Greetings! The 77th Legislative Session is well underway and I am finally taking time to surface for air and reflect on the flurry of activity that has taken place these past months--especially the last few weeks. First, thank you for giving me the honor of serving as your State Representative. It has been both a challenge and a privilege fighting to make sure that the needs and concerns of District 108 are represented in Austin. Some of the most important issues that I am dealing with include redistricting, public school finance (never-ending!), and the need to maximize our economic development through the commercialization of our biomedical research and development. Please feel free to contact either my Dallas or Austin office with any questions, problems, or suggestions you may have regarding these or any other legislative issues.

Redistricting
At this time, redistricting is consuming much of the "back-room" attention of the legislature. The final results will have a tremendous impact over the next ten years. I have been working diligently with other House members to create fair and compact districts that reflect the true voting patterns of Texans. As you may know, House District 108 is currently an odd, horseshoe-shaped district. A thin sliver that extends almost right down the middle of District 108, along and east of Central Expressway, actually belongs to another House member, effectively putting neighbors who live side by side into different House districts. A more compact district without gerrymandered lines would provide constituents with more effective representation. The key will be in motivating legislators to vote, not for new districts that offer them political protection, but rather for new districts that are fair, compact and that accurately reflect Texans' voting preferences.

Public School Finance/Property Tax
Lest you think that the issue of redistricting is preventing any work from being accomplished, fear not. This session, I have introduced House Bill 603, which significantly impacts school districts that offer the optional homestead exemption. Last year alone, school districts in the North Texas area that offered the optional homestead exemption received more than $25 million in property tax relief under a provision to Senate Bill 4 that I sponsored back in 1999. This was their pro-rata portion of a total of $120 million for all of Texas. Approximately 96% of that $25 million went to school districts in the immediate metroplex, such as Highland Park, Dallas, Richardson, Irving and Coppell. As a result, these school districts were able to better support a variety of educational programs and initiatives.

The reason H.B. 603 is so important is that a "subject-to" clause in S.B. 4 (last session's Public Education bill) stipulates that this tax relief would be triggered only if the Comptroller and Commissioner of Education decided that excess funds were available in the education budget. If the Comptroller and Commissioner of Education decided that excess funds were not available, hundreds of school districts would lose this funding, which would force them to make teacher pay or staff cuts, or cut back on a variety of important school programs. To avoid this, the affected school district would have to resort to raising taxes. In effect, what we would see is a stealth tax increase--to the tune of $260 million (for the biennium) statewide.

H.B. 603 would ensure that these school districts are not left at the mercy of political deal making and arbitrary definitions of what constitutes "excess." It would ensure those school districts that offer the optional homestead exemption could continue to receive more than $260 million in property tax relief over the next biennium without being forced to cut programs or teacher staffing. The bottom line: regardless of how the Comptroller and Commissioner of Education define "excess," the money for these schools is there. The problem is that there are simply too many ladles in the soup bowl. If we focus and prioritize, we can make this happen.

Biotechnology/Cord Blood Bank
Innovations in the field of biotechnology will have a dramatic impact in our approach to healthcare and will become one of the driving forces of our economy. Just as business leaders recognized the need to foster and embrace technology firms in North Texas, we now need to recognize the importance of biotechnology research and development. One important example of how biotechnology affects our lives is cord blood. Research in this area has revealed that umbilical cord blood (blood left in the umbilical cord after every live birth) is a rich source of progenitor cells and can be used to treat leukemia, sickle cell anemia, lymphoma and numerous other blood-related diseases. The majority of individuals with these diseases are currently treated through bone marrow transplants. However, approximately 30,000 Americans each year are unable to find suitable bone marrow donors. Umbilical cord blood can be used in lieu of bone marrow transplants in many instances. In support of this important lifesaving option, I have filed House Bill 3572, which establishes a public umbilical cord blood bank in Texas, where women can donate their children's cord blood to save the lives of others. For more information, please see the enclosed article from a recent edition of the Dallas Morning News. (http://www.dallasnews.com/editorial/viewpoints/321421_george_26edi.A.html)

If you would like to continue receiving my legislative updates, please email or call my district office (leah.hubbard@house.state.tx.us or 214/520-8900). Please call either my Capitol or District office if you have any questions or comments, or if you feel that our office can be of assistance to you. You can also check on legislation by logging onto www.capitol.state.tx.us.