Representative Villarreal Outlines His Victories from the 80th Legislative Session

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Governor Signed Bills on Early Education, Fair Lending, Nursing Education and More

Austin – Following Governor Rick Perry's announcement of approved and vetoed bills, Representative Mike Villarreal (D-San Antonio) outlined several of his key victories in the recently concluded 80th Legislative Session.

"Our efforts paid off, and will support hard-working Texans on several fronts," stated Rep. Villarreal.

Investing in Education:

·         Ensuring School Safety:  Governor Perry signed Senate Bill 1504, legislation that Representative Villarreal authored to improve safety measures in schools that are in close proximity to railroad tracks.  The bill was one of several railroad safety proposals that Rep. Villarreal filed after meeting with San Antonio residents to discuss the train derailment that occurred in downtown San Antonio in October 2006.

·         Promoting Recess: Rep. Villarreal authored a successful measure requiring local school officials to establish an elementary school recess policy.

·         Expanding Pre-K for Foster Children: Rep. Villarreal passed House Bill 482 through the House, and the Legislature adopted a broader version to expand pre-kindergarten access to foster children.

·         Preserving Access to Our State Universities: Rep. Villarreal was a leader in building a bipartisan coalition that successfully preserved the Top Ten automatic college admissions policy.  This critical law has expanded access to state universities for students from traditionally under-represented communities.

Promoting Self-Reliance for Working Families:

·         Winning with Working Parents:  A group of working moms from San Antonio teamed up with Representative Villarreal to tackle difficulties they encountered in the state’s child care regulations.  Rep. Villarreal's HB 1385 made it through the political process and will provide a safe and effective way for employers to establish on-site child care for their employees.

·         Securing Fair Loans: The Governor also signed HB 1344, a bill that Rep. Villarreal authored to establish disclosure and registration requirements for providers of Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs).  By regulating these loans, Rep. Villarreal seeks to ensure that working families can pocket more of the tax refunds they have earned. 

·         Improving Workers Compensation : The state budget includes a provision authored by Villarreal to improve workers compensation reporting requirements.

·         Fighting for Homeowners: He led the effort to make property taxes more fair for middle-class homeowners by requiring real estate sales price disclosure.  Though powerful interest groups blocked the bill, Villarreal built statewide support and will continue to lead on this issue into the next legislative session. 

Improving Access to Health Care:

·         Addressing Our Nursing Shortage: Villarreal co-authored HB 2426, the Sunset Bill for the Board of Nurses Examiners, and crafted a provision to expand access to nursing education. 

·         Protecting Women’s Rights: As the Co-Chair of the Women's Health Caucus, he played a key role in debates about maintaining and expanding women's rights and access to medical care. 

Building Blocks for the Next Legislative Session:

Numerous amendments by Rep. Villarreal were approved by the House of Representatives during this legislative session but did not ultimately become law.  These amendments would have promoted energy efficiency in public schools, developed ways to increase pre-kindergarten enrollment among eligible children, allowed a new grant fund to support Volunteer Income Tax Assistance centers that serve low-income workers, and taken other important steps.  These amendments laid the groundwork for further progress in the next session on efficient and renewable energy, early childhood education, self-sufficiency for working families.

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