(This legislative update has been assembled by the UH System Office of Governmental Relations and edited by the UH Division of University Advancement as a service to the UH System community.)
Signaling that work will begin in earnest, committees were appointed in both the House and the Senate. The House Appropriations held an organizational meeting immediately and laid out the schedule for the following weeks. On Monday, Jan. 31, they will hear an overview on the budget and be briefed on the education article. Other articles will follow throughout the week. Subcommittees will begin meeting on February 7. The subcommittees have not yet been named.
There were a number of new chairmen named in the House because of vacancies rather than because of reorganization. Other than that, there were few major changes in the House and Senate.
The Gulf Coast area is still well-represented on both House Appropriations and Senate Finance.
Reps. Peggy Hamric (R-Houston), Sylvester Turner (D-Houston), John Davis (R-Houston), Ruben Hope (R-Conroe), and Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) were reappointed to Appropriations and joined by Al Edwards (D-Houston) and Glenn Hegar (R-Katy). Rep. Chuck Hopson (D-Jacksonville) was also appointed to the committee. Turner and Hopson are UH alumni, Green attended UH, and Davis is a UH-Clear Lake alumnus.
On the Senate side, Senators Kyle Janek (R-Houston), John Whitmire (D-Houston) and Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) were all reappointed to the Finance Committee. Whitmire is a UH alumnus.
There will be familiar faces on both the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee and the House Higher Education Committee. Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) chairs the Senate subcommittee. He is joined by area Sens. Kyle Janek and Tommy Williams. Rep. Geanie Morrison (R-Victoria) again chairs the House committee. She is joined Rep. Glenda Dawson (R-Pearland). West and Dawson are UH alumni.
To see a complete list of committee assignments, please see www.house.state.tx.us and www.senate.state.tx.us
Read bills and listen to committee proceedings.
You may register by going to the “Calendar/Event Registration” section on Houston Alumni Organization’s web page or by calling Amy Bailey at 713-743-0828. But remember, if you are a faculty or staff member, you must take a vacation day in order to participate.
Following a tradition started in 1998, hundreds of UH System students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends will converge on the State Capitol building Tuesday, February 8, 2005, to advocate for our four universities during “UH System Day in Austin.”
Sponsored by the Houston Alumni Organization and CATs (Cougar Advocates for Texas), this year’s visit has been themed “Meet the Future of Texas,” with emphasis being placed on increased student participation. “We have always had a strong student support,” said Grover Campbell, Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations, “but this year we would like to see even more students making the rounds and meeting our state representatives and senators.”
Approximately 600 UH System folks are expected to sign up for the free, day-long activities. Please note that this year the orientation segment will take place in Houston, not in Austin. Below is the schedule of events:
8 a.m. – Registration, orientation, and kickoff, O’Quinn Great Hall at the Athletics/Alumni Center on the UH campus.
9 a.m. – Buses depart for Austin, lunch served.
Noon – Arrival at State Capitol building, visit House and Senate chambers.
1:30 p.m. – Participants fan out throughout building and visit legislators’ offices.
4:30 p.m. – Visits conclude, board buses for reception, location to be determined.
5:30 p.m. – Reception honoring legislators at Lucy’s Boatyard, 3825 Lake Austin Boulevard.
7:30 p.m.– Buses depart Austin and return to Houston.
10:30 p.m. – Buses arrive at Athletics/Alumni Center on UH campus.
Selected news articles from local, state, and national publications are being posted on the UH System Governmental Relations web page.
view the articles.Information on governmental relations policies
Find the names and addresses of Texas Senators and Representatives