The following is a collection of news and notes from your State Capitol involving issues that affect House District 32.
GOVERNOR RICK PERRY SIGNS CRUISE SHIP STUDY BILL
On June 17th, Governor Rick Perry signed Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 5. SCR 5 is the Senate companion to House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 29. As many of you know, over the past year leading up to the 82nd Legislative Session, I hosted town hall meetings throughout the district on the idea of bringing the cruise industry to South Texas. As a result of those town hall meetings, I filed HCR 29 and coordinated with the Senate to file SCR 5. Due to the legislative process, SCR 5 was able to make it to the House before HCR 29 could get to the Senate; as a result I worked on pushing forward with SCR 5.
SCR 5 is otherwise known as the Cruise Ship Industry Study Bill. SCR 5 specifically calls for the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to provide for a joint interim legislative study, to help develop the cruise industry on the Texas coast between Calhoun and Cameron Counties.
According to statistics released in 2007, the cruise industry generated over $38 billion in total U.S. economic output. Texas only received approximately $1 billion of the total amount of direct spending generated by the cruise industry which represents only a small fraction of the market. In contrast, both California and Florida have seen the greatest economic advantage from the cruise industry with an approximate 75% share of the market. It is clear that Texas needs to focus on bringing a larger percentage of the cruise industry to its coast. It is because of the cruise industry advantages that I worked so hard on passing this study bill and will continue to be a strong advocate for the cruise industry in South Texas. Please do not hesitate to contact my Capitol or District Office if you would like more information on the Cruise Ship Industry Study Bill.
82ND FIRST CALLED SPECIAL SESSION COMES TO AN END
The first called Special Session of the 82nd Legislature ended on June 29th. Throughout the previous thirty days, the Texas House and the Texas Senate have been addressing the issues placed on the call by the Governor. Below are a few of those key measures:
• Legislation addressing healthcare cost containment, access to services through managed care, and the creation of economic and structural incentives to improve the quality of Medicaid services in the State of Texas and;
• Legislation addressing fiscal matters which are necessary for the application of House Bill No. 1 as passed by the 82nd Legislature (biennial budget), Regular Session, and this particular call also includes measures that will allow school districts to operate more efficiently and;.
• Legislation relating to Congressional Redistricting.
The legislation pertaining to healthcare cost containment and the fiscal matters are key items to balancing the state’s upcoming biennial budget.
If you would like to view any of the legislation which the legislature addressed during the first called special session, these websites are a great resource:
• The Texas Legislature .
• The Texas House of Representatives .
• The Texas Senate .
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
