Hilderbran was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1988 and was re-elected to his last term in 2012. In 2011, he was appointed by Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Joe Straus, as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which deals will legislation relating to the state’s tax code. As chairman of the committee, Hilderbran sits on the Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Budget Board. The board prepares the draft appropriations bill along with budget estimates for each state agency. Hilderban also served as a member of the Redistricting Committee, State Affairs Committee, and the Select Committee on Voter Identification and Voter Fraud. From 2003–2008, he served as chairman of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism. As chairman of the committee, Hilderbran oversaw the regulation and control of hunting and fishing, the preservation of wildlife and fish, the operation and control of state parks, the development and regulation of the state's cultural and historical resources, and the promotion of international and interstate tourism. The committee has jurisdiction over the Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Historical Commission, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. During his tenure with the House of Representatives, Hilderbran served for three sessions as the chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee. In 1995, he wrote and passed landmark welfare reform. In 1997, he was instrumental in passing the state's most significant legislation protecting residents of Texas nursing homes. Hilderbran previously served as a member of the Natural Resources Committee, which oversees the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as it relates to the regulation of water resources, and the Texas Water Development Board. He served as co-chairman, along with former State SenatorKip Averitt, of the legislative oversight committee for the Edwards Aquifer Authority. In 2008, the Texas Deer Association awarded Hilderbran the "Frank Madla Award for Representative of the Year", named for the late State Senator Frank L. Madla of San Antonio. Hilderbran was also named "Legislator of the Year" in 2007 by the Texas Municipal League, and was the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Legislator Award by the Texas Recreation and Parks Society. Hilderbran in 2004 was named the recipient of the Vietnam Veterans of America Texas State Council's "Legislator of the Year Award", as well as the 2001 "Legislator of the Year" award by Texas Young Republicans. In 1999, he received the "Bob Bullock Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship", named for former Lieutenant GovernorBob Bullock. Hilderbran also won the "Legislative Courage Award" for his involvement in school finance reform. He was named "Freshman of the Year" in 1989 by the Young Conservatives of Texas. Hilderbran was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to succeed the retiring Susan Combs, who is stepping down after two four-year terms. In the primary election for comptroller held on March 4, 2014, Hilderbran polled 317,731, a weak second position to State Senator Glenn Hegar of Katy, who led the field with 610,512. The two would have met in a May 27 runoff election, but Hildebran announced on March 7 that he was ending his campaign and endorsing Hegar as the Republican nominee. The two other candidates, Debra Medina of Wharton, an activist with the Tea Party movement, and former State Representative Raul Torres of Corpus Christi, trailed with 235,713 and 57,255, respectively. On January 21, 2015, Texas Facilities Commissioners named Hilderbran as executive director of the agency citing his “business experience, combined with his extensive knowledge of state government” and deeming the experience to “be a tremendous asset in carrying out the duties of executive director of this agency” On January 25, 2018, Hilderbran was fired as executive director of the Texas Facilities Commission, the billion-dollar agency that builds and maintains state office buildings. Businessman Andrew Stevenson Murr of Junction, Texas, led the March 4 primary to succeed Hilderbran with 9,951 votes. Robert Earl "Rob" Henneke, a Kerrville lawyer, received 7,030. In third place was Karen D. Harris of Kerrville with 5,840 votes. Two others held the remaining 6 percent of the ballots cast. Andrew Murr faced the second highest vote-getter, Robert Earl "Rob" Henneke, in a May 27 runoff, winning 9,387 to 6,100. Without a Democratic Party nominee in District 53, Murr defeated the Libertarian nominee, Maximiliam Martin, 36,878 votes to 4,139 in the general election on November 4.
Personal life
After graduation in 1983 from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Hilderbran was a congressional legislative assistant in Washington, D.C., in the areas of agriculture and small business. He was thereafter the assistant director of state affairs for the Texas Farm Bureau, where he concentrated his efforts on property and water rights. In the private sector, Hilderbran has worked in real estate, ranching, advertising, and business management. He and his wife, the former Tracy Lynn Haegelin, and their two daughters reside in Kerrville, where they are members of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. In 2003, he established his Hilderbran Scholarship Fund, an annual award to a graduating high school senior from House District 53 to assist in meeting college expenses.
