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

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

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

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

member of the House from Harris County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. 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 most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Farrar graduated in 1984 from Lamar High School. She received a

Bachelor of Architecture The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world. Australia Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...

from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas House of Representatives

In the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 pattern of romantic 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. These attractions are generall ...

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 i ...

. In 2009, she proposed a bill that would recognize

postpartum psychosis Postpartum psychosis, also known as puerperal psychosis, involves the abrupt onset of severe mental illness shortly following childbirth. While symptoms of postpartum psychosis have long been observed in mothers, the phenomenon eventually came t ...

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 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 the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...

and require consultations and medically-unnecessary examinations before

vasectomies Vasectomy, or vasoligation, is an elective surgical procedure for male sterilization or permanent contraception. During the procedure, the male vasa deferentia are cut and tied or sealed so as to prevent sperm from entering into the urethra and ...

colonoscopies Colonoscopy () or coloscopy () is the endoscopic examination of the large bowel and the distal part of the small bowel with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. It can provide a visual diagnosis (''e.g ...

, 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 unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...

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: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

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

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

and hence blocked passage of the

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

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 The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (Latina Institute) is a health and reproductive rights organization representing the Latina community living in the United States. Previously the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Heal ...

. 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, Texas) alumni University of Houston alumni University of Texas School of Law alumni American women architects People from Houston Architects from Texas 20th-century American architects 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Women state legislators in Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians