Explanation of Toth’s Negative Votes on Dredging Bills Not Supported by Evidence

7/28/2025 – State Representative Steve Toth has announced a bid to unseat U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw in next year’s Republican primary. While Crenshaw helped secure more than $120 million dollars for dredging in the Lake Houston Area after Harvey to reduce flood risk, Toth voted against bills to create a Lake Houston Dredging District THREE times in five years.

Toth claims that the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a powerful Republican think tank, was “also against the bill.” However, a search of the TPPF website turned up no mention of any of the three bills. They included:

• HB 2525 in 2021 (by former State Rep. Dan Huberty)
• HB 5341 in 2023 (by current State Rep. Charles Cunningham)
• HB 1532 in 2025 (also by Cunningham)

I searched the TPPF website for each of the bill numbers (with and without spaces and hyphens). I also searched it for key words such as “dredging” and “Lake Houston.” None of the searches turned up any mention of any of the bills. Moreover, neither of the bills’ authors could recall TPPF taking a stance for or against the bill(s), nor could their chiefs of staff.

Likewise, neither Google, nor ChatGPT, found any public records indicating that TPPF adopted a position against the creation of a Lake Houston Dredging District.

Witness Lists Don’t Support Toth Claim Either

The list of witnesses who addressed the House Natural Resources Committee on HB 2525 in 2021 shows no one from the TPPF. Ditto for the Senate testimony.

I could find only two public comments in 2023 – both written and neither from TPPF.

The same holds true for HB 1532 in 2025. No comments from TPPF in the House, nor in the Senate!

The only people who ever testified against any of the three versions of the Dredging District bills represented water authorities, not TPPF.

Error-Ridden Defense of Negative Votes

A close examination of Rep. Toth’s defense of his negative votes shows other troubling issues, too. See below.

Five Issues in Six Sentences

In the six full sentences above, I quickly spotted five major issues.

• #1 – I can find no public records of TPPF being against any of the dredging bills as discussed above.
• #2 – “One more taxing agency.” The 2025 version of the bill (HB 1532) that became law states explicitly that the dredging district cannot levy taxes. Do you really want a representative who doesn’t read the legislation he’s voting on?
• #3 – SJRA responsible for Kingwood flooding? It was a combination of factors. Lack of dredging for decades reduced the conveyance of the West Fork by up to 15 feet. That’s why we need regular dredging as the Army Corps recommended.
• #4 – Even if TPPF was against the bill, who cares? Toth is running to represent tens of thousands of Lake Houston Area residents and business people that flooded – not the TPPF. Do you really want a representative who votes against the needs of constituents to curry favor with a think tank in Austin that doesn’t even list flooding as an issue it cares about?
• #5 – If the TPPF was against the 2025 bill, why did so many Republicans vote for it? It passed the House by 114 to 19 and the Senate by 30 to 1.

Mr. Toth certainly doesn’t inspire my trust.

No Reply from Toth Yet

Johnna Wells, the lady who elicited the response above from Rep. Toth has invited him to come to Kingwood and address voters on these issues. He indicated a willingness to talk to her, but wouldn’t say when.

In the hall of mirrors that political discourse has become in recent years, it’s important to verify the claims you hear or see.

If Mr. Toth wishes to respond to the observations in this post, I will be happy to print his point of view. But he must start with who at TPPF came out against the bill. What did they say? When? And where? And how can it be verified?

What started out as unexplained votes has quickly morphed into a major trust issue.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/28/2025

2990 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

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