Steven Hixson Toth (born November 29, 1960) is an American businessman, pastor, and politician serving as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 15, The Woodlands area. Toth is the Republican nominee for Texas's 2nd congressional district, having defeated incumbent representative Dan Crenshaw in the March 2026 Republican primary.FEC Form 1, Statement of Organization, Toth for Congress, Federal Election Commission. Accessed July 12, 2025.Meet Steve Toth, Steve Toth for Congress. Accessed July 11, 2025.
Early life and education
Born and raised in New York, Toth attended Pittsford Mendon High School in suburban Rochester. He also attended Rochester Bible College.
Career Toth owns Acclaim Pools and My Pool Xpert in The Woodlands. He is a former pastor at Family Life Ministries of the Fellowship of The Woodlands, a congregation now known as The Woodlands Church. He was formerly an elder and teacher at another non-denominational congregation, WoodsEdge Community Church also in The Woodlands, Texas. Toth is also a commentator on the political show FOX Faceoff which appears on Fox 26 Houston.
Texas House of Representatives Texas House District 15 is based entirely in suburban Montgomery County, centered around The Woodlands. It is part of the Houston Metro area in the southeastern portion of the state.
2012–2014 Toth won the 2012 election to the State House district 15. In February 2013, newly inaugurated Representative Toth was elected by his colleagues to the House Republican Caucus Policy Committee as the East Texas representative on the panel.
In his first legislative session in 2013, Toth authored and carried the CSCOPE Transparency Act in the House (SB-1406). The bill brought the CSCOPE (Common Core) curriculum under the purview of the Texas State Board of Education.
Gun legislation
He authored the Firearms Protection Act (HB 1076), restricting federal control and regulations of firearms, which made it a Class A misdemeanor to interfere with a Texan's Second Amendment rights. The act also protected Texas' state and local law enforcement officers from violating the U.S. Constitution, and prevented the federal government from targeting certain firearms and accessories with restrictions. Toth received assistance from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in drafting the bill. On May 6, 2013, HB 1076 received enough votes to pass in the Texas House but was never approved by the Senate so did not become law.Open:States , HB 1076, Retrieved June 27, 2020. A similar bill, supported by Toth, passed the Texas House (with Toth's support) and the Texas Senate and was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 17, 2021.Gov. Abbott signs seven Second Amendment bills into law, Channel 7 KLTV, Tyler, Texas, June 17, 2021.
Toth supports constitutional carry for Texas.
2019–2021
On January 11, 2019, Toth filed House Bill 792 (Senate Bill 345) with the 86th Legislature and entitled it the Jones Forest Preservation Act ("Jones Forest Act"). The Jones Forest Act protects the 1,722-acre William Goodrich Jones State Forest from development. Texas A&M University suggested that the university would develop a Texas A&M campus on the land, which sits next to The Woodlands, Texas. Neighborhood associations in the area complained that the development would add to traffic congestion and eliminate a forest that has been part of Texas heritage since 1923.Toth, Steve. Creighton and Toth Announce Jones Forest Preservation Act, January 11, 2019. It was passed by both the Texas House and the Texas Senate and sent to Governor Greg Abbott on May 25, 2019.
In January 2019, he was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee by Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen.Bonnen, Dennis. Standing Committee Appointments by Committee, Texas House of Representatives, January 23, 2019. On January 25, Toth along with Will Metcalf and Cecil Bell filed House Bill 1042 which would require Texas schools and law enforcement agencies to establish active shooter response plans and law enforcement agencies to conduct annual drills while also requiring law enforcement to immediately contain or eliminate a threat.Rincon, Marialuisa. Henderson, Toth seek to enhance emergency response in hospitals; host a special threats seminar Friday, Houston Chronicle, January 25, 2019.Kent, Roy. Bill would require agencies to have plan for active shooter situations, Houston Chronicle, January 25, 2019.
On February 7, 2019, Toth filed the JD Lambright Local Government Ethics Reform Act (HB-1495), which requires cities, counties, and other political subdivisions statewide to post contracts they have with taxpayer-funded lobbyists and to post how much they are paying the lobbyists. It was filed in the Senate by Brandon Creighton on February 8 as Senate Bill 710. The house bill was passed by both chambers and was sent to the governor for signature on May 29, 2019.Dominguez, Catherine. Creighton introduces ethics bill honoring Lambright, Montgomery County Courier, March 19, 2019. Governor Abbott signed the bill into law on June 14, 2019.HB 1495 86th Legislative Session, Texas Legislature Online, June 14, 2019. Signed by the Governor, 06/14/2019.
In February 2019, Toth co-authored Texas House Bill 1500, which would ban abortions after the detection of an unborn child's heartbeat.Bill: HB 1500, Council Document: 86R 9861 SCL-F, Texas Legislature Online - 86th Legislature Regular Session, February 7, 2019. He also co-authored Texas House Bill 896, which would prohibit abortion.Bill: HB 896, Council Document: 86R 6142 SCL-F, Texas Legislature Online - 86th Legislature Regular Session, January 17, 2019. In March 2019, Toth became a cosponsor of SB 22 which prohibits government entities from providing taxpayer-funded resources (including cash, goods, services, and anything of value) to Planned Parenthood. It was a response to Planned Parenthood's $1-per-year rental agreement with the City of Austin for a clinic. It passed both chambers and was sent to Abbott on May 25, 2019, for signature.Sundaram, Arya. Texas passes bill banning cities from partnering with Planned Parenthood on any services, Texas Tribune, May 24, 2019. The bill was signed into law by Abbott on June 7, 2019.Siese, April. Texas governor signs law banning cities and counties from doing business with abortion providers, CBS News, June 7, 2019.
On March 5, 2019, Toth introduced Texas HB 3145, the School Lunch Bill. It clarifies that each parent, including the non-custodial parent, in a divorce can visit their child during school lunch and school activities, regardless of the possession schedule. It passed both chambers and was sent to the governor on May 28, 2019.
In March 2019, Toth introduced Texas House Bill 2518, which aims to reduce cannabis possession from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor. To take it down from B to C would remove jail time for simple possession (180 days is the current penalty) and lower the monetary penalty from $2,000 down to $500.Colen, Aaron. Republicans Are the Key to Cannabis Legalization in Texas, Leafy, March 12, 2019.Council Document: 86R 2656 JSC-D. H.B. No. 2518, 86th Legislature Regular Session, Texas Legislature Online.
On April 12, 2019, Toth voted for HB 1824 in the 86th legislative session, which helped promote dredging efforts in Harris County—for the sale and taking of sand, gravel, marl, shell, and mudshell, including the use of funds collected from the sale of those materials and the taking of those materials from the San Jacinto River and its tributaries.Bill: HB 1824 Legislative Session: 86(R), State of Texas, Texas Legislature Online.
On May 16, 2019, Toth voted to support SB 7 in the 86th legislative session, which provided $1.6 billion in flood control projects. Bill: SB 7 Legislative Session: 86(R), Texas Legislature Online. This bill was signed by Governor Abbott on June 13, 2019, taking effect immediately.
In August 2020, Toth, along with fellow state representatives Mike Lang, Kyle Biedermann, Bill Zedler, and state senator Bob Hall sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott over a $295 million COVID-19 contact tracing contract Abbott awarded to a small Frisco, Texas technology firm without approval from the Texas legislature. In May 2020, Toth protested Abbott's lockdown order by getting a haircut.
In November 2020, during the 87th Texas legislative session, Toth filed again the Texas Firearm Protection Act (HB 112), basically the same piece of legislation that he originally filed in January 2019. The previous version passed the Texas House with a 100-vote supermajority but died in the Senate. Governor Greg Abbott assisted Toth in writing the bill in 2013 when Abbott was serving as Texas Attorney General. It is also known as the Second Amendment sanctuary bill. It would make any attempt to enforce federal gun laws in Texas void if those laws were not part of Texas law.Governor Abbott Says Texas Should Be a “Second Amendment Sanctuary”, The Texan, January 15, 2021. The bill had 14 co-sponsors including Briscoe Cain, Valoree Swanson, Cecil Bell, and Tony Tinderholt. It was referred to the State Affairs Committee of the House, from which it never progressed. However, a similar bill, House Bill 2622 (by Representative Justin Holland and Senator Bob Hall) passed the Texas House (with Toth's support) and the Texas Senate and was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 17, 2021.
Toth was ranked the fourth most conservative House member of the 2021 Texas legislature by Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.Johnson, Brad. The Back Mic: Analyzing the 2021 Texas Legislature’s Conservative to Liberal Rankings, The Texan, June 18, 2021.
On July 19, 2021, Toth introduced a bill to conduct a forensic audit of the November 2020 election in the 13 counties with the largest populations in Texas, which tend to lean towards the Democratic Party. The bill has been named the Texas Voter Confidence Act.Solomon, John. Texas state lawmaker introduces bill to audit 2020 election results in major counties, Just The News, July 19, 2021.Morris, Allie. GOP Texas House members seek forensic audit of November 2020 election in state’s largest counties, Dallas Morning News, July 20, 2021. Asked why he did not call for an audit of all counties in the state, Toth argued it would be time-consuming and expensive, and cited the Republican lean of the counties, "What's the point? I mean, all the small counties are red." Election experts said that it did not make sense to specifically exclude Republican-leaning counties if the intent was to detect errors. On September 23, 2021, former President Donald Trump endorsed Toth's House bill 16.Kitchen, Jeremy. Trump Implores Abbott to Add Election Audit to Special Session Agenda, Texas Scorecard, September 23, 2021.
2021–present
Toth, during the pre-filing period of the Texas legislature, in November 2022, introduced House Bill 41, which would prohibit healthcare providers from receiving professional liability insurance coverage for performing or prescribing certain gender-affirming care for children.Texas lawmakers target property taxes, election fraud in new legislation ahead of 2023 session, San Antonio Report, November 14, 2022.
Toth supports a ban on Democrats being given committee chairmanships as long as the Republicans hold the majority of seats.Johnson, Brad. The Back Mic: Legislators Opposed to Democratic Chairs Listed, Rep. Moody Quells DA Appointment Rumors, House Rules Discussed, The Texan, December 9, 2022.
On February 8, 2023, Toth was appointed to the Appropriations and Corrections committees of the 88th Session. Toth has served on the Appropriations Committee every legislative session since 2019.Information for Rep. Steve Toth, State of Texas, Texas Legislature Online.