By Sherry Koonce
Revamping the state’s windstorm insurance association, freezing tuition at state universities, increasing health insurance for children and protecting area water rights are among a long list of issues for state lawmakers to consider during the 81st Texas Legislature.
The session convenes on Tuesday at noon, and is limited to 140 days unless the governor calls for additional special sessions, which cannot exceed 30 days.
“It’s going to be a busy session with a lot of issues affecting Southeast Texans,” Texas District 22 Representative Joe Deshotel, D-Port Arthur, said during a telephone interview Thursday.
With more than $750 million paid to windstorm association policy holders for claims from Hurricane Ike, state lawmakers are considering ways to restructure the fund. Legislators could decided to put more money into a state disaster fund, allow the windstorm association to issue bonds, or for the state to provide backup money that would be tapped when a costly storm such as Ike hits, the AP reported.
Lawmakers may define the type damage the windstorm fund covers, wind only, or the inclusion of hurricane-related water damage such as those received from Ike.
Deshotel said the state’s Select Committee on Hurricane Ike, of which he is a member, is getting ready to complete its final report on the hurricane’s impact, and present it to likely new speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio. Straus is widely expected to be elected to the post when the session begins Tuesday.
“I’m sure the new speaker wants to hear what the study found, so we can better serve, or better prepare in case of the next hurricane,” Deshotel said.
Closely related to Hurricane Ike legislation is the future of Galveston’s University of Texas Medical Branch. On Sept. 13, when Galveston Island took a direct hit from Hurricane Ike, UTMB sustained more than $17 million in hurricane damages.
In November, Jefferson County joined other Texas counties by passing a resolution urging state legislators to make UTMB’s plight a high priority during this 81st legislative session.
Of the state’s 254 counties, 160 send some patients to UTMB. Sixty-eight of those counties, from Orange to Corpus Christi, have contracts with the hospital to treat their medically indigent. Though the hospital has reopened in limited capacity, it has rebuilt to the point of caring for the medically indigent.
In recent months, there has been some talk about moving the facility to another location, perhaps Austin.
“We will be looking for ways to help UTMB survive so the people of Southeast Texas will have access to the medical care they need. It is crucial that UTMB opens again to treat the medically indigent,” Deshotel said.
State lawmakers will also address the spiraling cost of a college education by considering legislation that would temporarily freeze tuition at state universities.
Since tuition was deregulated during the 79th legislation session when universities faced a $10 billion shortfall, each subsequent year the cost of attending college has increased, Deshotel said.
State figures reflect a 53 percent rise for tuition and fees at state universities, the AP reported.
“Students are getting priced out of going to college. Tuition will continue to go up unless we reign it in,” he said. “Hopefully, we can reverse that action.”
Deshotel said though he understands universities’ budgetary needs, people have to be able to afford higher education if the U.S. is to be an educated nation.
Extending the public education to include four years of higher education is an idea Deshotel said he is in favor of.
Deshotel said legislators would also be looking at placing greater emphasis on training programs in public schools.
Including more vocational-type programs, and giving students ample credit for those courses, would be beneficial for Southeast Texas public school students because of industrial expansions in the area, he said.
“Studies have shown that students who take hand-on training have a lower drop-out rate,” Deshotel said. “Our studies show that we are way short on the skills needed for today’s job market.”
Deshotel said he is working on legislation that would incorporate more training programs in public schools.
Other key issues confronting the state lawmakers are expanding the state’s CHIP health insurance program for children by streamlining the application process.
“We don’t want people on the program who don’t qualify, but we can streamline the process to where it is not so cumbersome,” he said.
Other issues important to Southeast Texans to be addressed this session include protecting the area’s water rights and finding revenue for transportation projects.
skoonce@panews.com
