Rep. Brown visits Chandler
by Kelly Griffith

State Representative Betty Brown admits this has been one of her most troublesome sessions in the House of Representatives so far, but the 68- year-old state representative believes significant progress was made. "I would like you to know things don't always run so smoothly in the House of Representatives, but we made it through," Brown said during her Legislative Update in Chandler last Tuesday night, July 31. +

But Brown (R-HD4) said she's happy with many of the bills passed and even more happy to be home.

Budget calls were the first topic discussed. House Bill I states that the 2008-09 biennium budget totaled just more than $152 billion which was an increase of 3.5 percent per year. "This increase represents a fiscally conservative use of the taxpayer's money," Brown said.

The state's Rainy Day Fund will be increased to $7 billion by the end of 2009. A citizen asked what exactly was the `rainy day fund' for citing the stress that the results of hurricane Katrina brought to the economy. The Rainy Day Fund should be used in disaster cases such as Katrina. Brown also used the example of 9-11; Texas did not raise taxes like most states after Sept. 11 to make up for a lack in the economy.

"Texas instead cut expenditures, " Brown said, "which made us so much better off down the road."

HB 735 eliminated the telecom- munications fund which resulted in a savings of $600 million of the taxpayers' money.

HB 2 concerning property tax reduction extended property tax cuts to senior citizens and disabled homeowners who were previously not eligible for such.

HB 109 addressed health and human services. The bill makes the Children's Health Insurance Program CHIP, more efficient and effective, Brown said. CHIP is designed to help families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance for their children, and lately many have been turned away for not meeting specific requirements.

The bill extends the enrollment period to 12 months, eliminates the 90-day waiting period for most children, increases the asset limit from $5,000 to $10,000 per household, increases the amount cars can be worth when determining eligibility and allows childcare expenses to be deducted from the household income when determining whether children are eligible for the program. All of these amendments will make it easier for the families trying to insure their child's well-being, Brown said. The bill will be effective as of September 1.

"We are getting criticized for giving more to CHIP but if we don't the people turned away become more sick and wind up in the hospitals costing us more money," she said.

The Child Protective Services reform put more emphasis on placing a child with a family member. The reform is to make the transition easier for the child, reduce the time spent in foster care and in the event that the birth parent becomes able to care for the child again, the process of reuniting the two is easier.

Additional funding will also be given to the program to support early intervention.

Brown was pleased to say local bills and requests were passed such as HB 401, which began over a Brownsboro case involving student/ teacher relations. This led to the amendment of the Penal Code concerning sexual offense to include that the use of text messaging or any other electronic message service or device to commit such an offense is punishable by law, so there is no longer any question about such crimes.

HB 8, also known as the Jessica Lunsford Act, was passed giving sexual offenders of children 14 and under a minimum sentence of 25 years with no chance of parole. The bill also requires sex offenders who were convicted more than twice of failing to properly register as a sex offender to wear Global Positioning System devices on their ankles for five years following their release from prison, or for 10 years for those deemed sexual predators.

Also making a second conviction a capital offense. The bill is modeled after a Florida state law known as Jessica's Law. It is named for Jessica Lunsford, a nine-year-old Florida girl who was abducted, raped and killed in February of 2005 by a convicted sex offender. Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford played a major role in shedding light on the case and leading to the development of the act's being proposed as a law at the national level.

"We have to take care of the children, " Brown said.

Legislation has also aimed at reducing the divorce rates through premarital education courses. Courses already exist and many are free through churches. The fiscal incentives encourage more couples to participate by waiving the marriage application fee.

The Castle Doctrine was also passed giving Texans the right to defend yourself against intruders or offenders in your own home or vehicle without retreat. The doctrine clarifies the use of deadly force in selfdefense and reduces the probability that a law-abiding citizen could be charged with a crime for his or her own home and family.

SB 792 placed a two-year moratorium on all CDAs including the Trans Texas Corridor and also states all future toll projects must be locally owned.

HB 2859 will require TxDOT to create rules establishing and administering a memorial sign program to memorialize victims of vehicle accidents involving alcohol or a controlled substance. Any operator under the influence would not be eligible for this memorial. The memorial would include "Please don't drink and drive. In memory of ..." (the victim's name and the date of the victim's death). Requests for the memorials may be made by submitting a form to TxDOT and paying a fee set by the agency to cover the cost of the program.

Public school and education issues were among the items discussed.

Steroid use among high school athletes led UIL to request a law for mandatory and random tests in schools and the bill was passed.

Schools will need to offer an elective course on the Old or New Testament or one course teaching both since the House Bill 1287 was passed. The reason behind the bill was not to sway the students' beliefs, Brown said, but because literature contains so many references to the Bible. Brown used the Golden Rule as an example and stressed that the course will be offered as an elective; it's not mandatory.

HB 3678 was a clarification of a student's First Amendment rights and how they are allowed to express their religious beliefs in an appropriate manner.

"If a student is on the playground talking to their friend and they want to mention God, they can," Brown said. "Hallelujah."

Homeland Security was also addressed by SB 11 which establishes a state-wide mutual aid system that allows local law enforcement and emergency services to interact and share resources easier.

Voter protection and election integrity caused a stir in the House of Representatives. A bill that would require voters to have a photo ID or two types of non-photo ID before being allowed to vote was not passed.

HB 218, a bill Brown strongly believed in was not passed. Citizens at the meeting questioned the opposition's reasoning.

"They accused us of trying to suppress the vote," Brown said, "to keep people from coming to vote, they mainly spoke of the elderly."

Explaining how many senior citizens may no longer drive, they wouldn't have a driver's license. Brown's response to this excuse was that they may get an ID, and in the case that they could not afford one, one would be provided free of charge.

Though this bill was not favorable to the majority, HB 2247 did pass with no objection. The bill states that the voter registration of a deceased person or non-citizen must be cancelled, meaning the dead may no longer vote.