Jane Gray Nelson (born 5 October 1951) is the second highest ranking Republican in the Texas Senate and serves as Chairman of the Health & Human Services Committee. Senator Jane Nelson is a former public school teacher who represents Senate District 12, which includes portions of Tarrant and Denton counties. She joined the Senate in 1992 after two successful terms on the State Board of Education in which she led the fight to correct more than 5,000 factual errors in our public school textbooks. The second highest ranking Republican in the Texas Senate, she is Chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee; the Medicaid Reform Legislative Oversight Committee; and the Joint interim Committee on Health & Human Services Eligibility. She also serves on the Finance, Government Reform, and Nominations committees, as well as Texas Legislative Council. Last session she never missed a record vote and authored key efforts approved by the Legislature -- the state's reform plan for Medicaid and the uninsured (SB 10); stronger protections against child abuse (SB 758); expanded physical activity in schools SB 530) and Proposition 15, establishing the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (HJR 90). According to the National Federation of Independent Business, she was the only State Senator to score a perfect 100% voting record in support of small business. Similarly, the Texas Association of Business named her a Champion of Free Enterprise. And, for her efforts in the fight against breast cancer, Susan G. Komen for the Cure presented her with its first-ever legislative champion award. She also received awards from the Texas Medical Association, Texas Hospital Association, and the American Cancer Society. She and her husband, Mike, own and operate an aircraft component manufacturing company in Denton. They have five adult children and two grandsons. (via Wikipedia)