Good News for TSU

Texas Southern University is an asset to our community and to the state of Texas. In its 60 year history, TSU has presented over 48,000 degrees, and has trained the majority of teachers for the Houston Independent School District. On that note, I am happy to share that TSU's accrediting body has taken the school off probation. Included below is an article by the Houston Chronicle detailing this important step for the University.

I applaud President John Rudley and TSU administrators for their hard work in moving TSU forward. I will continue to keep you up to date on TSU and the progress of our efforts, as I continue to work on the long-term success, independence and prosperity of Texas Southern University.


TSU gets good news
Accrediting agency takes it off probation

By JEANNIE KEVER
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
June 26, 2009, 7:18AM

Texas Southern University cleared a major hurdle in recruiting and fundraising Thursday when its accrediting body agreed to take the school off probation.

"It's a big deal," said President John Rudley, who took office in January 2008, one month after the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed TSU on probation for a series of financial and management missteps.

The impact is mainly symbolic: Parents who were reluctant to send their children to TSU because its accreditation was in doubt now can feel secure, Rudley said.

"The value of our degrees has been affirmed," he said.

Belle Wheelan, president of the association's commission on colleges, said her board voted to lift the probation Thursday morning, two days after Rudley and a team of TSU administrators presented evidence of their progress.

Rudley announced the news to his school's board of regents soon after.

Federal aid for students

Accreditation offers some evidence that a school's academic programs are sufficiently rigorous; without it, students don't qualify for federal financial aid.

Gregory Maddox, interim dean of the TSU graduate school and a member of the administrative team that worked to end the probation, said he never thought the school actually would lose accreditation.

"But it certainly has been bad for morale," he said. "Now we can go about the business of being a university. We're not under the burden of having to constantly prove what we're doing."

The biggest step came earlier this year, when auditors were able to complete their tally of the school's financial position. That took almost two years — the first firm hired for the job gave up because the financial records from previous years were in such a mess.

The financial problems and shoddy recordkeeping were highlighted when Rudley's predecessor, Priscilla Slade, was accused of spending $500,000 in school money on herself. She is on probation.

Rudley said the school would have an annual outside audit for the next five years to ensure its finances remain clear.

"We don't ever want to get in that position again," he said.

Now, he said, TSU can go about the business of being "a normal university."

That doesn't mean no problems. The TSU library is inadequate for a school of its size and ambition, but the Legislature didn't approve a request for $46 million in tuition revenue bonds to build and furnish a new one. Only the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston was authorized to issue tuition revenue bonds, used for university construction, during the session that ended this month.

That will be TSU's top priority when the next session begins in 2011, Rudley said.

Boost to recruiting

A 4 percent increase in state funding for the next two years will allow the school to address other issues, he said.

"We can handle things in a more logical fashion."

Chris Le Blanc, president of the TSU National Alumni Association, said the deci- sion will boost his group's efforts to recruit students and will help in fundraising, as well.

"It was difficult to convince a parent to send a well-prepared, academically sound student to the university," he said. "Now, that should no longer be the case. ... This is a wonderful day for the alumni family."

jeannie.kever@chron.com

Urging Governor to Include CHIP in Upcoming Special Session

Moments ago, I sent a letter to Governor Perry urging him to include legislation regarding the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the upcoming special session. The letter was signed by a total of seventy five House Members who understand that our children's health is a priority. To see a copy of the letter and the list of members who signed it, click here.

Texas is first in the nation when it comes to children without health insurance. One in four Texas children is uninsured. CHIP legislation has broad support from the business, faith and advocacy communities.

Both the House and Senate passed bipartisan, collaborative CHIP legislation during the 81st Regular Session that would have insured 80,000 Texas children. The CHIP legislation would have implemented a sliding scale to cover uninsured kids with working parents earning from 200 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, and included strict language to ensure that private health insurance would not be substituted by CHIP coverage.

The CHIP legislation requires personal responsibility since families covered under these provisions will have to pay co-payments and monthly premiums. These families will contribute more than the state to the CHIP buy-in created in this bill.

The upcoming special session has given us a critical opportunity to consider this unfinished business which will help children from working families. We must show Texans that children are our top priority.

The San Antonio Express News and Fort Worth Star Telegram have both written editorials urging the Governor to include CHIP in the upcoming special session. You can read those editorials here, here, and here.

Marriage Equality: On the Right Side of History

You may have read today that a new poll shows that 57% of Texans support either civil unions or marriage rights for GLBT Texans. The poll results are heartening; among every demographic listed in the poll (including Republicans), a majority of Texans support either civil unions or marriage rights for same-sex couples.

I didn't need a public opinion poll to tell me to fight for same-sex marriage and civil unions. That's why immediately after the 2005 passage of Texas' constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions, I filed a constitutional amendment to take back to the voters a repeal of that discriminatory constitutional amendment. Public opinion about marriage rights for same-sex couples is trending more and more supportive every year, and if we all keep working together, change will come sooner than later.

You can find the poll by clicking here or read a story in the Houston Chronicle about the poll here. I promise to keep you updated on these issues and will continue fighting for equality and fairness for GLBT Texans in the Texas House.

Governor's Veto of HB 3485

It is disappointing that Governor Perry vetoed this important piece of legislation. With the addition of the amendment allowing certain rural public hospitals to employ physicians, this bill would have ensured access to physician coverage across rural Texas. Rural public hospitals in Texas find it more and more difficult to attract physicians to their communities and retain them. Many physicians entering practice today prefer an employee relationship, rather than having the responsibility and burden of setting up and managing a small business. H.B. 3485 gave rural public hospitals and physicians who want to practice in rural Texas flexibility. Having the option to employ physicians would have helped rural hospitals improve and preserve access to physicians. Without physicians, these hospitals will not continue to exist.

The Governor alleges that an amendment was added in the final days of session that was neither debated nor discussed. However, prior to concurring with all of the Senate amendments I had multiple conversations with the Governor's office, one of them with Sen. Ken Armbrister, the Governor's Legislative Director, as well as another member of the Governor's staff.

To be clear - I told the Governor's staff that the amendment in question could be removed if it created any sort of problem or if it jeopardized the passage of this important legislation. Sen. Armbrister assured me that the Governor was fine with the amendment and therefore fine with the overall bill. Tort reform groups were also contacted to assuage any concerns, with their assurances that the groups were neutral on the bill. To Sen. Armbrister's credit, he did call today to inform me of the governor reversing his position.

The worst part is, the only losers with this veto are the people of the state of Texas and the various counties, with no gain or loss to the tort reform movement.

Aside from providing an incentive for physicians to move to rural areas, the bill contained many important policy matters related to county governance. Further information about the content of the bill will be forthcoming, for more information please do not hesitate to contact us. For additional comments on the governor's vetoes and more information on HB 3484 please feel free contact us at (512) 463-0524.

Governor's Veto of SB 2468

It shouldn't be a surprise that Governor Perry would veto a bill that closed the revolving door of employees on the local level where individuals have rotated in and out of county government and the private sector. These actions send a bad message to Texans when it appears that their government works for the highest bidder instead of its own constituents.

It could be possible that Governor Perry does not want to draw attention to his own office's revolving door. He calls the legislation a piecemeal approach to the issue of county lobbying and claims he wants to avoid creating differing and confusing standards of ethical conduct. This leaves only the standard that his own office has set, which is that of a revolving door. Ethical behavior in one area of government shouldn't have to wait for the rest of the state to catch up.

I think the Governor is well aware of these circumstances given the number of employees he has had that have rotated from the public sector, to the private sector and back again. He vetoed this bill on the same day he named a former lobbyist that was a former employee of his to his chief of staff position(1, 2).

At least 17 former Perry aides are now registered lobbyists according to a Dallas Morning News report (3). This includes a former state representative that formed a lobby firm, left to be Governor Perry's chief of staff from 2002 - 2004, and then returned to his lobby practice (4). He was followed by another former state representative that had become a lobbyist and returned to serve as legislative director until returning to the private sector.(5)

Sources:
1. Press Release: Gov. Perry Names Sullivan Chief of Staff, http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/12606/
2. Texas Ethics Commission Registration, Ray Sullivan, http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/tedd/lobcon2009d.htm
3. Dallas Morning News, Jan 6, 2009 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/longterm/stories/010609dnproson1revolve.2c8f642.html
4. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/01-09/0104PRO_toomey.pdf
5. http://governor.state.tx.us/news/appointment/5098/

81st Regular Session of the Texas Legislature has Ended

Rep. Coleman Successfully Passes 31 Pieces of Legislation

During the 81st Regular Session, Rep. Garnet F. Coleman successfully passed 31 pieces of legislation to improve health care for Texas families, improve the quality of higher education in our state, address Ike damage, protect the environment, safeguard our children, reform our criminal justice system, make county government more effective and efficient, and promote economic development in Houston.

From the Desk of Representative Coleman:

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to continue serving you in the Texas House of Representatives.

One of my proudest accomplishments this session was passing legislation that will allow public hospitals in rural Texas to hire physicians directly. Believe it or not, Texas hospitals are currently not allowed to employ doctors directly. Consequently, physicians are burdened with the cost of opening their own practice, resulting in a shortage of physicians in many parts of the state. The statutory changes made this session which allow for the direct employment of physicians by certain public hospitals, will increase access to hospital based primary care and specialists for much of rural Texas, and save physicians the cost of opening a practice. [Sadly, upon the completion of this document, the Governor vetoed this legislation. Additional information on the veto will follow]. I was pleased to joint-author passing legislation that will let the University of Houston compete for state funds to achieve tier one status. The establishment of more top tier research institutions in Texas is something I have long advocated for. I also secured funds for Houston-area institutions of higher education to cover damages incurred by hurricane Ike.

Along with our victories, came some disappointments as well.

I authored and worked extensively on legislation relating to the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which would have insured 80,000 Texas children from working families. Although this legislation passed out of the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, unfortunate action by the Governor, conservative Republicans, and Senate leaders caused this bill to die in a Senate committee. I also filed legislation to prevent the Texas Medical Center, Inc. from using their power of eminent domain to take private homes. Although my legislation did not pass, I made sure that language which would have established a constitutional right for TMC, Inc. to take residential property was removed from a constitutional amendment. I am also disheartened by the failure of legislation that I authored which would have protected religious freedom, to be called for a vote on the Senate floor. Other important legislation that did not pass this session included bills that would have ensured dignity for all students, helped working families, and provided necessary protections to Texas workers.

Below are some of the highlights of the bills I successfully passed this session. Legislation that does not complete the legislative process can be equally important to the policy debate as legislation that does pass. In the coming days I will send you additional information on legislation that unfortunately did not make it, which I will continue to work on in the future.

Fighting for Better Health Care for All Texans

Rep. Coleman sponsored SB 1500 by Senator Duncan, which allows certain rural hospitals throughout Texas to employ physicians. Currently, Texas is one of the few states where most doctors must be self-employed, even if they work at hospitals. Because physicians must set up their own practice in order to work in rural Texas, these parts of the state report difficulty in attracting physicians to work in their communities. This is partially due to the high costs of paying back student loans and the inability to afford the high overhead which comes with maintaining a private office - if they work for a hospital they don't have to worry about that overhead. Major portions of SB 1500 were amended by Sen. Duncan into HB 3485, authored and passed by Rep. Coleman. Included was language that will allow nearly 100 additional public hospitals in counties of less than 50,000 to employ doctors. This important legislation will increase access to both hospital based primary care and specialists for much of rural Texas.[Unfortunately, just moments ago, we were informed by the Governor's office that Governor Perry vetoed HB 3485, which included similar language from SB 1500].

Rep. Kolkhorst and Rep. Coleman joint-sponsored SB 7, authored by Sen. Nelson. SB 7 will improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program in Texas. This bill will update health information technology to simplify the claims process and prevent errors. Portions of SB 7 were amended to SB 203, authored by Sen. Shapleigh, and sponsored by Rep. Coleman.

• HB 4506, authored by Rep. Coleman, called for the mandatory screening of newborns for sickle-cell trait. This will allow parents to make healthy decisions for their children, and will also allow the Department of State Health Services to screen for other disorders they deem necessary. This bill was successfully amended to HB 1672, which passed, and was authored by Rep. Crownover.

• HB 2965, authored by Rep. Coleman, updates the charge for medical records to reflect hospitals' current practice of providing medical records electronically. The language of this bill was amended to HB 4029, which passed, and was authored by Rep. Marquez.

• SB 1058/HB 4504, companion bills authored by Sen. Uresti and Rep. Coleman, enable the legislature to better assess patient safety and the effectiveness of state boards that oversee health care professionals. SB 1058 passed and was sponsored by Rep. Coleman.

• SB 203, which passed, was authored by Sen. Shapleigh and sponsored by Rep. Coleman. This bill will help reduce rates of infection at health care facilities by requiring the facilities to report the incidence of surgical site infections.

• SB 532/HB 2709, companion bills authored by Sen. Patrick and Rep. Coleman, improve access to affordable health care services, assure continuity of care, and strengthen the health care team through the establishment of more retail clinics. SB 532 passed and was sponsored by Rep. Coleman.

• SB 1476/HB 3469, companion bills authored by Sen. Ellis and Rep. Coleman, will increase eye and vision services at community health centers by allowing these centers to recruit and retain optometrists by offering these doctors health insurance and other benefits only available to employees. SB 1476 passed and was sponsored by Rep. Coleman.

• HB 3012, authored and passed by Rep. Coleman and sponsored by Senators Ellis, will educate and inform food handlers about food safety and will enable them to adopt best practices to protect the public.

Improving the Quality of Higher Education

Texas currently has only two public universities classified as tier one institutions even though we have the second highest population in the nation. Texas students deserve more nationally respected options. The Legislative Study Group, a House Caucus that Rep. Coleman chairs, released a report in May 2007, highlighting the need for more institutions of tier one status across Texas.

• HB 51, which passed, was authored by Rep. Branch and joint-authored by Rep. Coleman. This bill will let the University of Houston, Texas Tech University, the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the University of Texas at El Paso to compete for a new pool of state funds if they can attract major research grants, major endowment gifts, and top research faculty and staff.

• HJR 14, authored and passed by Sen. Duncan, will create the National Research University Fund as an endowed permanent source of funding to enable these emerging research universities to achieve tier one status.

"The development of more top tier universities will open up seats of excellence available for Texas students, and will make our state more nationally and globally competitive," said Rep. Coleman.

Rep. Coleman authored and passed HB 2954, HB 4501, and HB 2961, which will help improve student infrastructure at Texas Southern University and the University of Houston, by allowing a small increase in student fees that were supported by the students of the institutions. These bills will improve the physical and service infrastructures to student services centers at both universities, and will support student athletics at TSU.

Addressing Ike Damage

Hurricane Ike caused significant damage to our state and to our institutions of higher education, including Texas Southern University and the University of Houston. These institutions should be focused on providing the best education to our students, and should not be burdened with costs incurred by natural disasters. This session, Rep. Coleman worked with Speaker Eiland and Chairman Pitts to ensure that funding would be allocated to these universities, along with other Houston area institutions of higher education and UT Medical Branch at Galveston, to cover damages and loss of revenues as a result of natural disasters. HB 4586 proposes exact funding amounts for some institutions for repairs not covered by FEMA or by insurance.

Included in the bill is:
$9,720,192 for Texas Southern University,
$7,339,000 for the University of Houston System Administration,
$1,507,670 for Houston Community College,
$1,000,000 for the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,
$150,000,000 for UT Medical Branch at Galveston.

Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA)

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) serves as the insurer of last resort for residential and commercial property owners of Texas. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the number of property owners insured through TWIA increased exponentially, as other insurers left the market, making it the only option for many residents. This increase is primarily due to the fact that most of the state's largest private insurers stopped writing windstorm policies for the Texas Gulf Coast. Rep. Coleman authored HB 3015 to address the potential loss of general revenue to the state by funding catastrophic storm losses through the issuance of pre-event and post-event public securities issued by the Texas Public Finance Authority. Rep. Coleman's push for the use of bonds resulted in bond language being included into HB 4409, authored by Rep. Taylor, which passed.

Working Towards a More Sustainable Environment

Rep. Coleman also sponsored and passed SB 129, authored by Sen. Ellis. This bill will help increase the availability of hybrid and electric vehicles throughout the state of Texas. The legislation allows Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) to drive at higher speeds and on more roads throughout the state, so Texans in urban and suburban areas can take their NEVs to more destinations in their neighborhoods. The bill also will help the development of three-wheeled enclosed hybrids, by allowing Texans to drive three-wheeled enclosed hybrids with a regular driver's license and in HOV lanes. It also clarifies existing law stating that Texans who drive these vehicles do not need to wear a helmet while driving them.

As he did last session, Rep. Coleman authored sweeping solar energy legislation, HB 3706, that would have created millions in incentives to make solar energy technology more affordable for Texas homeowners and businesses. It would have also allowed Texans to own a piece of their energy future by allowing them to get credit on their electric bills for energy they sell back to the grid. Although this bill did not pass, there were multiple bills filed this session to address this issue, as opposed to just the one bill filed last session by Rep. Coleman. This is an indicator of progress on solar energy legislation. More detailed information on solar legislation will be included in a coming update.

"Solar is good for our environment, creates jobs and helps cut down on utility bills," said Rep. Coleman. "It just makes sense for the Texas Legislature to invest in solar."

Improving County Efficiency throughout the State

• HB 3485, authored by Rep. Coleman, was passed as an omnibus bill that allows counties to administer much needed county services and duties to the general public, along with allowing for the administration of county assistance districts. This bill also, included an amendment that helps small counties recruit new doctors to their area. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed this important legislation.

• SB 1554, which passed, was authored by Senator Gallegos and sponsored by Rep. Coleman. This bill allows a county commissioner to delegate responsibility for the receipt of fees, commissions, and costs, as well as the responsibility for signing the required reports.

• SB 2468, which passed, was authored by Sen. Gallegos and sponsored by Rep. Coleman. This bill will help prevent undue influence from former local and county officials or employees in Harris County by prohibiting them from lobbying in their former workplace for two years.

• HB 3004, authored and passed by Rep. Coleman, allows counties to enforce state standards for animal shelters and permits civil penalties for violations of such standards.

Safeguarding Texas Children

• HB 3385, authored and passed by Rep. Coleman, will protect our children by allowing Amber Alerts to be issued for children in danger of becoming victims of sexual assault. Need for this bill was brought to our attention after officials in Tyler, TX were unable to issue an amber alert after a 23 year-old convicted felon persuaded an 11-year old girl to go with him to Mexico. This bill will guarantee that Texas utilizes resources already in place to ensure that children in danger safely return home.

• Rep. Coleman attached Rider 32 to the Department of Family Protective Services portion of the Appropriations bill to direct the department to maximize federal funding for kinship guardianship programs, which improve the stability of displaced children.

Promoting Economic Development in HD 147 & the City of Houston

• HB 4827 & HB 4828, authored and passed by Rep. Coleman, create Harris County Improvement Districts No. 20 & 21 respectively, which will promote economic development throughout the Greater Palm Center and South Park areas.

• HB 3009, authored and passed by Rep. Coleman, consolidates two management districts in order to save money and improve efficiency.

Reforms to the Criminal Justice System

• HB 3748, authored by Rep. Coleman, would provide law enforcement officers with continued training in crisis intervention techniques meant to deescalate situations that involve individuals with mental impairments. The language of this bill was attached as an amendment to HB 3389, which passed.

• HB 3005, authored by Rep. Coleman will allow juvenile probation officers to request involuntary testing of juveniles suspected of exposing them to certain diseases.

Protecting the Rights of Texans

• SB 52, which passed, was authored by Sen. Zaffirini and sponsored by Rep. Coleman. This bill increases the penalties for illegally parking in a parking space reserved for Texans with disabilities and gives peace officers more tools to prevent the illegal use of disabled parking placards.

• HB 2972, authored and passed by Rep. Coleman, will speed up the survey and licensing process for nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

• HB 3739, authored by Rep. Coleman, gives individuals who are denied access to visit family members' graves recourse by providing a penalty to those who interfere with their access. The language of this bill was amended to HB 1468, authored by Rep. Chisum, and was sent to the Governor.


In the coming days, we will send a detailed update on legislation important to Texas families that although did not pass, but helped to shape the policy debate. Additionally, the coming update will include information relating to funding allocated to Houston area institutions of higher education that were not included here.

Update on National Health Care Reform Legislation

For far too long, Americans have been priced out of insurance or turned away from care that is essential to their health. Texas families need legislation that reduces today's astronomical health care costs and makes health insurance affordable to those who do not have it.

As the national debate on health care reform takes center stage, it is important that state legislators share their experiences grappling with these issues with our nation's leaders.

Today, the Progressive States Network, a national group that I co-chair, led a delegation of state leaders to the White House and Congress to deliver a letter urging comprehensive health care reform within the year. The letter, which was signed by over 700 state legislators from 47 states, including 25 from Texas called for any federal reform bill to include strong affordability protections, shared responsibility for health care costs, and the choice of a public health insurance plan that is available to businesses, individuals, and families.

The letter was hand delivered to the White House by state legislators at an afternoon meeting with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy-Ann DeParle, the head of the White House Office on Health Reform.

As state legislators, we've learned what works and doesn't work, and it is important that we share these lessons with our colleagues in the White House and Congress. It's highly encouraging to see that our nation's leaders are interested in incorporating those lessons so we can move forward together to craft a system where everyone is assured quality, affordable health care.

On behalf of the more than 700 legislators who signed this letter, I thank our nation's leaders for their receptiveness and I offer our active collaboration moving forward.

Texas legislators that signed the letter were: Reps. Allen (Houston), Alonzo (Dallas), Anchia (Dallas), Bolton (Austin), Cohen (Houston), Chair Coleman (Houston), Vice-Chair Dukes (Austin), Chair Dunnam (Waco), Farrar (Houston), Chair Gallego (Apline), Hernandez (Houston), Vice-Chair Herrero (Robstown), Hodge (Dallas), Kent (Dallas), Tracy King (Batesville), Vice-Chair Lucio III (Brownsville), Maldonado (Round Rock), Marquez (El Paso), Vice-Chair Naishtat (Austin), Olivo (Rosenberg), Ortiz Jr. (Corpus Christi), Rodriguez (Austin), Veasey (Fort Worth), Walle (Houston), and Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (San Antonio). The letter and full list of legislative signers can be read here.

I will keep you updated on this important issue as it progresses this year.

Legislature Fails to Pass CHIP

I regret to inform you that the House has adjourned Sine Die without passing CHIP legislation this session.

Unfortunately, CHIP has become a partisan issue, where passage is seen as victory for Democrats and failure deemed a victory for Republicans. In the end, the only losers are Texas children. The reality is, CHIP died when Senate leadership failed to move CHIP out of the Senate Finance Committee. To add insult to injury, Senate members attempted to attach a CHIP amendment to a clearly non-germane bill. The ultimate death came from the Governor, who repeatedly promised to veto legislation that would insure Texas children. I had a conversation with the Governor's office at 4:00 PM, and they reaffirmed the Governor's intention to veto any CHIP legislation. I am deeply disappointed that 80,000 children will now be forced by the Governor and conservative Republican members to go without health insurance. As the Houston Chronicle stated, there are 80,000 reasons to pass and sign this legislation. The 80,00 children that would have been enrolled in this new program will now remain part of the 1.4 million uninsured children in Texas.

This session's CHIP legislation would have:
•Implemented a sliding scale to cover uninsured kids with working parents earning from 200 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Families covered under these provisions would have paid co-payments and monthly premiums, and would have contribute more than the state to the CHIP buy-in created in this bill.
•Included strict "crowd out" language possible to ensure that private health insurance is not substituted by CHIP coverage.
• Exempted child support payments and assets in college savings plans from being considered when determining eligibility for programs like CHIP and Medicaid.

You can be sure that I will continue to work on this issue in the future, until all children in Texas have access to health care.

Tier-One Legislation Sent to Governor

It is a pleasure to inform you that HB 51 (Branch/Coleman) was sent to the Governor's desk. This bill will let the University of Houston, along with six other universities, compete for a new pool of state funds if they can attract major research grants, major endowment gifts, and top research faculty and staff. The development of more top tier universities will open up seats of excellence available for Texas students, and will make our state more nationally and globally competitive.

On a personal note, our son Garnet Austin Coleman graduated today from Bellaire High School and will be attending the University of Southern California in the fall. Our daughter, Evan Coleman, will start high school in the fall.