Matt Schaefer

Matthew Ray Schaefer, known as Matt Schaefer (born February 11, 1976), is the current Texas State Representative for District 6. Schaefer is assigned to the Defense & Veterans' Affairs and Urban Affairs committees.

Schaefer attended Cisco Junior College, where he played football. Then he attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in finance and a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.

In 1999, he worked on staff for Senator Phil Gramm in Tyler. Upon Sen. Gramm's retirement, Schaefer joined the Navy Reserves and attended law school at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Schaefer subsequently served as counsel to the chairman of the Sunset Advisory Commission, state representative Carl Isett, on bills regarding insurance and transportation.

Schafer was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in November 2012, after successfully challenging incumbent representative Leo Berman. Schaeffer unseated Berman in the Republican primary election, on May 29, 2012. He received 11,138 votes, or 57.7%, to Berman's 8,172 votes, or 42.3%. Schaefer was unopposed in the November general election.

Reproductive health

In 2015, Schaefer put forward Amendment 18 to the Texas Health and Safety Code, attaching it to CSHB 2510. The amendment addressed the legality of terminating a pregnancy when in utero testing yields "a severe and irreversible fetal abnormality" diagnosis. Schaefer's position was one in defense of all life, asserting that the disabled deserve the same protection inside the womb that they receive once born. Representative Spitzer, a doctor, argued for the amendment, saying, "We want them [mothers, parents] to be able to have that child and have that grieving process." Representative Sheffield, also a doctor, disagreed, saying, "[A]s a doctor—for my patients it is unethical for we doctors to impose upon them a set of guidelines that forces them in one direction or another, taking away their rights." Schaefer’s amendment passed with a solid majority, but Democrats halted passage of the whole bill using a technical objection. When the bill returned to the House floor weeks later, it had been re-written to such a degree that Schaefer’s amendment would no longer be “germane,” or topically relevant to the bill and was not able to be attached.

In 2013, Schaefer voted for Texas Senate Bill 5, which required doctors who provide abortion services to be registered at hospitals within 30 miles of their office.

Firearms

In 2015, Schaefer passed an amendment to the Open Carry bill which will lower the penalty for inadvertently entering a place that displays a sign prohibiting handguns (aka 30.06 notice). Currently, this unintentional act could result in serious jail time and permanent loss of the person’s handgun license. Schaefer claimed that the punishment didn’t fit the crime.

In the summer of 2013, state representative John T. Smithee headlined a fundraiser for Schaefer in Tyler. Speculation mounted that Smithee would in January 2015 challenge the reelection of Speaker Joe Straus, who was expected to seek a fourth term as the presiding House officer. Joining Smithee in support of Schaefer were Rick Miller, Drew Springer, Jr., David Simpson, and two members who were running against each other for the Texas State Senate, Steve Toth and Brandon Creighton. Most of the lawmakers in attendance were associated with the Tea Party movement.

Schaefer won renomination to a second term to the District 6 House seat in the Republican primary, held March 4, 2014. He defeated Tyler businessman Skip M. Ogle, 9,888, or 61.1%, to 6,304, or 38.3%.

Schaefer attends Green Acres Baptist Church. He met his wife there in 2001.