On March 6, your Chamber’s Legislative Committee hosted Representative Diego Bernal (D. 123), Representative Ina Minjarez (D.124), Representative Rick Galindo (D.117), and Representative John Lujan (D.118). The elected leaders highlighted their top priorities for the 85th Texas Legislature beginning in January 2017.
Representative Rick Galindo listed public education, mental health, and cybersecurity as the top three issues important to his office in preparation for next year. He believes STEM programs need to be better promoted, and he forecasted that the school finance issue will be addressed during a special session in the summer of 2017. Rep. Galindo also stated he thinks mental health has been ignored at the state level for a long time, and Speaker Joe Straus appointed him to a 13-member committee currently holding interim hearings on the subject, including bullying.
Representative John Lujan is particularly interested in public education, and he has recently met with several of his district’s independent school district superintendents and Texas A&M University – San Antonio in an attempt to “connect the communication dots,” and facilitate necessary conversations on how to improve the public school system and funding. For personal reasons, understanding the foster care program, promoting public safety and small business facilitation are important priorities for the newly elected Representative. Several of his children were adopted through the foster care system, he is a former officer from Bexar County and the San Antonio Police Department, and he is currently a small business owner.
Representative Diego Bernal is energetic about his appointment on the Advisory Committee for International Trade, involvement in the House Committee on Urban Affairs and support of public education. Bernal stated that he has visited 33 school principals out of the 56 public schools within his district. “We cannot afford to distinguish political parties when it comes to education,” he said. He is actively vying for a seat on the House Public Education Committee. He is also a member of the Urban Affairs Committee, and he is using the things he learned as a city councilman to better understand cybersecurity issues and how they affect municipalities and utility companies. His committee has been specifically charged with researching cybersecurity attacks and determining how the Texas Legislature can formulate policies to better protect public and private entities.
Representative Ina Minjarez now occupies the House committee vacancies left by Senator Jose Menéndez, including a seat on the coveted House Transportation Committee. She also sits on the State Affairs Committee and was recently appointed on the Interim Select Committee for Federal Environmental Regulations researching regulations from the federal government and how they affect Texas business. Currently, her top priorities include co-sponsoring legislation with Senator Menendez against cyberbullying, multi-modal transportation education, small business development, and public education.
For more information on the Chamber’s Legislative Committee and about the 85th Texas Legislature, contact Pauline Rubio at prubio@sachamber.org.
