Legislators mull over windstorm insurance bill

With the start of hurricane season, State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, said it was supposed to have been an opportunity for legislators to stop playing political games with the future of the Texas coast and get down to business. But HB 3 continues the games.

“House Bill 3 was supposed to be about our legislative response to TWIA’s incompetence. Policyholders should have been the ultimate beneficiary of this legislation. Unfortunately, it is special interests, not public priorities that have shaped this bill. Coastal residents continue to be the victims of a broken process,” Lucio said.

The senator noted that lawmakers need to place a much higher value on protecting coastal rights. He said that Texas handles the second largest volume of foreign and domestic cargo in the United States and that the ports are the gateway to our economic prosperity.

“It is the coast that makes Texas possible. Therefore, we owe it to coastal residents to put them first, ensuring that they have the same rights as other insurance policy holders in the state,” Lucio said.

Lucio Jr. also addressed the passage of SB1.

“School finance is about how we fund the future. SB 1 is the mechanism behind $5.4 billion dollars in cuts, and it undermines the historic assumptions of our school finance system. Texas has dealt with hard times before and has always managed to find ways to meet the obligations owed to our schoolchildren,” he said.

“However, Senate Bill 1 revolutionizes of our school finance system from one where we ask ‘what is needed?’ to one where we ask, ‘what is available under the current political climate?’”

He also noted that SB 1 allows funding formulas to be meddled with outside of a school finance bill. “Instead, school finance is now combined with the budget process. That means we are moving school finance from the safety of statute to the mercy of primary politics — housed behind the closed doors of the conference committee. The result in 2013 will be the same as it is today — big cuts to our future, the brunt of which are bore by our poorest school districts,” he said.

State Rep. J.M. Lozano, D-Kingsville, said that 12 of 14 bills requested by his constituents were signed into law.

They are:

1. HB 3422 – Relating to the use of auction proceeds from the sale of abandoned motor vehicles, watercraft or outboard motors to compensate certain property owners.

2. HB 3423 – Relating to certain criminal offenses committed in relation to a federal special investigator; providing criminal penalties.

3. SB 508 – Relating to the extent of extraterritorial jurisdiction of certain less populous municipalities located on a barrier island.

4. SB 509 – Relating to the validation of a home-rule charter for certain municipalities.

5. SB 554 – Relating to contracts between dentists and health maintenance organizations or insurers.

6. SB 910 – Relating to certain state attorneys called into active duty military service.

7. SB 125 – Relating to the applicability of certain restrictions on the location and operation of concrete crushing facilities.

8. SB 131 – Relating to the designation of certain highways as part of the Purple Heart Trail.

9. SB 58 – Relating to the designation of segments of State Highway 359, State Highway 16 and State Highway 285 as the Veterans of the Korean War Memorial Highway.

10. SB 514 – Relating to the acquisition of land and facilities by the Texas State Technical College System.

11. Limiting agriculture landowner liability from injury or harm to a trespasser as a result of the actions of law enforcement. (Amendment to SB 1160)

12. Relating to the disposition of fines for traffic violations collected by certain counties and municipalities. (Amendment to HB 1517)

U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, whose district covers a portion of Cameron County, said that reforms to the student loan program to make college more affordable went into effect July 1. The interest rate of need-based student loans dropped to 3.4 percent. Hinojosa said the average graduate of the class of 2012 will have saved $2,570 over the life of their loan.

“We must invest in our students who are this country’s future by making higher education more affordable and accessible,” Hinojosa said. “These are tough economic times for everyone, but we should all help students to succeed. Their success will keep our country competitive in the global economy. This drop in the interest rate is just one way to help them out.”

Additional reforms for student borrowers, passed under Democratic leadership, include:

 Historic investments in Pell Grants: The Pell Grant scholarship for the upcoming school year will remain at $5,550. In the upcoming school year, 9.4 million students are expected to rely on Pell Grants to help pay for college. (For a breakdown of district-by-district Pell Grant data, click here.)

 Income-based repayment (IBR): Under IBR, borrowers are required to pay no more than 15 percent of any discretionary income (15 percent of what a borrower earns above 150 percent of the poverty level for their family size). After 25 years of lower payments, borrowers’ remaining loan balances, including interest, will be completely forgiven. Starting in 2014, new borrowers who are eligible for income-based repayment will be able to cap their monthly loan payments at 10 percent of their discretionary income. Borrowers who responsibly make their monthly payments will see their remaining balance forgiven after 20 years of repayment.

 Public service loan forgiveness: This program provides loan forgiveness to college graduates who enter public service professions after 10 years of public service and federal student loan repayments. Eligible public servants include firefighters, public defenders and prosecutors, first responders, law enforcement officers, early childhood educators and men and women serving in the military, and others.