Representative Gina Hinojosa Contact information

First elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2016, Gina Hinojosa proudly serves the constituents of District 49 in the heart of Austin and the Central corridor of the Texas capital city.

During the 85th Legislative Session, her first session in the House, Rep. Hinojosa passed a sweeping, corporate reform bill that created a new type of corporation in the state of Texas, a"public benefit corporation." This law now allows corporations to prioritize a public good while maximizing profits. Since then, hundreds of new Texas businesses have been created that spur economic development AND contribute to quality of life.

Her first policy love being “public education,” Rep. Hinojosa led the House Democrats’ successful effort to divert more taxpayer money from state coffers into our public schools through House Bill 3 during the 86th Legislative Session. She also spearheaded legislative oversight of the Texas Education Agency’s treatment of students receiving special education. And Rep. Hinojosa amended the public school accountability system to give high schools, students, and districts credit for college courses called “Onramps.”

During the 86th Legislative Session, Rep. Hinojosa also was the House sponsor of then senator, Kirk Watson’s SB 1350, a law that has now pulled down almost a billion dollars in federal funds to pay for indigent health care in Travis County.

She has been a leader on environmental policy, spearheading the creation of the Texas Climate Plan, and the Texas Youth Climate Corp. During the 87th Legislative Session, she passed legislation to identify employment opportunities for Texans in the transition to clean energy.

Rep. Hinojosa is a fierce defender of Austin’s local control, having used procedural points of order during the 87th Legislative Session to kill both a bill to strip Austin of its noise ordinance authority and a bill that would have removed Austin’s right of independence to purchase affordable housing.

Last session, Rep. Hinojosa also preserved prevailing wage requirements on public building projects by “filibustering” a bill to dismantle them.

She capped off the 87th Legislative Session by organizing the first House Democratic Caucus Quorum Break in response to the anti-voter bill, SB 7. The Quorum Break resulted in the preservation of the will of Texas voters by killing a provision that would have allowed partisan judges to overturn election results without first finding that fraud had determined the outcome. The Quorum Break also preserved the freedom of Sunday morning voting, which is a longstanding practice of African American faith communities.

Prior to becoming a Texas House member, Rep. Hinojosa was elected to an at-large position on the Austin ISD School Board in November 2012. Thereafter, she was elected Board President by her fellow trustees in January 2015. In the time that Gina served on the School Board, she led successful efforts on workers’ rights and partnered with the City of Austin to secure millions in additional funding for students. Under her leadership, every AISD high school met state accountability standards for the first time, a major step forward in improving academic performance for all students.

Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, Gina is a native Texan and a proud product of public schools. She came to Austin to attend The University of Texas and graduated with Honors with a Plan II Government Bachelor of Arts degree. She received her law degree from George Washington Law School in 1999 and was licensed that same year. She has called Austin home ever since.