Every legislative session is different. With such a big state, we never know what challenges we will have to address. This past session, addressing the impact the coronavirus pandemic had on our economy, our schools, our healthcare system, and our workforce was a priority. Just as important was addressing the serious shortfalls in the Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ management of our electricity grid during Winter Storm Uri. It was equally important that we passed a state budget that takes care of the needs of our state and our communities to help us recover from these challenges.

The state’s $248 billion budget for the next two years fully funds the state’s commitment to the public education investments made by HB 3 during the 2019 session. Coming into this session, there was concern that the pandemic and the declines in tax revenues would require these investments to be scaled back. However, we kept our promise of not only fully funding public education, protecting the salary increases to our teachers and school employees, but also added additional funds. Part of the $2 billion increase for public education funding in the state budget includes $664 million for targeted programs to help students and schools affected by the pandemic. This was made possible in large part to the bipartisan federal COVID-response legislation, including the American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden. Education is the best equalizer and these investments will continue helping our students get an education.

The budget also continues our investments in higher education. We added $486 million to higher education to bring our total investment to $8.6 billion, $1.25 billion of which is for financial aid programs. The budget also increases funding at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley by $29 million for a total of $364.3 million. This increased funding includes our continued support of the School of Medicine which saw an increase of $3.8 million for a total of $72.8 million. We also allocated $1.9 million for the Cervical Dysplasia Cancer Immunology Center and will continue working with UTRGV and UT System leadership to expand cancer care in South Texas.

Additionally, the approved budget bolsters our healthcare workforce by increasing funding for graduate medical education by $48 million to a total of $199 million to maintain a 1.1 to 1.0 ratio for residency slots. This increase in GME funding will also help the recently authorized UTRGV school of podiatry program, which will allow students to pursue careers in the medical and surgical care of the foot and ankle – an important specialization for the Valley due to its high incidence of diabetes and related diseases of the lower extremities.

Mental health continues to be a priority for the legislature. The approved budget strengthens our commitment by including $8.4 billion in behavioral health funding across 25 state agencies. This includes an increase of almost $20 million for the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium which will now be funded at nearly $120 million to provide early intervention for students at risk of suicide, substance abuse, or becoming a danger to themselves or others.

For our retirees, the 2019 legislative session was focused on the Teacher Retirement System. This session, we worked to address issues related to the Employees Retirement System. We passed Senate Bill 321 which will be used to start paying down the $14.7 billion unfunded liability in conjunction with an increase in the state’s investment into this system from $350 million to $510 million annually. These moves not only help shore up the pension fund, but also saves the state $34 billion in interest over 33 years.

Other major statewide funding items we passed include $352.6 million for women’s health programs, which is an increase of $10.2 million from the previous budget. Funding for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was increased by a total of $100.6 million to a total of $316.9 million. This means more funds for our state parks and more available grant funds for our local parks. Transportation funding also remained a priority and $26.5 billion has been approved for highway planning and design, construction, and other purposes.

The budget we approved also includes funding for many of our South Texas priorities including another $5 million for the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg to continue expanding the hangar for emergency and first responders; up to $10 million for the Raymondville Drain project from the Texas Water Development Board; $3.5 million for the Center for Urban Ecology at Quinta Mazatlan; $1 million in grants for the Border Zone Fire Departments; $500,000 for the Texas Transnational Intelligence Center; $500,000 for the Women’s Institute for Technology Employment Training; $500,000 for the Trade Agricultural Inspection Grant Program; and, continued the funding for Border Infrastructure which has led to $60 million per biennium being allocated by the Texas Transportation Commission.

The budget we passed increases access and funding to services needed by our most vulnerable populations — the young, elderly, sick, and poor. We invested in education, healthcare, public safety, and infrastructure. This budget will benefit our state and our South Texas communities by paving the way for an educated and healthy workforce and a successful Texas economy recovering from the pandemic and the winter storm.

Every legislative session is different. With such a big state, we never know what challenges we will have to address. This past session, addressing the impact the coronavirus pandemic had on our economy, our schools, our healthcare system, and our workforce was a priority. Just as important was addressing the serious shortfalls in the Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ management of our electricity grid during Winter Storm Uri. It was equally important that we passed a state budget that takes care of the needs of our state and our communities to help us recover from these challenges.

The state’s $248 billion budget for the next two years fully funds the state’s commitment to the public education investments made by HB 3 during the 2019 session. Coming into this session, there was concern that the pandemic and the declines in tax revenues would require these investments to be scaled back. However, we kept our promise of not only fully funding public education, protecting the salary increases to our teachers and school employees, but also added additional funds. Part of the $2 billion increase for public education funding in the state budget includes $664 million for targeted programs to help students and schools affected by the pandemic. This was made possible in large part to the bipartisan federal COVID-response legislation, including the American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden. Education is the best equalizer and these investments will continue helping our students get an education.

The budget also continues our investments in higher education. We added $486 million to higher education to bring our total investment to $8.6 billion, $1.25 billion of which is for financial aid programs. The budget also provided over $145 million in funding for Texas A&M Corpus Christi, over $2 million of which supports the growing engineering programs we recently created. Moreover, the budget increased funding for Del Mar Community College by nearly $2 million, provided $8.5 million to the UT Marine Science Institute, and added a new $3 million to create the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Unmanned Aircraft Emergency Management program.

Additionally, the approved budget bolsters our healthcare workforce by increasing funding for graduate medical education by $48 million to a total of $199 million to maintain a 1.1 to 1.0 ratio for residency slots. This increase in GME funding will help increase the number of highly trained doctors in our region.

Mental health continues to be a priority for the legislature. The approved budget strengthens our commitment by including $8.4 billion in behavioral health funding across 25 state agencies. This includes an increase of almost $20 million for the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium which will now be funded at nearly $120 million to provide early intervention for students at risk of suicide, substance abuse, or becoming a danger to themselves or others.

For our retirees, the 2019 legislative session was focused on the Teacher Retirement System. This session, we worked to address issues related to the Employees Retirement System. We passed Senate Bill 321 which will be used to start paying down the $14.7 billion unfunded liability in conjunction with an increase in the state’s investment into this system from $350 million to $510 million annually. These moves not only help shore up the pension fund, but also saves the state $34 billion in interest over 33 years.

Other major statewide funding items we passed include $352.6 million for women’s health programs, which is an increase of $10.2 million from the previous budget. Funding for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was increased by a total of $100.6 million to a total of $316.9 million, including $500,000 for the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center. This means more funds for our state parks and more available grant funds for our local parks. Transportation funding also remained a priority and $26.5 billion has been approved for highway planning and design, construction, and other purposes.

The budget we approved also includes funding for many of our Coastal Bend priorities including $8.6 million for Healthy South Texas, headquartered in Corpus Christi; $40 million for port access improvements; $30 million in Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance (DEAAG) Grants; and $9.7 million for boll weevil eradication.

The budget we passed increases access and funding to services needed by our most vulnerable populations — the young, elderly, sick, and poor. We invested in education, healthcare, public safety, and infrastructure. This budget will benefit our state and our Coastal Bend communities by paving the way for an educated and healthy workforce and a successful Texas economy recovering from the pandemic and the winter storm.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently held a press conference to announce his plans for the State of Texas to build a physical border wall with state taxpayer dollars. He also indicated a new approach to charge immigrants and asylum seekers with state crimes to create a criminal record and jail them. At the press conference, Governor Abbott was surrounded by lawmakers from various parts of the state, but not a single lawmaker who joined him represents a border community.

Because border lawmakers live and work on the border every day, we understand the concerns of our constituents and the challenges our communities face. In our representative government, the voice of border lawmakers are the voice of border communities and should be at the table discussing issues that impact our districts. For whatever reason, we were omitted from major policy discussions related to the border. We support legal immigration, not open borders, and have supported transparent, accountable, and smart border security for years.

Lawmakers from both political parties agree border security is a federal responsibility. For years, however, Texas has supplemented federal efforts by spending billions of state taxpayer money on this federal responsibility, instead of on other pressing state needs. This session, for example, Texas appropriated another $1.1 billion for border security. None of that money was earmarked for a border wall.

The federal government, dating back to President George W. Bush, has already built fencing and walls in the highest traffic areas. Building a physical wall from El Paso to Brownsville would be the most expensive and least effective way to achieve border security, and it would be a colossal waste of taxpayer money. A physical wall made of cement or steel slats is a 3^rd century solution to a 21^st century migration problem. Anyone who commits a crime, whether immigrant or legal resident, should be arrested. But, Texas shouldn’t circumvent federal immigration and asylum laws by creating new ways to criminalize and to jail undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. This expensive proposition would overfill local prisons, which already are stretched thin—with non-dangerous persons and separate families looking for refuge and the American dream.

The new federal administration is working on addressing the root causes of these migration waves that stress our borders, but this will take time. The bottom line is that Congress needs to act immediately to pass immigration reform and provide resources to stop the criminal elements from crossing the border.

If Texas, however, is going to be in the business of border security in the meantime, the state needs to be accountable, transparent and smart with taxpayer dollars. The state also should hear from border lawmakers. If Texas is to be committed to going down this path, as lawmakers who represent districts along the Texas-Mexico border, we suggest the following smart measures as a starting point:

Building a virtual or smart wall with fiber optic lines along the border, supported by technology, drones, motion sensors, cameras, etc. Virtual infrastructure for border security could be accomplished at a fraction of the cost of a physical wall; bolster real time monitoring, detection, and response; and bridge the digital divide for law enforcement along the border.

1. Reimbursing local border communities and private property owners for costs incurred related to border security and humanitarian aid with proceeds from asset forfeitures related to border crimes and other state grants. Our border communities are on the front lines as local law enforcement support border security efforts, provide humanitarian assistance for needy families and children, and humanely process the remains of deceased migrants. Because private property owners along the border also sustain property damage by human traffickers and cartels to fences, barns, outhouses, and livestock, they should be reimbursed for related expenses.
2. Cracking down on gun trafficking in Texas and incentivizing the reporting of lost or stolen guns to law enforcement. If Texas is serious about combatting cartels and armed human traffickers, we should find ways to disarm them. Hundreds of thousands of firearms are smuggled from the U.S. into Mexico every year and are traced to 70 percent of all weapons seizures following murders, robberies and drug busts. Approximately 41 percent of illicit guns utilized to commit a crime in Mexico are from Texas.
3. Reducing the demand for drugs, beginning with our children, and the related flow of money into Mexico. This will require education, intervention, rehabilitation and law enforcement programs. The flow of drugs from Mexico into Texas and of cash from here to there will stop when the demand for drugs is reduced or eliminated.
4. Modernizing ports of entry with technology and intelligent transportation systems. Fentanyl and most illicit drugs from Mexico enter the U.S. through the ports of entry. Investing in our ports of entry can make our border more secure while boosting our economy.
5. Improving border rail inspection stations required by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for border rail lines owned by the State of Texas. Some border rail lines owned by Texas cross the border and need improved facilities for the inspection and processing of rail cars.

 These are only a few ideas from lawmakers who represent the border and who understand our region’s problems and related solutions. By funding these proposals instead of a wall, we will make great strides while using state taxpayer dollars to benefit Texans and without funding programs that should be the responsibility of the federal government.

The issue of immigration and border security has been a challenge for decades and plagued by partisan politics. These issues will not be solved overnight or by one party. We are confident if we leave politics at the door, we can find common ground from which to address these challenges. That first requires including border lawmakers at the table.

AUSTIN, TX – Governor Greg Abbott has signed, giving final approval to Senate Bill 576 by Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa. SB 576 strengthens smuggling laws in Texas by giving local law enforcement officers more tools to arrest human smugglers and will make it easier for prosecutors to convict them.

Under current law, Texas prosecutors are unable to effectively charge and convict human smugglers. They are required to prove that the smuggler was intending to obtain a pecuniary (or monetary) benefit. This poses an enormous challenge as smuggled individuals often do not want to testify against their smuggler out of fear of retaliation against themselves or their families, or simply because they are not kept in custody long enough to do so.

To ensure that local officials can adequately convict and punish human smugglers, SB 576 removes the intent to obtain pecuniary benefit from the conditions of a human smuggling offense. It establishes that a person commits a third-degree felony crime if they knowingly assist, guide, or direct two or more individuals to enter or remain on agricultural land without the owner’s consent. Furthermore, SB 576 enhances the penalty to a second-degree felony in the case that: a prosecutor is able to prove intent to obtain a pecuniary benefit; a smuggler or smuggled individual knowingly possesses a firearm; or a smuggler knowingly flees from a peace officer or a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent.

“There is no doubt that we have a critical situation at the state’s southern border and I have heard firsthand the difficulties that human smuggling brings to local officials and landowners. SB 576 is designed to target human smugglers who are a threat to both smuggled individuals and people who live in the remote areas along the border. I am committed to ensuring that these criminals are put behind bars and that our border communities are protected.”

The bill was sponsored in the Texas House of Representatives by J.M. Lozano and will take effect September 1, 2021.

Today, Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa announced that he is running for re-election to the Texas Senate. Highlighting his legislative successes, as well as his ability to work across the aisle, Senator Hinojosa has proven session after session that his approach to public policy and his decisions on legislation are based on what is best for our South Texas families. Senator Hinojosa has the experience and will continue delivering results for the needs of Senate District 20.

Senator Hinojosa issued the following statement:

“I am honored to serve the people of Senate District 20 and I am running again to finish the work I started when I was first elected. I have dedicated my legislative career to advocating for fully funding public education, increasing access to affordable health care for everyone, especially our most vulnerable, investing in our transportation and drainage infrastructure, creating high paying jobs, and improving the quality of life for our South Texas families.

I am proud to say that funding for public education is the highest it has been since I was first elected to the Texas Senate. Our schools in South Texas, even with a high percentage of minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, are outperforming other regions of the state. This past session we kept our promise to protecting investments made by HB 3 during the 2019 legislative session by fully funding public education and protecting the salary increases to our teachers and school employees.

As the lead author of Senate Bill 24 in 2013, which created the UTRGV School of Medicine, I couldn’t be prouder of the positive impact it has had on our community. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the medical school was already increasing the number of specialized doctors in the region, conducting research in diabetes and cervical cancer, and opening clinics in medically underserved areas of our community. Having this asset in our region saved lives when the pandemic hit the Rio Grande Valley. This is an important first step, and I hope to build upon it by bringing a cancer treatment center to South Texas, which will save even more lives in our community.

In 2009, working with the business community and university leadership, we secured $2 million in state funds for A&M Corpus Christi to establish a mechanical engineering program, which we expanded to include an electrical engineering program in 2015. Since then, we have provided nearly $30 million in additional dollars for engineering at A&M Corpus Christi. In 2019, I also secured $2.3 million in new funding to establish the Civil & Industrial Engineering Program. Increasing the number of engineers in the region is something I take seriously and will continue to push for more resources to accomplish this goal. Just as important are the investments we have made to the Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft System (LSUAS) Center. Since 2015, nearly $28 million in state funds have been appropriated to this center including an additional $3 million this past session to enhance LSUAS’s ability to provide statewide service by supporting critical emergency response and disaster relief demands.

Infrastructure has been another priority of mine. The reconstruction of the US 281 Pharr Interchange is underway; the Bicentennial reconstruction in McAllen is almost complete; the funding to bring US 281 in Hidalgo County and Brooks County to interstate standards is already in the TxDOT Unified Transportation Program; and the Premont bypass is under construction in Jim Wells County. However, the Harbor Bridge Project is not yet complete. I worked for almost ten years to get the funding for this $1 billion project. My goal is to see this bridge connect Nueces and San Patricio County over the Port of Corpus Christi. I also want to make sure the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority receives the funding and approval to move forward with the SH 365 project.

To address drainage issues, I have worked for years with the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 to secure more than $50 million from the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to reduce frequent flooding problems and accommodate the area’s rapid urbanization and future economic development. I have worked with our local leaders to secure these funds from several sources including the state budget, RESTORE funds, and most recently from the Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF). I have also worked with Nueces County leadership to provide safe and clean drinking water to residents in colonias. Furthermore, I am proud to have worked with and supported the collaboration between the Nueces County Drainage District No. 2 and Nueces County to obtain $2.7 million from FIF for the Nueces County Regional Drainage Master Plan project. With all these projects in motion, flood relief is on the way.

Job creation and economic development have also been a priority. I have worked tirelessly to support our maritime ports and international ports of entry. The Port of Corpus Christi is an economic driver not only for the region but for the State of Texas. I have advocated for and secured funding from the Texas Port Access Improvement Grant Program to improve connectivity. I also led the fight in securing funds for our international ports of entry from TxDOT. With these funds, the Anzalduas bridge will be expanded and the Pharr International Bridge has been able to make improvements to their facilities to expedite the flow of goods and people across the bridge. These investments create jobs and help our local economies.

While the past two years have presented us with many challenges, I have worked alongside our public officials and our community leaders to ensure the needs of our families are met. Prior to the legislative session as member of Governor Abbott’s budget leadership team for COVID funding, I was in constant communication with our state agencies and advocated to secure the necessary healthcare workers, equipment, and resources needed to address the coronavirus pandemic challenges in South Texas. This past session, I worked with my colleagues to enact policies that will help us not just return to normal but emerge stronger than before.

Also, this session as vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence, I had the opportunity to work with members of the committee to address the serious shortfalls Winter Storm Uri presented us earlier this year. Several of the significant structural reforms to ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission were discussed and passed out of this committee. I supported legislation to make sure Texans and our state are bettered prepared for another winter storm and the changes we made will help our electric grid be ready for another storm.

As I mentioned at the end of this past session, the work of the 87^th Legislature in not complete. While we had a busy and productive regular session, elections have consequences, and several pending issues will be brought up in at least two special sessions. In this political environment, we need legislators who can work across the aisle to address issues and put people over politics and govern with compassion. I am committed to continue fighting to finish my work and meet the needs of our communities across Senate District 20.”

Senator Hinojosa has received the prestigious honor of being named “Top Ten Best Legislators” for Texas Monthly magazine three times, and named “Top Ten Legislator” by Capitol Inside three times.

On Monday, the Texas Legislature adjourned the 87th Regular Session. Since we only meet for 140 days every-odd numbered year there are always many issues to address. We started this session in January to address the impact the Coronavirus pandemic had on our economy, our schools, our healthcare system, and our workforce. Tackling these issues was the top priority. Then, in February another crisis hit our state. Winter Storm Uri shut down much of the electric grid causing the death of hundreds of our citizens. This forced us to contend with yet another issue that had to be addressed.

We all know of the many challenges presented by the pandemic. Our top goal was to enact policies that would help us not just return to normal, but actually emerge stronger than before. We began by passing laws that help protect our local small businesses and keep their doors open. We also passed bills to strengthen public health, including measures that ensure adequate personal protective equipment during a public health disaster and streamlined information sharing between various levels of government to better coordinate response efforts and communicate with the public. Hopefully, we will never need to use these new tools, but should a public health threat like COVID-19 emerge in the future, we will be much better prepared to address it and prevent its spread.

In February, Winter Storm Uri revealed serious shortfalls in the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT’s management of our electricity grid. We were able to pass significant structural reforms to these entities, both in terms of management and physical infrastructure. Notably, both those generating the power and the gas companies that supply the fuel to make that power will have to appropriately weatherize their facilities. Further, the board that manages ERCOT will no longer be dominated by industry insiders. Instead, the board will be comprised of independent experts who are from Texas and have our interests first in mind. We also provided needed financial stability to ERCOT and providers within the market, which will help lower electric bills for consumers. Finally, we implemented improved coordination and communication both between regulators and the public so that we are able to better prepare for future weather events that might affect our grid. These are real changes that will help to ensure that the next time we face a storm like this, our grid will be ready and the people of Texas will be safe.

The state budget we passed this session will also help the state recover from the pandemic and the winter storm. The state’s $248 billion budget for the next two years fully funds the state’s commitment to the public education investments made by HB 3 during the 2019 session and includes the necessary funds for teachers to keep their pay raises. It also continues our investments in higher education and includes $1.2 billion for financial aid programs. The approved budget bolsters our healthcare workforce by increasing funding for graduate medical education by $48 million for a total of $199 million to maintain a 1.1 to 1.0 ratio for residency slots. It also strengthens our commitment to mental health services by including $8.4 billion in behavioral health funding. Transportation funding also remained a priority and $26.5 billion has been approved for highway planning and design, construction, and other purposes. What’s more, many of my other funding priorities for South Texas that I have included in previous sessions, are also in this budget.

This session we also passed House Bill 5 which will create a statewide plan to expand broadband access across Texas. With the passage of House Bill 4, we made telemedicine permanent making it easier for patients to communicate with their physician regarding preventive health and wellness, case management, and behavioral health services. Another important bill this session was HB 133 which extends coverage of women on Medicaid from 60 days to six months after childbirth. Texans will also be able to continue to purchase alcohol to go from restaurants with their food order. Additionally, we passed SB 1102 to establish the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through Education (TRUE) Program to support workforce education, to get Texans back to work in high-demand occupations, and accelerate the Texas economic recovery.

While this was clearly a busy and productive session, we sadly fell short in some key areas — namely police reform and Medicaid expansion. After the death of George Floyd, police reform was expected to be a priority this session. However, few of the recommended reforms will become law. As a strong supporter of law enforcement, I voted for legislation that ensures police departments are not defunded in our communities and also supported and authored legislation that would have made our police departments more transparent and held bad police officers accountable. On Medicaid, Texas again missed out on an opportunity to leverage billions of dollars in federal funds by not expanding Medicaid. Despite the fact that the state would actually save billions of dollars if we expanded Medicaid, state leaders continue to refuse to use your tax dollars to help provide millions of Texans with health insurance and lower healthcare costs for everyone.

Lastly, this session we saw a persistent assault on democracy. In the aftermath of the events of Jan. 6, I thought we had finally learned the dangers of hyperpartisanship and come together to move our country forward. However, that was short lived as we saw bill after bill that restricted the voting rights of Texans, particularly those of color. The most significant of these was Senate Bill 7, which was crafted behind closed doors without the input of minority members of the legislature and would have created significant barriers to exercising the fundamental right to vote. We spent the entire session fighting this bill, including questioning its author all night about its harmful effects, but we were unable to block it in the Senate. However, the Democrats in the Texas House took the brave step of denying this bill from even getting a vote. There is no doubt we will see future voter suppression bills, but we will continue to fight and use every tool we have to prevent them from becoming law.

We know that the work of the 87th Legislature is not done. We expect to come back later this year for the redistricting process that will establish new political maps for the next ten years. We also have $16 billion in federal funds that have to be allocated, and Governor Abbott has already said we will have a special session to address election issues and bail reform. These issues affect everyone, so I encourage you to stay involved and make sure your voice is heard. Democracy only works if everyone participates.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Today, Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa passed Senate Bill 1071 which will provide appropriate disability retirement benefits to state law enforcement officers who have been catastrophically injured in the line of duty. The bill will now be sent to Governor Greg Abbott for final approval.

The current benefit for an officer who is catastrophically injured in the line of duty is based on an amount equal to 100% of the officer’s average monthly compensation at the time of their injury. This amount is not sufficient to assist in the long-term financial needs of the officer and their families. The benefit also does not take into consideration what the officer might have earned had their career not been cut short.

SB 1071 will adjust the disability retirement benefit to an amount based on a monthly amount computed using the maximum salary authorized under the position classification salary schedule prescribed by the General Appropriations Act. It will also allow for adjustments from time to time, ensuring these officers and their families will always receive sufficient benefits even with changing inflation and cost of living.

Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa issued the following statement:

“Law enforcement officers have very dangerous jobs and they take extraordinary risks every day to keep our communities safe. Senate Bill 1071 ensures that our state law enforcement officers whose lives have been permanently altered by a catastrophic injury in the line of duty get the financial support they need for their families. I appreciate DPSOA President Richard Jankovski for bringing this issue to my attention and for Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s support to get this bill passed.”

The bill was sponsored in the House of Representatives by Rafael Anchia, Chairman of the House Committee on Pensions, Investments & Financial Services. If signed by the Governor, this bill will take effect September 1, 2021.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Senate Bill 424 by Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa has passed the Texas Senate and the House of Representatives and will soon be on its way to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature. The bill ensures that small businesses across the state are given the opportunity to remedy a first-time regulatory violation before an administrative penalty is imposed.

In 2020, Texas had 2.8 million small businesses representing 99.8% of businesses statewide. These businesses employ over 4.8 million Texans and cover a wide range of industries.

Senator Hinojosa filed SB 424 following a recommendation made by the Office of Small Business Assistance Advisory Task Force which Senator Hinojosa created in 2013 and is within the Office of the Governor. The task force regularly produces reports highlighting issues that small businesses in Texas are facing, as well as recommendations for improvement. Their 2019 biennial report pointed out that many small businesses are unlikely to have compliance teams or resources available to ensure regulatory compliance, which can result in costly penalties and fines. This burden was only heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic when small businesses struggled to keep up with frequently changing regulation and rules.

Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa issued the following statement:

“Small businesses are without a doubt the backbone of the Texas economy. We have seen how this past year the pandemic has affected small businesses and they need our support more than ever. Senate Bill 424 will allow a small business an opportunity to remedy a first violation before an administrative penalty is imposed by one of our state agencies. I look forward to Governor Abbott signing this bill into law in a few weeks.” 

The bill was sponsored in the House of Representatives by Todd Hunter, Chairman of the House Redistricting Committee. If signed by the Governor, this bill becomes effective September 1, 2021.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Yesterday, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) announced that Jim Wells County and the cities of Alice and Premont were among the 81 recipients of flood mitigation funding through the Hurricane Harvey State Mitigation Competition. The three projects were awarded a total of $29.7 million to improve drainage infrastructure, benefiting a total of 8,725 residents. This will help alleviate future flooding and mitigate damage to roads, residential properties, and critical utilities.

The City of Alice was awarded approximately $6.9 million for the Virginia St. Area Drainage Project. This project will increase the resiliency of the existing drainage system in the Virginia Street area, which lacks adequate drainage structures to direct water away from homes. In addition, the project will reconstruct the existing streets, upgrade storm sewers, and will improve roadside ditches.

The City of Premont will receive $13.1 million for the Drainage Improvements and Flood Mitigation Project, which will increase the resiliency and capacity of the drainage system to allow storm water to flow off-site faster and be detained.

Jim Wells County was awarded $9.7 million for a mitigation project that will improve the drainage system in the Rancho Alegre and Alice Acres Census Designated Places (CDPs). The drainage project will hasten the flow of storm water runoff away from the CDPs, restore resiliency, and reduce the risk to public health and safety.

The GLO received a historic $4.3 billion allocation in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to mitigate against future damage from hurricanes, flooding and other natural disasters in repetitively damaged areas.

Drainage improvements are costly to local governments and large projects can cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. The 2019 Texas Legislature added another funding option with the creation of the Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) through Senate Bill 7. The new FIF program, administered by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), provides financial assistance in the form of loans and grants for flood control, flood mitigation, and drainage projects. As Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and a co-author of Senate Bill 500 during the 86th Legislative Session, Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa was instrumental in securing funding to start the FIF program through a one-time transfer of $793 million from the “Rainy Day” Fund.

Senator Hinojosa issued the following statement:

“The residents of Jim Wells County have been hit hard by multiple flooding events since 2015. The $29.7 million will go a long way to improve the drainage systems, upgrade storm sewers, and prevent future flooding. I am pleased the GLO has approved these three applications. I appreciate the leadership of the Jim Wells County Commissioners Court, the City Council of the City of Alice, and the City Council of the City of Premont for their hard work in completing the application for funds. I commend our public officials and their staff for identifying and securing this funding that will protect our residents and their property from future flooding events.”

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The misleading article, “Valley Farmers Send Message to State Lawmakers: Leave McAllen Area Water Districts Alone,” written by Steve Taylor and published in the Rio Grande Guardian supports the existence of Hidalgo County Water Improvement District No. 3.  This makes sense, because the author of the article stayed in a District-owned home rent free for more than 2 years.  In reality, the hit piece serves as a distraction from decades of lack of accountability, transparency, and excess spending on the part of District No. 3 that has increased the cost to McAllen taxpayers.  A State Audit on the District clearly identified that the District has “a lack of financial controls; the absence of a formal, comprehensive master plan; noncompliance with procurement requirements; and noncompliance with certain requirements of the Texas Water Code.”

90% of District No. 3 falls within the City of McAllen.  The parts that don’t fall within the City of McAllen, including the landowners who actually support the bill dissolving District No. 3, will soon be better served by the McAllen Public Utility.  It’s important to remember that one of the farmers who testified against the bill in the Senate doesn’t even own the land where he farms.  In fact, the actual owner of that land supports the bill.  I look forward to those farmers and the City of McAllen getting water with better service at a better price with better management when District 3 no longer exists.

Below are additional responses to some of the statements in the article:

First

From the article:

Asked to respond to claims by supporters of SB 2185 that most of the raw water pumped out of the Rio Grande by HCWID No. 3 goes to the City of McAllen, Jones said:

“It does serve farmers. They (HCWID No. 3) are still delivering water almost daily to farmers. And the city gets its water piggy-backed for free. The district is not charging them any conveyance from the river to the city’s pump because it is all still being carried by the farmers’ water. It takes a certain amount of water to quote, unquote, prime the pumps from the canals to get the water from the river to the city. None of that is ever deducted from the city’s account and the city is not charged extra for that because they are also pushing water all the time to the farmers.”

Senator Hinojosa’s Response:

This is false.  HCWID charges McAllen for water at a dollar amount that is 80% more than it charges any other district it serves.  The District delivers water to ONLY a handful of farmers, who will be guaranteed protection in SB 2185.  OVER 90% of the District revenue received by the District is from the City of McAllen, not through service to farmers.  Brian Jones’ statements are misleading and false.

Second:

From the article:

Reporter Steve Taylor said, “Hinojosa claimed the author of this article is not qualified to report objectively simply because I lived briefly in a property owned by the water district. In exchange for rent, I provided security for the facilities located at a high-drug and migrant traffic area on the border. This commercial agreement was simply a matter of business and does not disqualify me from providing fair journalism. Further, Hinojosa and other members of the Texas legislature consistently take cash donations from business interests to promulgate laws that help those businesses, which would definitely be a conflict under Hinojosa’s implied definition in his note to this reporter.”

Senator Hinojosa’s Response:

Steve Taylor reporter previously stated publicly that he did NOT provide security, just informally “have a pair of eyes and ears there at night” on the property: “Othal (Brand) said it would be great for the Water District to have a pair of eyes and ears there at night, in case their equipment or vehicles got stolen or vandalized,” Taylor wrote. “But, there was no formal agreement for this. I am not a security guard in my spare time.”  Source here.

Further, Steve Taylor has now changed his tune about living for free in a District-owned home.  Previously, he said “for me and my family the key thing was having a safe place to live that offered maximum protection. I put my family first.” Source here. Now he’s saying it was “simply a matter of business.”  These two inconsistencies prove that Steve Taylor should not be writing about HCWID No. 3, because he has no more credibility as a fair and unbiased reporter.

Third

From the article:

Asked to respond to Hinojosa’s claim that farmers will be protected under his legislation, Jones said: “I agree that the bill says that but once it is turned over to a non-electable board, i.e., the city commission, then what is the recourse for the farmers when all of a sudden there are no penalties or provisions, no protections for any of the farmers to say they will continue to receive Ag water? There are no provisions in there for the day that they quit delivering water to the farmers.”

Senator Hinojosa’s Response:

This is false.  The McAllen Public Utility Board is elected separately from the city commission, which is also elected.