State funding for programs increases
BY REP. CHUCK HOPSON

The Texas Legislature enacted a lengthy list of laws affecting East Texans this year.

From laws that protect our children from sexual predators to more resources for border security, property tax reductions and benefits for our retired teachers, Texans will feel the direct impact of these new laws as they take effect during the next two years.

For the first time in four years, this year the legislature was able to increase funding for existing programs and start investing in some new ones. I look forward to watching these programs flourish and hope to go back to Austin in 2009 able to do even more.

House Bill 1, the state's twoyear budget, totaled $152.5 billion from all fund sources. The budget will grow by 8.9 percent each year, including the dollars going back to taxpayers in the form of property tax cuts.

The budget saw growth in health and human services, education, prisons and border security.

Funding for state parks was one of the most important issues of the session. Legislation to improve parks - as well as an increase of more than $140 million for state parks - was passed this year. The dollars are intended to go for facility repairs, new vehicles and other improvements.

CHUCK HIOPSON

In addition to funding the almost $15 billion in property tax relief, the legislature sought appraisal relief. House Bill 438/HJR 40 attempts to remedy increases in appraisals, which could place future property tax reductions in jeopardy. This bill applies a strict, 10 percent limit on annual homestead appraisal increases, which limits the increases in home owners' property tax bills. This is a great compliment to the successes made in property tax reductions.

The Legislature continued to find ways to improve the education of our children. House Bill 2237 sought to create grants and programs for dropout prevention and college and workforce readiness in public schools. One bill that will make our children happy is the end of the TAKS test, which will be replaced by end-of-course exams to measure a students performance for grades 9-12 by 2011.

We were also able to increase benefits for our retired teachers by getting them a 13th benefits check this fall. We were also able to give teachers a small but important pay raise.

Senate Bill 11, passed on the last day of the session allocates $100 million for border security, sets up a border security council to make recommendations on how the money is spent and to assure accountability. The primary focus of the money is suppression of drug and criminal activity.

I was a strong supporter of Senate Bill 378 also known as the Castle Doctrine. This act allows law abiding Texans to use force, including deadly force, against someone who unlawfully intrudes into their home or vehicle.

The first major state water management plan that is focused on conservation and ecology passed the legislature this year. House Bill 3 would allow regional decisions on reservoir sites. This bill will also protect rural property owners and water districts by requiring spending money on reservoirs by 2015 or risk loosing their regional designation. It's the first major water bill approved in over a decade.

Several pieces of legislation passed to ensure protection of Texas children from sexual predators and sexual offenders. House Bill 8 "Jessica's Law" gives stiffer punishment for sex offenders including the death penalty for certain repeat offenders. Senate Bill 6 prohibits use of the internet to communicate or use sexually explicit material with a minor and creates tougher penalties for those who try to meet with that person to engage in sexual conduct.

It would also require internet providers to register with the state while giving the Attorney General additional tools to seek out sexual predators online.

House Bill 1495 creates a "Landowners Bill of Rights". It ensures that landowners whose property is in jeopardy of being taken by the government is notified properly.

Senate Bill 792 established a statewide moratorium on private toll road deals for two years.

It would limit contracts to 50 years as well as give local agencies choice on toll projects. Some areas of the state were specifically exempted where projects are already underway.

During the interim a committee has been studying the policy implications to make future recommendations for building roads to improve transportation.

This was just the first step in what will be a continuing effort to prevent Texas landowners from having their land stolen out from under them.

The Texas Legislature also approved a package of bills totaling $3 billion which is an initiative to fund cancer research over the next 10 years.

Governor Rick Perry and Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong urged the passage of this package to make Texas a world leader in preventing cancer deaths and attracting the best and the brightest research scientists to Texas. Texas voters approved this in November, which will be a major victory in the fight against cancer, which kills 35,000 Texans a year.

After disturbing details about sexual abuse at the state's juvenile correction centers, the Texas Youth Commission was reformed. Senate Bill 103 is a complete overhaul of the agency and their processes.

The bill will create age segregations in facilities; prohibit misdemeanants and inmates 19 or older from being committed, sets up an independent office of ombudsman and advocacy groups for inmates. Finally, an office of inspector general will be created to investigate any future crimes at TYC facilities.

The legislature expanded coverage to an additional 127,000 children in Texas, under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provides coverage for many working families that cannot afford insurance otherwise.

This restored many of the cuts that had occurred in 2003, when the legislature faced a $10 billion dollar budget deficit. House Bill 109 will provide primary and preventative health care such as immunizations, wellness exams, eye exams and dental check-ups to the Texas children who do

not have private health insurance

or who do not qualify for Medicaid.

Air quality legislation, Senate Bill 12 was passed to help ensure compliance with federal clean air laws. This new legislation seeks to reduce statewide emissions from electrical generation units by providing for the updating of building energy codes, encouraging the purchase of efficient appliances, and providing efficiency standards for public entities.

These are just some of the good bills we passed during this years legislative session. I am proud of the work we did, but I know more can and will be done.

God bless you, and God bless Texas.

Church Hopson is State Representative for District 11, which includes Cherokee County.