Former U.S. House representative and presidential and Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat, announced he will run for governor of Texas, according to a Nov. 15 Dallas News report.
Here are three notes on his Congressional track record as it could relate to Texas ASCs:
1. O'Rourke voted against an abortion-limiting bill three times — in 2013, 2015 and 2017 — while a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Texas law currently prohibits reproductive ASCs and other providers from performing abortions past six weeks into pregnancy.
2. O'Rourke in 2015 voted "yes" on a cybersecurity bill a day after voting "no" on a similar bill. Healthcare organizations have increasingly fallen victim to hackers and other cybersecurity threats in 2020 and 2021.
3. An O'Rourke governorship could mean higher taxes for ASCs: He supported a 2020 California ballot initiative requiring commercial and industrial properties, except those zoned as commercial agriculture, to be taxed based on their market value rather than their purchase price. The initiative was defeated.