by Legislative Media | Dec 21, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Caleb Ezra Canales, one of the children of Rep. Terry Canales and his wife, Erika; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; and Ramiro Peña, a graduate student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, showcasing a unique Christmas Tree ornament, produced by Peña, which is now part of the 26-foot Christmas Tree on display at the Texas Capitol.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Thousands of holiday visitors to the House of Representatives chamber at the Texas Capitol are getting a good look at what South Texas has to offer, thanks to a one-of-a-kind ornament now gracing the impressive, 26-foot Christmas Tree set up by state legislative leaders, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, has announced. As part of the tree’s Texas symbolism, each state representative was invited to commission a constituent to decorate an ornament that reflects the unique character of his or her district. For Canales, whose House District 40 justifiably boasts an abundance of talented artists, Ramiro Peña, a graduate student working towards his Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, was chosen for the honor. “It was not an easy decision because the impressive list of outstanding artists in my House District and in the Valley is long and proud,” Canales explained. “In the end, Ramiro was a perfect choice because he also represents the creativity, bold vision, originality, skills, and independence that are hallmarks of his profession.” Canales sought from Peña an ornament that would showcase the character of House District 40, which include portions or all of Edinburg, Elsa, Faysville, La Blanca, Linn, Lópezville, McAllen, Pharr, San Carlos and Weslaco. Peña’s skills, as well as his desire to promote his adopted home region (he is originally from Salinas, California, but now calls Donna home for him and his family) are clearly evident in the admirable images on the ornament that Peña crafted for the House District 40 Christmas Tree ornament. “At the heart of District 40, the establishment of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the home to a School of Medicine which will transform future students in education, research, and healthcare, is depicted on the ornament by the landscape of the UTRGV Admission Building in Edinburg,” Peña described. The House District 40 Christmas Tree ornament “also portrays the agribusiness of the area through the vast fields of cotton and orange trees (along with) the image of the Monarch butterfly, which represents the unique migration from Mexico to Canada,” Peña continued. “The Altamira Oriole sits atop a cotton plant demonstrating one of 500 birds species found in nine birding sites of the World Birding Center, including the one in Edinburg.” UTRGV, whose main campus is in Edinburg, and which next fall will open the School of Medicine, also at the Edinburg campus, are located in Canales’ House District 40. Canales was a co-sponsor in 2013 of the historic law, Senate Bill 24 by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Rep. René Oliveria, D-Brownsville, which combined the resources of UT-Pan American, UT-Brownsvlle, and the UT Regional Academic Health Center in Edinburg and Harlingen into UTRGV and the School of Medicine. “I was so impressed with Ramiro Peña’s creation, which highlighted higher education and agriculture, which are very important aspects – and strengths – of House District 40 and Texas,” said Canales. “But I am equally impressed by Ramiro and his wife, Alma, because they represent the tremendous values of integrity, hard work, courage, and achievement that make up the character of the people of South Texas.”Peña is the epitome of a non-traditional student – married, with children, 45 years old, and with a two-decade career behind him, according to Melissa Vásquez, who is a member of the UTRGV media team. “His wife, Alma, a first-grade teacher in Weslaco, told him it was her turn to help him achieve his dream of earning a degree and pursue his love of art. So he quit his 19-year job at Magic Valley Electric Cooperative and became a college student again, studying 2D art and taking every opportunity offered to enhance his craft – from studying abroad in Italy to working with art professors to perfect his style, which he refers to as ‘realism,’” Vásquez said. Canales, who shares credit with his wife, Erika, a business owner, for his successes, said he was moved by Ramiro Peña acknowledging the powerful roles that a spouse or other loved ones play in a person’s life. “With my wife’s encouragement, I decided to take that leap of faith and come back to school,” Peña said. “It was a difficult decision, because I had my doubts,” Peña told Vásquez. “At the time, Alma (a first-grade teacher in Weslaco) was making more money than I was and told me it was time for me to go off and get my degree. She told me, ‘I will support you.’”
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by Legislative Media | Sep 27, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, greets constituents at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s 84th Legislative Session Wrap-Up Luncheon, held on Thursday, July 9, 2015, at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in McAllen as Alex Ri?os, the District Director for Canales’ legislative office in Edinburg, looks on.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Efforts to improve the identification process of undocumented immigrants who die while crossing from Mexico into Texas will take center stage in the Rio Grande Valley on Monday, September 28, when the Texas Forensic Science Commission hosts a public meeting at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, has announced. The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the facility, which is located at 118 Paseo Del Prado, near the intersection of McColl Road and Dove Avenue in southwest Edinburg. The gathering in Edinburg, which is the result of a last- minute amendment on May 26, 2015 by Canales to Senate Bill 1287, will focus on what is known as the Rio Grande Identification Project. The Edinburg lawmaker’s amendment created the Rio Grande Identification Project and requires the Texas Forensic Science Commission – a state agency – “to develop a method for collecting forensic evidence related to the unidentified bodies located less than 120 miles from the Rio Grande River,” Leigh M. Tomlin, with the Texas Forensic Science Commission, stated in an advisory about the Edinburg meeting. “In accordance with its legislative mandate, the commission is working with stakeholders to develop a systematic plan for proper forensic evidence collection of biological material that may help identify human remains found along the border. The goal for the session is to establish best practices in Texas for subsequent publication and dissemination,” Tomlin explained. Canales said an estimated 1,000 immigrants without any identification have died in the Rio Grande Valley during the past 10 years. In the summer of 2014, international attention was focused in deep South Texas with the discovery that mass graves of hundreds of suspected unidentified immigrants were buried haphazardly in a cemetery in Brooks County. In addition, hundreds of immigrants’ bodies have been recovered on the ranches in Brooks County in recent years. Smugglers guide immigrants through the brush trying to circumvent a Border Patrol highway checkpoint an hour’s drive north of the border. There is little water and the walk can take two or three days in punishing temperatures. The House District 4o lawmaker recalled how the Legislature late last spring took action to bring compassion and closure to thousands of families who never know what happened to their love ones who crossed into Texas seeking a better life. “It was spontaneous. I just noticed the subject of the bill and it got me out of my chair,” Canales told reporter Kristian Herna?ndez with the Monitor newspaper in McAllen. “I ran to the front of the House of Representatives and said, ‘I have an amendment to this bill, hold on.’” The passage of his amendment was even more remarkable given the political climate in the Legislature, he noted. “I think it was one of my most exciting moments in the Legislature,” Canales said. “I was a little overjubilant that it passed, especially with the anti-immigrant sentiment that exists in the Texas legislature. I think it’s a great victory.” Canales’ amendment forced the Texas Forensic Science Commission to create a manual for the postmortem examination and identification process of unidentified border crossers, Herna?ndez added. “I think that it’s unquestionable what role immigrants play in our daily lives in our economy,” Canales said. “Not only do we need to respect what they do for our country but we need to respect human life in death.”
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by Legislative Media | Jun 1, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Lucille D. Wood, Clinical Professor at The University of Texas School of Law, whose research in a 2012 study helped lead to the passage of House Bill 311 by Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, and Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville. HB 311 will help protect thousands of low-income families, especially those who live in colonias, who purchase their homes through non-traditional financing known as contracts for deed. Photograph Courtesy THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF LAW
Thousands of Texans who purchase their homes through non-traditional financing known as contracts for deed would be better safeguarded from losing their investment under legislation by Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, which was approved by the Legislature on Saturday, May 30. The measure, House Bill 311, whose Senate sponsor was Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville, now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott for his approval. “I am honored to announce that House Bill 311 has been passed by the Texas Legislature, ” said Canales. “This important legislation will help protect Texas homebuyers from unscrupulous sellers. For most Texans, our home is the most expensive purchase we will make in our lifetime and it is paramount that we protect that investment.” Contracts for deed oftentimes are used when traditional financing, such as mortgages through a financial institution, is not available. Many of the estimated half-million Texans who live in colonias are at risk because they buy their homes through a contract for deed. The legislation’s major goals include streamlining the title conversion process for contracts for deed so title is conveyed to the purchaser, giving the purchaser protection, and the seller still retains a lien on the property at the same terms of the original contract. “This puts these properties back into the real estate market, allowing them to be properly sold and allows the homeowner to take out a loan on them,” Canales said. HB 311 also will encourage contracts for deed to be recorded so that other buyers, lenders, and title companies know that a property has been sold. Contracts for deed, also known as executory contracts, are contracts for the sale of land – usually residential property – where the seller keeps title to the property until the buyer has paid the full contract price. “Most of these contracts are long-term arrangements, lasting eight to 10 years on average,” Canales, an attorney, explained. “In that time, lots of things can go wrong. Sellers die, get divorced, or just disappear. Buyers have a difficult time getting homestead exemptions for their taxes, buying insurance, refinancing, or doing other things property owners with a deed can do.” A deed is a written instrument that, when executed and delivered, convey (transfer) title to or an interest in real estate. HB 311 would automatically require contracts for deed to convey (transfer) the title to the homebuyer, and would encourage these contracts to be legally recorded, which establishes ownership of the residence. Canales said HB 311 would help improve “an outdated system of property transactions. Unfortunately, contracts for deed are structured in a way that allows for abusive practices to arise,” the House District 40 lawmaker explained. “Buyers who complete their payment are not guaranteed the conveyance of title, and if the buyer defaults, they may lose any payment that they have already paid. When not recorded, buyers face less protection and risk losing their property.” Robert Doggett, an attorney with Texas Family Council, which supported the legislation, agreed that the legislation modernizes this type of residential real estate transaction.“For many decades these transactions have caused problems for Texas homeowners because they delayed the buyer receiving title to their property for many years. Buyers who had to move in the middle of their contracts lost the value of all improvements and any equity they achieved because there was nothing for them to sell,” said Doggett. “Thanks to the continued efforts of Rep. Canales and his staff both this session and last, Texans with these contracts will actually become Texas homeowners simply by filing their contracts. HB 311 will truly help make the problems caused by contracts for deed a relic of the past.” Canales thanked the Texas Family Council and Randy Lee with Stewart Title Guaranty Company for endorsing the legislation, which Canales first filed in 2013. But the South Texas lawmaker also praised a 2012 study commissioned by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), which contracted with Peter M. Ward, C.B. Smith Sr. Centennial Chair in US-Mexico Relations at the LBJ School; Heather Way, ’96, director of the Law School’s Community Development Clinic; and Lucille Wood, 2011–2012 Research Fellow at the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law, to direct the study. Their “invaluable research” found that despite these reforms, contracts for deed continue to be problematic transactions for consumers, the South Texas legislator noted. The research was extensive, according to a December 10, 2012 feature story by UT Law, The Magazine of the University of Texas School of Law, which chronicled the in-depth look at the problems of contracts for deeds among lower-income families ( http://www.utexas.edu/law/magazine/2012/12/10/colonias-contracts/ ).
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by Legislative Media | Apr 24, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Lissette Almanza of Houston and Christopher Vela of Edinburg, both staff members for Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin; Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; and Sen. José R. Rodríguez, D-El Paso, a graduate of then-Pan American University who was raised in Alamo, outside the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol.
Photograph By SENATE MEDIA
Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen,was one of only five Senate appointees – and the only Democrat – selected on Thursday, April 23, by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, to serve on the Senate/House Conference Committee that will come up with a final state budget for the 2016-17 biennium. “I am honored to have been selected by Lt. Governor Patrick for such an important responsibility,” said Hinojosa, who is Vice-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which came up with the Senate version of the state budget. “Through this appointment I am able to help craft a state budget that will pave the way for an educated and healthy workforce and a successful Texas economy.” A conference committee is a special legislative panel appointed by the Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House when there are differences between a Senate bill and a House bill that deal with the same issue, such as the proposed state budget that has been approved by the Senate and the proposed state budget that has been approved by the House of Representatives. On Wednesday, April 1, the House approved $209.8 billion budget, followed by the Senate, which on Wednesday, April 14, voted for a $211.4 billion budget. There are major differences in how much money is provided for certain programs and tax cuts, which resulted in the creation of the conference committee. “It is critical we work together to sort out the significant differences between the House and Senate versions to invest efficiently in our state programs so that we provide the services needed by our most vulnerable populations and that we wisely invest in infrastructure, transportation, healthcare, border security, and our students.” For example, the Senate budget proposes an $811 million increase for border security while the House budget calls for a $565 million boost. The Senate budget does not provide any increase for increasing Medicaid payments to doctors, while the House budget provides a $460 million boost. “Serious discussions will be taking place during the final budget process in the coming weeks and I am fully committed to support the funding priorities we need for South Texas and our entire state,” Hinojosa pledged.
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by Legislative Media | Feb 19, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Mario E. Ramírez, M.D., of Rio Grande City, who was appointed in March 1991 by Gov. Bill Clements to serve a six-year term on the University of Texas System Board of Regents, share ideas and memories in Edinburg during the Tuesday, August 26 groundbreaking ceremony of the $54 million UT-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine Medical Education Building.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Legislation to create a Hidalgo County Healthcare District was filed on Wednesday, February 18, by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville, to provide a source of local funding for The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, as well as to deliver health care to the region while lowering the tax burden on Hidalgo County residents. Senate Bill 626 legislation to create a Hidalgo County Healthcare District is s a top priority this legislative session, and Hinojosa and Lucio will work together with the Valley House delegation to ensure its passage. “The Hidalgo County Healthcare District is critical for our families in the Rio Grande Valley to provide resources to support a medical school, to cover our community’s healthcare needs for both the insured and uninsured, and to decrease the tax burden on our county taxpayers,” said Hinojosa. The McAllen-based lawmaker, whose District 20 covers most of Hidalgo County stretching northward to Nueces County, includes Edinburg, where major facilities of the UT-RGV School of Medicine are going to be built. Hinojosa said without the healthcare district, hospitals in deep South Texas, which are required by federal law to provide emergency medical care, wind up tapping into public funds in order to provide critical care to patients, regardless of their ability to pay. “Our healthcare providers provide millions of dollars in care to people who can’t afford it ever year, forcing them to pass the bill onto county taxpayers or to people with insurance through higher fees and premiums,” said Hinojosa. “The healthcare district will benefit taxpayers by bringing more federal dollars to the county and putting the uninsured into the system with a focus on prevention and early treatment.” Lucio, who represents a portion of Hidalgo County, echoed Hinojosa’s call for action. “I am pleased to joint author this bill which is critical to healthcare delivery in Hidalgo County. We have some of the highest rates of uninsured individuals and amongst the worst health care outcomes in the nation,” said Lucio, who represents Senate District 27. “Senate Bill 626 will allow Hidalgo County to improve our indigent care program as well as leverage and draw down additional federal funds to address health disparities,” the Brownsville lawmaker said. “The Hidalgo County Healthcare District will provide the ability to improve health outcomes in some of the most vulnerable communities, and the benefit to all cannot be underestimated.”
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