State Rep. Cole Hefner met with veterans, their families and community members Thursday, Sept. 24, at VFW Post 7523 in Mineola to discuss issues ranging from national security to services available to East Texas veterans.
Hefner, who represents House District 5, chairs the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs. He told those attending that the work of the committee has changed considerably in recent years.
“It is rapidly evolving into a true national security homeland security committee,” Hefner said.
The committee has traditionally dealt with border security, law enforcement, emergency response and other public safety issues. Hefner said lawmakers are now spending more time looking at foreign threats, cybersecurity and the security of critical infrastructure.
One concern is the country’s dependence on foreign nations for products ranging from pharmaceuticals and semiconductors to electrical equipment and drones.
Hefner specifically discussed Chinese-manufactured drones used by law enforcement, fire departments and other first responders. He filed legislation last session that would have moved agencies away from drones manufactured in countries considered foreign adversaries and said he plans to bring the issue back next session.
Hefner also discussed Senate Bill 17, which he sponsored in the House during the 2025 legislative session. The law restricts certain individuals, companies and governmental entities associated with countries named in the law from acquiring real property in Texas.
Lawmakers have also taken up concerns involving foreign access to research at Texas universities and other sensitive information.
Hefner said the state has formed the Texas Advisory Committee on Geopolitical Conflict to bring together state officials and experts to look at potential threats and how Texas would respond.
“What are our critical infrastructure and our sensitive things? What are the threats to those, and then what can we do as a state to mitigate those threats,” Hefner said.
The committee has held exercises looking at what could happen if Texas faced several emergencies at the same time. Hefner described one scenario involving military equipment being moved through Southeast Texas as a major hurricane approached the same area.
He said exercises like that can expose problems, including state and federal agencies that may not be communicating with one another.
Hefner also has a personal connection to the military. His son is an Army Ranger with the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
“I was raised to respect law enforcement, first responders, and our military, but when your son wears a uniform, that’s when it changes things a lot. It brings it home,” Hefner said.
Several veterans attending the meeting brought their own concerns to Hefner.
One asked about additional help for veterans who have been denied claims through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The veteran described veteran judge advocates being used in other parts of Texas and asked whether something similar could be made available locally.
Hefner initially noted that many issues involving the VA are handled at the federal level. After learning more about the program and its connection to veterans courts and state grant funding, he said his office would research the possibility.
“We’ll dig into that and we’ll put more desks to work on that too,” Hefner said.
Hefner also said he has asked Rep. Philip Cortez, chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee and an Air Force veteran, to look at ways the state might provide more help to veterans service officers. He said he would ask Cortez to look for grants to help VSOs to have a travel budget for helping veterans get to the VA and similar needs.
He also discussed a recent veterans-related grant request in Cass County. Hefner said the program had previously received about $450,000 and was seeking similar funding again when the proposed amount was reduced.
“The state said, ‘Oh, you want to get 300?’ And I said, ‘Hey, how do we get what we asked for?’ And we did,” Hefner said.
The conversation later turned to plans by the Wood County Healthcare Foundation for a memory care center in the area.
Hefner said he has been involved with the effort and still supports pursuing it, but rural projects can face difficulties competing for state dollars against larger population centers.
“I think this would be great for people to not be in the dang city. It’d be good for them to be out here where they can get fresh air and breathe and be in the trees like that family,” Hefner said.
Hefner also briefly updated those attending on plans for a regional groundwater conservation district in Northeast Texas. He said the goal is to protect groundwater from large-scale pumping while exempting individual and agricultural wells.
The remainder of the meeting included questions about property taxes, homeowners insurance, public education, roads and local infrastructure.
Hefner said he prefers meetings like Thursday’s gathering because they allow him to hear directly from the people he represents.
“I enjoy talking to my constituents that I work for, and I like an informal back and forth,” Hefner said.
He closed the meeting by acknowledging that lawmakers and constituents will not always agree.
“We’re not all going to agree on everything but I like for y’all to hear me. I’m not perfect. I don’t know it all but we’re trying hard to get to the right place,” Hefner said.