(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.)
UH System Day in Austin last Tuesday, Feb. 20, was a tremendous success! Busloads of students, faculty, staff, and alumni were welcomed by the House and Senate and later met with legislators and their staffs. The trip was sponsored by CATS (Cougar Advocates for Texas) and the Houston Alumni Organization.
UH System Board of Regents Chairman Gary Rosenthal and UH System Chancellor Arthur K. Smith were joined by Vice Chairman Morrie Abramson and Regents Thad "Bo" Smith, Morgan Dunn O'Connor, Suzette Caldwell, Charles McMahen, Theresa Chang, and Eduardo Aguirre for meetings with many of the principal players in Austin, including Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff and Speaker of the House Pete Laney.
Presidents William Staples (UH-Clear Lake), Max Castillo (UH-Downtown) and Karen Haynes (UH-Victoria) also met with key legislators.
Regents Smith, Abramson and O'Connor appeared before the Nominations Committee on Tuesday as well. Their confirmations should be complete next week when the full Senate votes.
The day was capped off with a reception for all participants and legislators at Landry's, underwritten by UH alumnus Tilman Fertitta.
View the coverage in UH Campus News.
View the coverage in the Houston Alumni Organization website.
Both Tier One bills have now been filed. The legislation, HB 1839 and SB 737, calls for the creation of the Texas Excellence Fund "to promote increased research capacity and to develop institutional excellence." SB 737 has been referred to the Finance Committee and HB 1839 has been referred to the Appropriations Committee.
Work on the Appropriations Bill continues. The House Education Subcommittee plans to make its recommendations by Tuesday. With the continuing problems with Medicaid, it is unlikely that the committee will recommend any additional funding. Some new items may be added in the Article XI "wish list."
Alex Ignatiev, director of the UH Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center, was invited by Chairman Rob Junell to participate in a briefing on space issues.
Hundreds of bills are being filed every day. If this pace continues, there will be more than 4,000 House bills by the filing deadline.
And don't forget to watch Capitol Report on KUHT Sundays at 3 p.m.
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>.