In the 2013 legislative session, Carona chaired the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce. He was also a member of the Senate Criminal Justice, Education, Jurisprudence and Redistricting committees.
In May 2012, acrimony between Carona and colleague Dan Patrick of Houston, a fellow Republican and Baptist, was widely reported throughout the state.[4][5][6][7] In an email exchange, Patrick accused Carona of spreading false rumors about Patrick's marriage; Carona denied having questioned Patrick's marriage or having made comments about Patrick's sexuality.[4][5][7] Carona further said to Patrick: "I've never been shy about sharing my dislike and distrust of you. Put bluntly, I believe you are a snake oil salesman, a narcissist that would say anything to draw attention to himself."[4][7][8][9][10]
Business
Carona is director, CEO, and president of Associations, Inc. aka "Associa". Associa is a holding company for one of the largest collections of HOA management companies and related businesses in the United States. Carona has come under scrutiny for his business practices and his legislative activity including authoring, voting on, and modifying legislation that benefited his Associa organization.[11][12][13]
^Carona was elected to fill the unexpired term of Leedom. The election was probably held in 1996, but the information is not online at the Secretary of State websiteArchived 2014-01-09 at the Wayback Machine.