Giovanni Capriglione
Giovanni Capriglione | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 98th district | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Vicki Truitt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1973 |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Elisa Capriglione |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Southlake, Texas |
| Alma mater | Worcester Polytechnic Institute University of Santa Clara |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Website | Campaign website |
Giovanni Capriglione (born March 8, 1973) is an American politician. He is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, having represented District 98 since 2013.[1]
Early life and education
Capriglione studied for a Bachelor of Science in physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, and then a Master of Business Administration at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California.[2]
Political career
In the 2012 Republican primary election, Capriglione, with 55.6 percent of the vote, unseated the incumbent Vicki Truitt of Keller in Tarrant County. Truitt, who had held the seat since 1999, polled the remaining 44.4 percent of the ballots cast.[3][4] He won the 2012 general election with 85.6 percent of the vote against the Libertarian Party candidate Michael Goolsby who polled the remaining 14.4 percent.[3] Capriglione went unopposed in the 2014 primary and general elections.
During the 83rd Legislative Session, Capriglione caused controversy by voting "nay" on HB 950 also known as "the equal pay for women act".[5]
Capriglione authored House Bill 1280, the Human Life Protection Act of 2021, also known as the Texas trigger law, which was signed into law by Governor Abbott in July 2021. The Texas trigger law outlaws any abortion starting thirty days after the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade, without exception for rape, incest or viability of the fetus.[6]
In the 84th Legislature Giovanni Capriglione sits on three committees: the House Appropriations Committee, the Investment and Financial Services Committee and the Local & Consent Calendars Committee. Rep. Capriglione also serves as the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on State & Local Debt. In 2015, Rep. Capriglione was elected Secretary of the House Energy Caucus and is a member of the Innovation & Technology Caucus. In the 83rd Legislature, Rep. Capriglione served on two committees: Government Efficiency and Reform and International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs.[2]
In 2015 he passed HB 1295, a new law that dramatically improves public access to government contracts given to elected officials. His bill was described by the San Antonio Express-News as the most important ethics bill of the 84th Legislative Session.[7] Rep. Capriglione also passed HB 483 authorizing the creation of the Texas Bullion Depository to insure that Texas has first rights to its gold.[8]
In the general election held on November 6, 2018, Capriglione won his fourth legislative term. With 56,694 votes (68.3 percent), he defeated the Democrat Mica J. Ringo, who polled 24,294 (29.3 percent). Another 2,002 ballots (2.4 percent) went to the Libertarian Party choice, H. Todd J. Moore.[9] In 2025, he co-wrote SB 21, a bill that created the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and allow the State of Texas to purchase digital cryptocurrency as a strategic reserve.[10] The bill was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 22, 2025.[11] Following Arizona and New Hampshire, Texas is the third state to enact legislation creating a bitcoin reserve on the state level.[12]
Personal life
Capriglione lives in Southlake in suburban Tarrant County.[13] He and his wife, Elisa, whom he married in 2000, have three children.[2]
Capriglione owns a private equity management company focusing on businesses located in Texas.[2] He has also worked as a vice president of a private equity firm and prior to that was employed by various computer engineering companies.[2]
References
- ^ "Giovanni Capriglione for Texas State Representative District 98". Teaparty911.com. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Representative Giovanni Capriglione's Biography". Project Vote Smart. 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ a b "Texas House District 98". The Texas Tribune. 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ^ "Vicki Truitt". Texas Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ "Texas Legislature Online − 83(R) History for HB 950".
- ^ "House Bill 1280".
- ^ "Trade groups asking ethics panel to water down contract disclosure law". San Antonio Express-News. August 16, 2015.
- ^ "A gold rush in Texas?". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 31, 2015.
- ^ "Election Returns". Texas Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ^ Malcolm, Timothy (21 May 2025). "Texas House passes Bitcoin reserve, paving way for new setup". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Williams, Zach (22 June 2025). "Texas Gov. Abbott Signs Bill to Create State Bitcoin Reserve". Bloomberg Government. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Tsiaperas, Tasha; Dale, Brady (28 May 2025). "Strategic bitcoin reserve bill clears hurdle in Texas Legislature". Axios. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ "Texas House of Representatives District 98". The Texas Tribune. 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2013.