Legislative Update #4

Well, we are in the final days of the 77th Legislative Session and things are moving faster than the speed of light. Of course, you have to move pretty quickly around here if you want to dodge some of the heavy artillery that is being fired across the aisles of the Texas House. The redistricting process (which I earlier described as knife fights) has opened up old wounds, created new ones, and generally wreaked havoc with the legislative process.

Things may change after this letter is sent to the printer, but as of today, Tuesday, May 22nd, the Senate failed to timely pass any redistricting plan--actually never even getting a bill to the floor for debate--and senate redistricting is therefore dead in that chamber. The House plan has also not been heard in the Senate and if not brought up before Wednesday, May 23rd, it too will be dead. If this scenario plays out, then neither plan would have passed both legislative bodies and reached the Governor's desk, which would have forced him to either sign or veto. The next phase is now the Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB), which will get the opportunity to work on both plans.

If you are a conservative Republican from District 108, the fact that the no redistricting plan made it out of the Legislature is no great loss. To paraphrase "Evita," I urge you to "don't cry for either plan." In the failed Democrat House redistricting plan, the horrendously gerrymandered plan for House District 108 was one of the three worst travesties in the entire state! The Republicans knew they did not have enough votes to get a fair and compact plan that honored communities of interest, but in keeping with the tradition of always "fighting the good fight" we nevertheless submitted the best, and clearly legally superior, alternative plan. Interestingly, when the Democratically-controlled committee plan was presented, only four republicans (small "r" intentional!) voted for it, while five Democrats voted against. Had three of those four "r's" voted with us, we could have stopped this bad plan (i.e. splitting Lake Highlands into three different House districts) and tried for a fairer compromise.

On the Senate plan--what can you say! The committee plan was arguably not representative of Republican voting strength in Texas, but it did not split the Park Cities 60/40 into two districts (Senate District 8 and Senate District 16). The Republican plan offered more accurate representation of Republican voting strength in Texas, but many of you expressed serious concern since it proposed to split the Park Cities in a very weird way. Highland Park would be split into two senate districts and University Park would be split into two senate districts. Those of you that voiced your concerns know that both Senators would like to represent the Park Cities, but believe (as I do) that our cities should be kept whole and together since they share such strong bonds and commonality of interest. Obviously the unnatural proposed split reflects some old-fashioned horse trading by both Senators. Since that plan is now dead and it will be up to the five members of the LRB to determine the Park Cities fate, you should address your preferences and concerns directly to those five members.

In turn, the LRB's plans will most likely end up in court. For the redrawing of U.S. Congressional districts, a special session might be called this summer. The Governor says he is not sure whether congressional redistricting will go directly to the courts. As always, I will keep you posted.

With only two weeks left to go, issues such as public school employee health insurance and campaign finance still need to be hammered out in their respective conference committees. On the brighter side, the House passed a bill strengthening the restrictions and penalties surrounding telemarketers. House Bill 472 would allow for the creation of "no-call" lists. Essentially, people could place their private phone and fax numbers on the "no-call" list so as to avoid being harassed by telemarketers. Many of you contacted my office and voiced your frustration at receiving unsolicited calls and faxes late into the night. H.B. 472 is definitely a strong step toward relieving those frustrations. To address the problem of prostitution, I co-sponsored House Bill 460 with Rep. Will Hartnett. H.B. 460 makes it a state jail felony if a person knowingly engages in prostitution and has been previously convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor three or more times. Strengthening penalties for prostitution offenses will go a long way toward eliminating much of the prostitution that plagues Dallas areas such as Bachman Lake.

House Bill 2369: Encouraging Small Businesses and Product Development
I am excited to report that one of my key pieces of legislation, House Bill 2369, has already passed out of the Senate as Senate Bill 1485 and is waiting to be heard on the House floor. Drafted to encourage and support small businesses and product development in Texas, especially in the high tech/biotech/biomedicine industries, H.B. 2369 would establish a $45 million product development fund and small business incubator fund through the Comptroller's office.

In the national high technology community, Dallas is known as the "Silicon Prairie," named so because it is one of the largest high technology employment centers in the United States. In fact, the DFW area has the third-largest concentration of technology jobs in the country, with approximately 230,000 high tech employees. And we have all witnessed the incredible success of Richardson's Telecom Corridor ®, which has outpaced Silicon Valley as having the largest concentration of telecommunications firms in the United States.

Where am I going with all of this? My point is simple: Success can be fatal. Most business entrepreneur will tell you that maintaining success is much harder than achieving it. After attaining our goals, most of us have a tendency to become complacent with the status quo. We cannot let this happen with Dallas and the technology industries. While the Dallas area has enjoyed phenomenal growth and economic development, due in large part to a boom in the high tech industries, overall economic growth is slowing. All industries are beginning to tighten their belts in preparation for leaner times--in fact Austin is experiencing layoffs every day and office projects are being delayed or canceled. This is bound to have an impact on new, small business development and product development, especially in the areas of biotechnology and biomedicine--two areas which require enormous outlays of capital in the initial stages of development (it usually takes up to eight years before reaching FDA approval). Without substantial financial backing, many individuals hopeful of establishing a small business or commercializing their innovation will not be able to do so.

One step toward maintaining Dallas' competitive edge in growing and supporting small businesses is House Bill 2369, which is preparing to come to the House floor for a vote. In 1989, a constitutional amendment was passed authorizing the issuance of bonds for the initial funding of a product development fund and a small business incubator fund. The enabling legislation originally empowered the Texas Department of Commerce to manage both funds, but when the department was abolished, the enabling legislation was eliminated. However, the funds are still authorized in the Texas Constitution and count towards Texas' bond rating. H.B. 2369 reauthorizes the bonds and creates a board in the comptroller's office to administer the funds.

By establishing a product development fund and a small business incubator fund, Texas will provide entrepreneurs with additional resources for the establishment of small businesses. In 1997, over 885,000 new small businesses were created in the United States--a record high. If we can sustain that kind of growth at the state level, we can contribute toward renewing the American economy. In a report to Congress, the Small Business Administration acknowledged that new and small firms play a key role in the experimentation and innovation that leads to technological change and economic growth. This kind of experimentation and innovation in Texas must continue over the coming years, so that Texas can remain a leader in the field of economic development (we are already lagging behind states like Georgia and California). You may remember from the last newsletter that I referenced biotechnology and biomedicine as the new economic drivers in both the Texas and national economy. H.B. 2369 places special emphasis on these two important industries.

The bottom line is that, if we do not want Texas to fall behind the rest of the nation, if we do not want Texas to be bypassed as a regional center of technology industries, then we absolutely must not rest on our laurels. Measures like H.B. 2369 are needed to continue Texas' economic prosperity.

P.S. With the immense amount of growth in North Texas, I am meeting many new constituents. My staff is working hard to add as many people to my mailing list as would like to be added. If you would like to continue receiving my legislative updates, and have not done so already, please contact my district office staff (leah.hubbard@house.state.tx.us or214/520-8900). Thank you!