(This legislative update has been assembled by the UH System Office of Governmental Relations and edited by the UH Office of University Relations as a service to the UH System community.)
At high noon Tuesday, January 9, Texas embarked on an extraordinarily interesting legislative session, dominated by legislative and congressional redistricting. To no one's surprise, Sen. Bill Ratliff (R-Mt. Pleasant) moved swiftly to make committee assignments after being elected presiding officer of the Senate during an unprecedented holiday special session of the Texas Senate.
Most importantly to the UH System, Harris County is well represented on the Finance Committee, with Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) serving as chair along with members Jon Lindsay (R-Houston), Mike Jackson (R-Houston) and John Whitmire (D-Houston). Sen. Whitmire was also named to a very important post on the Legislative Budget Board.
Other significant committee assignments include Sen. Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) to Nominations and State Affairs. Sen. Teel Bivins (R-Amarillo) returns as chair of Education and Sen. Ken Armbrister again serves as chair of Criminal Justice and holds a seat on State Affairs.
House Speaker Pete Laney is not expected to announce House committee assignments until the second week of the session at the earliest.
Gov. Rick Perry, as one of his first official acts, named Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) as his Secretary of State. Serving on the Higher Education Committee and as Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Rep. Cuellar has been very active in higher education issues for a number of years. His successor will be chosen in a special election on January 20.
Earlier this week, Gov. Perry held a press conference at the UH Athletics/Alumni Center http://www.uh.edu/news/uhcnonline/reform.html to release the report of his Special Commission on Colleges and Universities in the 21st Century. The report recommends doubling the TEXAS grant program and also recommends that all universities develop "centers of excellence."
Guidelines for Contacting Legislators
It's important that legislators hear from faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the UH System. But if you are a member of the faculty or staff (a state employee) wishing to contact your legislator, it's equally important to follow certain guidelines when you write or fax letters. Go to <http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/gov/process/letter_writing.html>. for letter-writing guidelines.
For information on governmental relations policies, go to <http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/gov/policies/lobbying.html>.
To find the names and addresses of U.S. Senators and Congressmen/women, go to <http://www.usfronline.com/congress.htm>
To find the names and addresses of Texas Senators and Representatives, go to <http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members.htm>, or <http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/byzip.htm>.