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GARCIA ON THE GO
Making every day count

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Senator Garcia Taking the Gavel

Two weeks ago, Senator Garcia presided over the Senate’s Local and Uncontested Calendar on the Senate floor. It was her first time taking the gavel on the Senate floor as the presiding officer, and she was honored to preside over the passing of bills that directly help communities across Texas.

On the floor Senator Garcia continues to fight for public education and against proposals aimed at taking money out of public schools through voucher schemes that will not improve our public schools. Senator Garcia and her fellow Democratic colleagues are blocking a series of education bills that will harm public schools and our school teachers.

CAPITOL UPDATE

Senator Garcia passed her first bill, Senate Bill 1896, out of the Senate on April 29th. Senate Bill 1896 adds certain local judges to the list of officials that can protect their confidential information from being displayed on public county appraisal records. The Senator prioritized SB 1896 because as a former judge it was important to her to protect judges from being retaliated against for the decisions they make in their official capacity. Municipal and probate judges make decisions every day that put themselves and their families at risk and this legislation will at least protect them from having their confidential information publicly released on county appraisal records.

Senator Garcia quickly followed this up by passing Senate Bill 1892, which will improve State services for military veterans by better promoting coordination between state agencies. Senate Bill 1892 will strengthen the Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services (TCCVS) which coordinates the activities of state agencies that assist veterans. Senator Garcia believes we should honor our Veterans contributions by ensuring that our laws are addressing the specific needs of our 1.7 million Texas veterans and their families.

Budget 
Last weekmembers from both the Senate and House have been negotiating a compromise on the two different versions of the state budget.  Senator Garcia voted against the Senate version of the budget because it did not include adequate funding for education and Medicaid expansion, She has voiced concern to both sides regarding working Texans who demand a better education for our children and health insurance for our most vulnerable Texans.  On a positive note, she did join her Senate colleagues in supporting a measure that would use the Rainy Day Fund to increase funding for education by nearly $1 billion dollars.  They also approved Rainy Day Funds for water and transportation infrastructure.

Payday Lending Reform
Two weeks ago, the Senate passed a strong bill, S.B. 1247, which reforms the payday and auto title lending industry and stops companies from taking advantage of the poor, who borrow from these companies.  Typically, a borrower of a payday loan pays extremely high interest rates, often exceeding 5 times the amount borrowed.  In 2012, payday and auto title borrowers paid more than $661 million in refinance fees.  S.B. 1247, in its original form, will save consumers somewhere between $132-$221 million dollars per year.  With the stronger floor amendments that were added, the bill will save borrowers significantly more.  One of the amendments that passed will establish limits that already exist for other lenders in the state.  This will bring the interest rates down from the current 5 to 10 times the amount borrowed, to around only 1 and a half to 3 times.  The bill also limits the number of times a loan can be refinanced (or rollovers) stopping more fees.  Senator Garcia was pleased to support this strong consumer protection bill.

COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTS

GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION
Fighting for Food Security
Last week, Senator Garcia supported two bills that would promote more access to food in Texas. On Tuesday morning the Governmental Organization Committee heard SB 403 and SB 1208, authored by Senator Zaffirini. Combined, these bills would help get more fresh produce to Texas citizens by encouraging grocery stores to open in “food deserts” and looking at how food is produced and distributed in the state to help get food to people in need. Food deserts, low-income areas that do not have a nearby food store that provides fresh produce, exist in Senate District 6. In fact, nearly 30% of constituents in Senate District 6 live in a food desert. Senator Garcia supports getting healthier and affordable food to the families of the district, and will continue fighting to get these bills passed.

NOMINATIONS
Senator Garcia Stands Up to Cronyism on the Senate Nominations Committee
During her work on the Senate Nominations Committee, Senator Garcia discovered that one of the individuals nominated to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice was actually the sister-in-law of the Chairman of that board. Senator Garcia vocally opposed this appointment, which received a lot of attention from the media and eventually resulted in the Governor’s office withdrawing the nomination.  “This raises some serious questions about whether Chairman Bell was forthcoming that he was recommending his sister-in-law to the board that he chairs,” said state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, a member of the Nominations Committee. “How could she be an independent voice on that board if she had worked for him — and was his sister-in-law? I can’t see that.”  Quote from Senator Garcia in Austin American Statesman  4/25/13

IN THE DISTRICT

Senator Garcia Participates in Medicaid Expansion Round Table Discussion
On Saturday, April 27th Senator Sylvia Garcia joined Representative Ana Hernandez Luna, healthcare advocates and uninsured residents for a Medicaid expansion round table discussion hosted by the Texas Organizing Project. Currently, Texas has the highest rate of uninsured people in the nation, and under The Affordable Care Act, Texas could draw as much as $100 billion in federal funds to expand health care coverage to 1.5 million low-income Texans for an investment of $15 billion. During the roundtable, Senator Garcia gave an update on the status of Medicaid expansion in the Senate, and fielded questions from participants..

Senator Garcia attends Workers Vigil at Communication Workers building
On Saturday, April 27th Senator Garcia attended a workers vigil at the Communication Workers Local 6222 Hall, to honor those injured or killed on the job, and to increase awareness about the need for increased safety measures in Texas workplaces. Senator Garcia spoke to the crowd, recounting her days of picking cotton and pledged to fight for workers safety in the Texas Senate. Currently Texas leads the nation in workplace fatalities.

Mark your Calendars!!!
May 16, 2013 (6pm):  HISD is hosting a community budget meeting at Milby High School explaining how Houston public schools are funded and providing accountability to tax payers for their tax dollars.
June 29, 2013 (10am-1pm):  Senator Garcia is hosting her official district office open house, at 5425 Polk St.  State agencies sharing the Ramirez State Office Building with Senator Garcia will be present to educate residents on their services.  Food and beverages will be provided

MESSAGE FROM SYLVIA

With 20 days left in the 83rd Legislative Session, my staff and I are working hard to fight for the needs of working families in Senate District 6 and all Texans.  I am proud to report that I passed my first two bills, Senate Bill 1892 and Senate Bill 1896, out of the Senate chamber this past week to improve Veteran services and protect the security of judges.  My other bills are making their way through the legislative process.

As of May 1, a total of 37 Senate bills and 5 House bills have passed.  This is in contrast to the 5,863 bills that were actually filed by the 181 members of the Legislature.  However, most legislation passes in the last 30 days of session.  We are busy monitoring and analyzing legislation in preparation for the rush of bills that will be considered for votes in the last 26 days.

I look forward to being back in the District to continue our work together in making Senate 6 a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Putting People First,
Sylvia

   

Sylvia Garcia Campaign
P.O. Box 8530, Houston, TX 77249-8530
http://www.sylviaforsenate.com

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Paid for by Sylvia Garcia Campaign; Roland Garcia, Treasurer