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 | Apr 15, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Dr. Francisco Fernández, Founding Dean, The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine; Mayor Richard García, who also serves as President of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors; and Richard Molina, Edinburg City Councilmember, at the UT-Pan American Ballroom on Wednesday, February 26, 2014.
Photograph By PEDRO PÉREZ, IV
Almost 10 years after the Texas Legislature first authorized the financing for its creation, the $42.7 million, 1,000-seat Performing Arts Complex at The University of Texas-Pan American will host thousands of area residents during a Thursday, April 23 debut with a Grande Premiere Concert, beginning at 7:30 p.m. (UT-Pan American will be renamed The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley in the fall.) UTPA and UT-RGV leaders are pulling out all the stops to showcase what will be a showpiece among the Valley’s increasing number of impressive centers for musical performances, sports events, and other major gatherings. The State Farm Arena in Hidalgo and the McAllen Convention Center – both publicly-owned entertainment facilities that can serve thousands of patrons per event – now share center stage with the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, the Bert Ogden Arena, set to begin construction in Edinburg, and now, the Performing Arts Complex that will serve as the heart of the local University of Texas System campus. UTPA officials on Tuesday, April 14, announced that in order to celebrate the highly anticipated grand opening of the state-of-the-art facility, they have planned a spectacular evening of the arts, starting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, and featuring performances by faculty and student artists from UTPA and The University of Texas at Brownsville. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the Grand Premiere Concert, and the public is invited to be part of the free festivities. For more information or if special accommodations are needed to attend the concert, call (956) 665-5301. Mayor Richard García, who also serves as President of the EEDC’s five-member Board of Directors, said the emergence of the Performing Arts Complex will have profound and long-lasting effects on the city council’s and EEDC’s vision for downtown revitalization. “It fits in with our master plan for cultural development for our city,” the mayor said. “With the $42.7 million Performing Arts Complex, as well as the coming construction of the $68 million city-owned Bert Ogden Arena, along with the $54 million UT-RGV School of Medicine’s Medical Academic Building now under construction, and a $70 million UT-RGV science building annex approved to be built on campus, we are making our hometown the center for high-quality, family entertainment venues and educational excellence that not only improve our quality of life, but make it that much more attractive for businesses to expand and locate in our city, and with it, create more jobs and economic prosperity. García also praised the Valley’s state legislative delegation for securing more than $30 million earlier in April for a new engineering building at UT-RGV in Edinburg, a tremendous funding boost that could result in the planned development of a $50 million complex. García, who has built a statewide reputation as a leader who always shares the credit with others on major successes, said he wants one person in particular to be forever linked to the Performing Arts Complex. “We wanted this facility badly, we needed this facility badly, and the big hero on that is Sen. (Juan ‘Chuy’) Hinojosa (D-McAllen),” the mayor said. “I would love to see that facility be named after him. I have told him that in the past, and I will lead that charge because he was largely responsible for the state funding, and fighting to keep that money for the Performing Arts C0mplex.” Hinojosa was the driving force in the spring of 2006, when the Texas Legislature was at work during a special session at the State Capitol. “He was the principal legislative architect who made the state financing possible for this landmark project,” García recalled. “He successfully attached an amendment to a statewide tuition revenue bond bill. His effective move provided the needed financing mechanisms to pay for the Performing Arts Complex, which represents one of the largest infusions of financial resources by the state for new construction at UT-RGV.” Hinojosa emphasized the positive impact of the Performing Arts Complex. “This facility will attract supporters of the arts, quality performers and outside visitors. These benefits will also radiate into the community in other ways,” said Hinojosa. “I am confident the Performing Arts Complex will be top-notch, and it will bolster the local economy by attracting jobs and investment, and enrich the cultural life of the Rio Grande Valley. Investments like these are particularly beneficial because they help boost UT-RGV’s profile in the region.”
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by Legislative Media | Feb 18, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission; Speaker of the House Joe Straus, R-San Antonio; Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen; and McAllen Mayor Jim Darling on Thursday, June 17, 2014 at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
With southwest McAllen as part of his House District 36, which includes a major presence of South Texas College along with key international bridges and transportation systems, Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission, will be a powerful asset once more for The City of McAllen and its ambitious, progressive agenda during the ongoing 140-day regular session of the Texas Legislature, which runs through May 31. Muñoz’ body of work at the Texas Capitol, in partnership with his fellow Valley lawmakers, is sure to continue registering victories, especially following his reappointment to several of the most influential House of Representatives legislative committees. Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, one of the three most powerful leaders in Texas government, on Wednesday, February 4, elevated Muñoz to Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Insurance, and also kept him as a member of the budget-setting Appropriations Committee, and the Local and Consent Calendars Committee. “I am sincerely honored and grateful to be reappointed to these very important committees by Speaker Straus,” Muñoz said after receiving his assignments. “I fully intend to represent the interests of my constituents and the greater Rio Grande Valley region as I serve on these committees. I thank Speaker Straus for entrusting me with these assignments and for placing me in a position to better serve Texas.” Muñoz’ rising star in the Texas Legislature is a definite asset to the City of McAllen’s legislative agenda, which was adopted by the McAllen Mayor and McAllen City Commission late last year. McAllen’s top state priorities will focus on the following goals: the creation of a Hidalgo County Hospital District; improving international trade and shipping with Mexico through local international bridges; seeking funding to build the first phase of a northbound commercial vehicle inspection station at Anzaldúas International Bridge; extending Ware Road (FM 2220), a primary north-south arterial in McAllen, north from Trenton Road (FM 676) to State Highway 107; building an overpass over Pecan Boulevard at the South Texas College main campus, which is one of the fastest growing in the country (32,000 students), to coincide with a $55 million locally-funded campus expansion currently underway; enhancing Texas’ relationship with Mexico, including holding high-level annual meetings in McAllen or Rio Grande City featuring the Texas governor’s office and Texas secretary of state’s office with their counterparts from Mexican states that border Texas for the purposes of discussing trade, transportation, energy, security and other bi-national issues; and seeking funding, through legislation or Texas Parks and Wildlife Department prioritization, for the construction of hike-and-bike trails in McAllen and surrounding cities.
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by Legislative Media | Jan 28, 2015 | Politics
Featured in this image during the Thursday, February 6, 2014 grand opening of Rep. Terry Canales’ District Office in Edinburg, are, from left: Edinburg City Councilmember Richard Molina; Agustín “Gus” García, Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Fred Palacios, Secretary-Treasurer, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Edinburg Mayor Pro Tem Elías Longoria, Jr.; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; Erica E. Canales, wife of Rep. Canales; Rachel Borchard, mother of Rep. Canales; Alex Ríos, Director for Rep. Canales’ District Office; and Elva Jackson Garza, Edwards Abstract and Title Company.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
A groundbreaking legislative internship program for qualified students of The University of Texas-Pan American has begun at the Texas Capitol, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, who helped set it in motion, has announced. The fledgling program, featuring five students assigned to five Hidalgo County lawmakers, including Canales, promises to create a new generation of powerful political leaders who will be able to champion many of the dreams of deep South Texas, not just in future years, but during the current 140-day regular legislative session, which runs through the end of May. “The Texas Legislature, which meets every two years, approves hundreds of state laws and policies that affect almost every portion of our lives, from deciding how much of the estimated $200+ billion state budget over the next two years will be invested in the Valley, to acting on the other great issues of the day in Texas, from education reform proposals to anti-tax measures, and dozens more major legislative priorities,” said Canales. Influenced by his experiences in the Legislature, Canales wants more Valley residents to have the opportunity to develop the firsthand expertise needed to excel in the state legislative process. Opening the doors to the corridors of power and knowledge, as is currently being done by other major universities in Texas, is part of his vision. “It’s real simple,” Canales said of his hopes for the UTPA legislative internship program. “If we in the Valley are going to continue building on our influence in the Texas Legislature, we must bring more South Texans into this powerful arena, let them see in person how it really works, and help them take their rightful place as the future leaders of our great state.” The legislative interns currently participating at the Texas Capitol are: Carlos Aguayo of McAllen, serving with the Office of Rep. Óscar Longoria, Jr., D-La Joya; Jacqueline Sandoval of Harlingen, serving with the Office of Rep. Armando “Mando” Martínez, D-Weslaco; Lesley Andrea Marín of Weslaco, serving with the Office of Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; Johnathan Simcha Weisfeld-Hinojosa of McAllen, serving with the Office of Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen; and Shawna Miller of Wimberly, serving with the Office of Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission.
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by Legislative Media | Jan 16, 2013 | Politics
State Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, was at Edinburg City Hall on Friday, January 11, for a ceremonial swearing-in as the new state representative for House District 40, which includes most of Edinburg, Elsa, northern Pharr and the University of Texas-Pan American. Other elected officials, family members, and supporters joined Canales for the 11:45 A.M. event, held in the Edinburg City Council chamber, including, from left: Rachel Borchard, his mother; Erica Canales, his wife; and Hidalgo County District Court Judge Ricardo Rodríguez, who administered the oath of office. Mayor Richard García, Mayor Pro Tem Agustín “Gus” García, Councilmember J.R. Betancourt, Precinct 4 Hidalgo County Commissioner Joseph Palacios, Rep. Bobby Guerra, D-Sharyland, and Hidalgo County District Clerk Laura Hinojosa were among the elected leaders who participated in the event.
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Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, featured left, Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville, center, and Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission, will be working together with other Valley legislators to try to secure state funding for a full-fledge Veterans Administration Hospital for the Rio Grande Valley. In 2011, Valley lawmakers introduced legislation to allow the governor to use money from the cash-rich Texas Enterprise Fund to help make a Valley VA Hospital a reality. “We need to run with it again, push it through the legislative process, and try to get more of our colleagues to recognize the need, not only for our region, but for veterans in general in providing medical services to them,” said Muñoz. He agreed with the strategy by Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez, D-Weslaco, to have the identical bill to be filed in the Senate soon after the House bill is introduced, rather than wait until the House of Representatives takes action on the issue, which occurred in 2011. “We can move it through both chambers, hopefully earlier on, and start garnishing support from the Senate and the House, and try to make use of the legislative resources and press coverage of this vital issue to promote its need,” Muñoz explained. See story later in this posting.
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Speaker of the U.S. House John Boehner, featured left, on Thursday, January 3, administered the oath of office to U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo/McAllen, during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Cuellar, who is beginning his fifth two-year term in Congress, is the only Texan who is serving on the House Appropriations Committee. See story later in this posting.
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The Hidalgo County District Clerk Office, led by Hidalgo County District Clerk Laura Hinojosa, on Wednesday, December 26, presented a check in the amount of $3,250 to the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen as part of their Blues for Bucks Workplace Fundraising Campaign to benefit local charitable organizations. The Boys & Girls Club of McAllen began in 1966, through efforts led by Othal E. Brand Sr., in a high school gym with a budget of $200 and 400 boys. Today, they are one of, if not the fastest growing clubs in the nation. With five Traditional Sites, five Afterschool Alliance Sites, and six 21st Century Sites and an annual operating budget of $3 million, the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen has grown to meet the needs of more than 10,000 members. Over the past 45 years, the Boys & Girls Club has been there to encourage, support and stimulate thousands of young people whose other choices were the loneliness of an empty house, or the risk associated with unsupervised activity. Find out more about the organization at http://www.bgcmcallen.org/who/us.aspx/ Featured, from left: María Elva Garza; Annelle Sánchez; District Clerk Laura Hinojosa; Irineo Razo; Zayra Narváez; Armando Cantú; Normalynda Zepeda; Krystal Rodríguez; Alessandra Galván; María Barrera; Aída Villarreal; and Jassia De La Paz.
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Want to enjoy an evening of fun while marketing your company? Sign up for the RGV Hispanic Chambers “Corporate Super Bowl” to be held on Wednesday, January 30, at the Flamingo Bowl in McAllen. The $250 entry fee is for a five-member team and includes the use of a bowling ball, shoes, coupons for food, pitcher of beer, soft drinks, and team t-shirt with the company name on it and a team photo. Only 40 teams will be accepted. Team trophies will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Individual trophies will also be awarded to the female and male top bowler. Teams will bowl two games with the top six teams going on the finals. The “Corporate Super Bowl” is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. To sign up or for more information on the Super Bowl call the RGVHCC office at 928-0060. Featured making final arrangements are, first row, from left: Nick Boland and Paulina Rodríguez. Featured, back row, from left: Cynthia M. Sakulenzki, Ronnie Díaz, Ronnie Bernal and Rick Cavazos.
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Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, featured second row, center, and Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville, featured behind Zaffirini, joined other senators on Tuesday, January 8, in taking their oaths of office in the chamber of the Senate at the State Capitol. Zaffirini and Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen (not pictured), are encouraging their constituents to communicate with them during the five-month regular session, which ends on May 31. See stories by Zaffirini and Hinojosa later in this posting.
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Edinburg’s city, county and state leaders are reporting positive trends in the local retail economies, with the latest data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts showing Edinburg posted an almost 12 percent improvement in its retail economy in November 2012 as compared with November 2011. Featured, from left: Rep. Bobby Guerra, D-Sharyland; Mayor Pro Tem Agustín “Gus” García; Mayor Richard García; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; Councilmember J.R. Betancourt; Precinct 4 Hidalgo County Commissioner Joseph Palacios; and Hidalgo County District Court Judge Ricardo Rodríguez, shown here on Friday, January 11, following the swearing-in of Canales, the new state representative for House District 40, which includes Edinburg, Elsa, northern Pharr, and the University of Texas Pan American. See story later in this posting.
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With the Texas Legislature having returned to work on Tuesday, January 8, for its five-month regular session, Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr. is encouraging South Texas political and economic development leaders to help influence passage of major new laws and policies designed to improve the manufacturing industry in the Valley and statewide. One of the key issues that has been brought to light is that manufacturing positions are available, but prospective employees do not have the education, training and skills needed for many of those high-tech jobs. “Many businesses do not have the ability to provide comprehensive retraining for applicants who excelled in their former professions, but who lost their jobs to a changing economy, and now must learn entirely new skills for the excellent jobs that are now available,” said Muñoz. “Our committee looked at how state government, community colleges and technical institutions, and the private sector can work better together to reshape the tremendous talent we have into a new workforce for the 21st century.” See story later in this posting.
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Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, is the third member of his South Texas family to serve in the Texas House of Representatives. His father and sister have also been state representatives from north of Hidalgo County. Featured here, following the Edinburg lawmaker’s first day at the Capitol on Tuesday, January 8, are, from left: G.G. Betancourt, daughter of Edinburg City Councilmember J.R. Betancourt and Renée Rodríguez Betancourt; the Canales family, including daughter Juliana; wife Erica, who is from Edinburg; son Terry Andres; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; his father, former Rep. Terry Canales; and Rep. Canales’ sister, former Rep. Gabriela Canales; on Tuesday, January 8, at his desk in the chamber of the Texas House of Representatives.
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