to make audio and video recordings of open meetings available online), HB 937[8] (expanding 2nd Amendment rights to college campuses), SB 2065[9] (the "Pastor Protection Act," protecting 1st Amendment rights of religious freedom), and SB 652[10] (protecting franchisors from frivolous lawsuits).

With education being a priority for Rep. Rinaldi, he fought to eliminate or minimize the effects of Robin Hood on Texas public school districts with HB 945[11] and HB 1411[12] (Robin Hood Relief Act). HB 945 would repeal Robin Hood altogether and end recapture of any of the state’s school districts’ local tax base. And HB 1411 would reduce the percentage of local tax dollars subject to Robin Hood recapture as a district’s property tax valuation increases.

A strong advocate against illegal immigration, Rep. Rinaldi co-authored legislation that would repeal instate tuition for illegal immigrants, end welfare benefits for illegals,[13] and penalize businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.[14][15]

Rep. Rinaldi was rated the number one conservative in the Texas House by a Rice University study that draws on the 1,138 non-lopsided roll call votes taken during the 2015 regular session.[16] He received a 100% rating which tied him in the number one spot on the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility index with seven other conservative members.[17] He was also the top rated Representative by the Texas Eagle Forum with a 98% rating.[18] Rep. Rinaldi also received an "A+" rating from the transportation and property rights organization, TURF (Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom), which is a group that aims to end wasteful spending and increase transparency of tax dollars on transportation projects.[19]

Rep. Rinaldi had a 100% pro-life voting record on the Texas Right to Life scorecard and was designated by the organization as one of 14 "Pro-life Heroes" in the legislature for his work in passing pro-life legislation.[20][21]

References

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Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Texas State Representative from District 115
(Dallas County)

Matt Rinaldi
2015–

Succeeded by
Incumbent