Texas Border Business
By DAVID A. DÍAZ
Rep. Óscar Longoria, D-La Joya, on Friday, October 13, 2017 was appointed to serve as Vice-Chairman of the newly formed Subcommittee on Disaster Impact and Recovery, which is part of the 27-member House Committee on Appropriations, according to Tony Flores, who is Longoria’s Policy Advisor at the Texas Capitol.
Longoria serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, which in the recently concluded regular session of the 85th Texas Legislature, which took place from Monday, January 14, 2017 through May 29, 2017, helped write the $217+ billion, two-year state budget, which went into effect on September 1, 2017.
Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission, also serves on the House Committee on Appropriations.
Muñoz, along with Longoria and the other members of House Committee on Appropriations, on Thursday September 14, 2017, were appointed by Straus to also review how the federal and state governments are helping the victims of Hurricane Harvey, which was one of the most powerful Atlantic storms to hit the U.S. mainland.
Hurricane Harvey, which hit and stayed over the upper east Texas coastline during a four-day period that began on Friday, August 25, 2017, caused catastrophic flooding, with many areas receiving more than 40 inches of rain as the system, with peak accumulations of 51.88 inches, stalled over the state, according to Wikipedia. In addition to killing at least 81 people, Hurricane Harvey is estimated to have caused as much as $180 billion in damages.
In heeding the call of the Speaker of the House, the House Committee on Appropriations promptly held its first public meeting, which took place on Monday, October 2, 2017 in Houston.
“We were able to hear firsthand from state agencies on their response efforts, and from local community leaders and stakeholders who have been directly affected by Hurricane Harvey,” said Longoria.
In considering future committee deliberations, Zerwas appointed the Subcommittee on Disaster Impact and Recovery from the results of that first field hearing.
“We are just coming off a legislative session where we worked tirelessly and thoughtfully on our state budget for the next biennium – keeping in mind situations such as this may occur,” said Longoria. “Gov. Abbott recently disbursed a $50 million check from the Governor’s Disaster Relief Fund to the City of Houston for debris removal and rebuilding.”
The money from Abbott came from funds provided by the Texas Legislature to the Governor’s Disaster Relief Fund, and which are earmarked for such natural disasters.
“Now as federal dollars continue to trickle down from Washington, we will carefully monitor that money to make sure they are used responsibly and swiftly. I have no doubt that Houston will rebuild even stronger from this unprecedented disaster,” Longoria added.
Longoria, who is serving his third two-year term, represents House District 35, which covers portions of Hidalgo County and Cameron County, and includes all or portions of La Joya, Sullivan City, Peñitas, Alton, Mission, Hargill, Monte Alto, Edcouch, La Villa, Mercedes, Weslaco, Santa Rosa, Primera, Palm Valley, Combes, Harlingen, and La Feria.
The House Committee on Appropriations, in meeting as a whole or as subcommittees later to be created, will continue to examine the use of federal funds by state agencies responding to the effects of Hurricane Harvey and identify opportunities to maximize the use of federal funds to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
“It was a miracle that the Valley was literally the only region on the state’s coastline that was not struck by this monster storm,” Muñoz said. “What were are going to learn through these upcoming legislative hearings and fact-finding tours dealing with Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath surely will help protect all Texans in the future. I invite any Valley residents with ideas, especially as they affect the Valley, to contact me.”
Muñoz, who has served in the Texas Legislature since 2011, represents all or parts of the cities of Hidalgo, Granjeño, McAllen, Mission, Palmview and Pharr. His Capitol office is located at CAP 4S.4 in the Texas Capitol, and may be reached at (512) 463-0704. His District Office is located at 121 E. Tom Landry, Mission, and may be reached at (956) 584-8999.
“The Valley is no stranger to hurricanes and tropical storms, so the work of these House committees will affect everyone of us here at home,” Muñoz. “Anyone in the Valley who has ideas of how, as a region, we can better prepare for such natural disasters should contact me with their suggestions, and I will see that they get the attention they deserve.”
In addition to the House Committee on Appropriations, Straus also appointed the House Committee on Public Education and the House Committee on Natural Resources to conduct public hearings related to natural disasters in Texas.
“The next year will provide a valuable opportunity for committees to listen to the public, research solutions, and recommend action that the House should take in 2019,” Straus said. “However, we know that this is not going to be a normal legislative interim. Hurricane Harvey has devastated our state and upended the lives of millions of Texans. While the state is taking a number of immediate actions to help Texans begin to recover, and will continue to do so, the Legislature will have a substantial role to play in both the recovery process and in preparation for future storms. The importance of getting these issues right when we meet again demands that we start working on them now.”
In total, Straus issued five interim charges, which are instructions the Speaker gives House committees to guide their work preparing for the next legislative regular session, which begins in mid-January 2019. He plans to release a full list of interim charges, including more issues related to Harvey, in the next couple of months.
Straus announced the charges in a letter asking Members of the House to suggest issues that committees should study leading up to the next regular legislative session, which will begin in 2019.
“As we begin a legislative response to this devastating storm and as we look at all of the issues expected to come before the House in the next couple of years, I hope that we will continue to focus on doing what is in the best interest of Texas and the people we represent,” Straus added in his correspondence to the state representatives on the three House committees: the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Public Education, and the House Committee on Natural Resources.
“I also hope you’ll point us in a direction that will lead to new and innovative solutions, even as we confront familiar challenges,” Straus also stated in his correspondence to the members of those three House panels.
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