88th legislature

AUSTIN, Texas - Educate Texas wants to see more state funding for teacher residency programs, similar to the one set up by UT-Rio Grande Valley and Harlingen CISD.

In an exclusive audio interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, Ryan Franklin spoke in-depth about the topic. Franklin is senior director for policy and advocacy at Educate Texas.

“With regard to the retention for teachers, we really think it's important to invest in educator preparation. We saw, statewide, that almost 30 percent of the newly hired teachers last school year entered the classroom with no certification or preparation whatsoever,” Franklin said.

“I think most people were surprised to hear that. The state has very flexible policies and when we allow people in the classroom who are underprepared that ends up creating a revolving door of vacancies.

“So we think by investing in stronger preparation models, like teacher residencies, that this will create a better prepared workforce of teachers who are more likely to stay in the classroom longer and who won't be moving on and jumping out to the next thing.”

Franklin said Educate Texas has seen some positive results from teacher residency programs around the state in a variety of places. 

“There's really encouraging work going on in partnerships between UTRGV and Harlingen CISD. We think these models should include state investment to put them on the fast track and get more candidates trained in these high quality preparation routes.”

Asked if education policy makers should be paying attention to what is happening in the Valley, Franklin said:

“We do. We think that the Valley is often a place where we see lots of educational innovation and we're seeing it with these teacher residency programs and these strong partnerships where those who are preparing teachers and those who are hiring future teachers are working together to get a well prepared workforce where those candidates have hands on experience, and they're ready to hit the ground running as a teacher on day one.

“So, we've seen good evidence and good indications of what this can look like in the Valley and we think it's time for the state to learn from those models and help expand and grow those so that we have every student in the state able to benefit from a well-prepared teacher.”

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - State Sen. Eddie Lucio recently held a pro-school choice event in Brownsville.

Veteran broadcaster Ron Whitlock, of Ron Whitlock Reports, interviewed Lucio afterwards. Here is an audio recording of the interview.

Editor's Note: The interview took place before Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to add public school finance to the call of the current special legislative session.

Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service website to read a guest column from Lucio on school choice.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - State Sen. Morgan LaMantia believes homeowners and businesses based along the Texas Gulf Coast are having to pay too much for property insurance.

Because of the threat of hurricanes and severe storms, regular insurance premiums are very high. So, the Sate of Texas provided an alternative way to have property along the coast insured. 

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is the insurer of last resort, offering windstorm and hail insurance to home and commercial property owners who cannot get this coverage in the regular market due to the risk of catastrophic hurricanes.

LaMantia, D-South Padre Island, spoke about TWIA at a 88th Legislature Update Luncheon hosted recently by Brownsville Chamber of Commerce. She admitted that efforts to put more money into TWIA - so that property insurance rates along the coast could drop - had failed during the recent legislative session. 

LaMantia said: “We also worked on the cost of living. TWIA is a huge issue for our areas on the coast. And it's another cost that the rest of the state doesn't have. And we're trying to bring those costs down and, no, we weren't as successful as we wanted to be in really reestablishing how TWIA is funded.”

LaMantia said the Legislature will revisit the issue next session. 

“And so it is something we will continue to work on next session. Because when your wind insurance costs are higher than your property taxes… it is a huge burden not just for our families and homeowners, but for local businesses and for other businesses that can't come into our community as well.”

LaMantia said the State of Texas should do more to help homeowners and businesses based on the coast. 

“With so much tourism going on in our coastal communities, that benefits the rest of the state. We need the rest of the state's help funding TWIA and bringing those costs down for us as well,” she said.

Here is an audio recording of everything Sen. LaMantia said at the Brownsville Chamber event.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - State Rep. Erin Gamez said the regular session of the 88th Legislature was “incredible.”

The Brownsville Democrat said she and her staff “did a lot of amazing things.”

In remarks at Brownsville Chamber of Commerce’s 88th Legislative Update Luncheon, Gamez highlighted her work to help Brownsville keep more of its hotel occupancy taxes for the purpose of redevelopment of its downtown.

“This session was incredible. I still can't believe that it is my second real session, but we did a lot of amazing things,” Gamez said.

“I want to take a minute to talk in particular about how excited we are for the renovations that are going on in downtown Brownsville. In particular, one bill that I'm extremely excited about that I could not have done without Senator (Morgan) LaMantia and without the support of my colleagues is our Qualified Hotel Projects Zone that we've worked on.”

Gamez said many Brownsville and Cameron County leaders came to the state Capitol to support this legislation. At the Brownsville Chamber event she gave a shoutout to Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Brownsville City Manager Helen Ramirez, and Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr.

“Thank you to everyone that came up and advocated for this legislation. Brownsville is now going to be on the map with the rest of the big cities we see in Texas. Like, if anyone's gone to Houston and stayed at a hotel near Minute Maid Park or near NRG. If you take out your bill and you look at it you'll see that you're in some sort of investment zone.”

With the new legislation championed by Gamez and LaMantia, Brownsville will have the same opportunity to recoup hotel occupancy tax just like Houston.

“So now, in downtown Brownsville, we will have our first Tax Incremental Reinvestment Zone downtown that is estimated to generate and keep in Brownsville an estimated $80 million for the development of downtown Brownsville, as opposed to it being sent back to the state,” Gamez said.

“I can assure you in the next decade the city of Brownsville will have the tools to change the face of Brownsville unlike anything we've ever seen before, and it's going to happen in our lifetime.”

Here is an audio recording of Rep. Gamez’s remarks at the Brownsville Chamber event.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - State Rep. Janie Lopez says that when appearing at legislative wrap-up events, there is a good reason she does not talk as much as her colleagues in the Rio Grande Valley Legislative delegation.

Appearing at the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce’s 88th Legislative Update Luncheon, Lopez apologized for having to read her speech.

“I’m the non-attorney here. They can talk forever, right? I'm a mental health professional. I listen. Very different. So I thank you for your time and this opportunity to speak with you. I thank you for letting me serve you in Austin,” Lopez said, in her closing remarks.

Lopez, R-San Benito, appeared on stage with state Sen. Morgan LaMantia, D-South Padre Island, state Rep. Oscar Longoria, D-La Joya, and state Rep. Erin Gamez, D-Brownsville. All three of Lopez’s colleagues are attorneys.

In her speech, Lopez spoke about the importance of bipartisanship in Austin and some of the programs that will be helped thanks to the newly-passed $144.13 billion state budget. She also spoke about property tax relief.

“My all time favorite (piece of legislation) is dedicating $18 billion to much needed property tax relief for all property owners,” Lopez said. “I want to give a special thanks to Speaker Phelan for including me as a member of the Property Tax Select Committee, as well as Governor Abbott for hearing about the homestead exemption needs that we have down here in South Texas.”

Lopez continued: “The burden property tax is a pressing issue that resonates with many Texans. As citizens we face the unsettling possibility of being taxed out of our homes, while potential homebuyers are challenged by soaring property taxes. So to address these concerns, we passed Senate Bill 2 and HJR 2 which represents the most extensive property tax reduction initiative in Texas history. This remarkable legislation brings a staggering $18 billion in relief while complementing the state budget.”

Here is an audio recording of Rep. Lopez’s remarks at the Brownsville Chamber event.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

WESLACO, Texas - State Rep. Terry Canales recently brought good news to the Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization.

At an RGVMPO board meeting, the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation spoke about a large infusion of funds for the eagerly-awaited International Bridge Trade Corridor (IBTC), a project that will ensure a safer route for trucks going to and from the Pharr International Bridge and the Donna International Bridge.

“It was at the forefront of my legislative agenda to secure that funding, especially with a budget surplus of over $30 billion,” Canales said, in an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service. 

Canales said he fought to secure $200 million for the IBTC project. He ended up with $150 million, for which the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority is grateful. He said he won support in the legislature by stressing that developing the IBTC was good for border security.

“Earlier this week we got the news that the Governor was making an announcement that they were going to pull $150 million out of the discretionary funding, which would bring us this go round in the UTP (Unified Transportation Plan) to almost $3.6 billion. When you look at that in the grand scheme of things, the Valley in its entirety used to get about $600 million. We are over 500 percent from $600 million to 3.6 billion. It's an incredible leap in funding.”

Canales said one of the reasons the Valley is now getting more transportation dollars was the creation of a unified MPO. Previously there were three, Hidalgo County, Brownsville, and Harlingen-San Benito.

“We are now the fifth largest MPO. We are fifth in line for funding. It creates a funding stream like we've never seen.”

Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service website. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

LA JOYA, Texas - State Rep. Oscar Longoria has responded to criticism from a local teachers group about his votes this legislative session.

The La Joya chapter of the American Federation of Teachers went public with their disappointment in the hopes that the lawmaker would not support a school vouchers bill. The bill could be heard on the House floor as early as today.

Longoria, D-La Joya, gave his response in an audio interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International New Service from the state Capitol.

“I represent a diverse district, all the way from Sullivan City to Brownsville. So I try to take my votes based on what makes the most sense for the district and what is sound policy,” Longoria said.

Brenda Salinas, president La Joya AFT, explained why her group is upset with Longoria.

"Earlier this year, La Joya ISD nearly closed two elementary schools. The reasoning: Our district has lost an estimated $79,880,680 to the expansion of for-profit charter schools in our area in just the past few years,” Salinas said.

“We saved those school employee jobs because the community spoke out. Where was Rep. Longoria, who represents those employees and their families? He was in Austin, voting against this community again and again.”

Salinas said Longoria voted for a bill that would “make it easier for charter schools to move into our community and defund our neighborhood public schools.”

This audio comprises Rep. Longoria's response.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas - Ron Mills, Willacy County Navigation District’s port director, won a round of applause when he said Port Mansfield is about to bring 500 to 700 high-paying jobs to the county. 

The reason the jobs are coming, Mills said, is because Port Mansfield has signed contracts with 11 companies that want to develop the port. He said Port Mansfield is being transformed from a sleepy fishing village to a commercial maritime hub for vessels coming from Mexico.

The reason for the transformation? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently dredged the port’s ship channel so it can now take ocean-going vessels. The Texas Department of Transportation is also making a significant investment, Mills said, to ensure that heavy trucks are kept outside of the residential areas.

Mills spoke about the transformation of Port Mansfield during the Rio Grande Valley Partnership’s 2023 Valley Legislative Tour. In his speech, Mills pointed out that Gov. Greg Abbott has made investment at sea ports a priority for the 88th Legislature.

Here is an audio recording of Mills’ remarks to the visiting state legislators and policymakers.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.