June 2005
Caucus Mourns Passing of Representative
Joe E. Moreno
 The
Mexican American Legislative Caucus lost one of
its most popular and respected members, Representative
Joe E. Moreno of Houston, in an early morning car
accident on Friday, May 6th. Caucus member Rafael
Anchía of Dallas and Monica Piñon
of Caucus member Joe Pickett's office were also
in the vehicle but survived.
Family and friends honored Rep. Moreno with a
funeral mass in Houston, a state burial in Austin,
and a memorial service on the floor of the Texas
House of Representatives. Several thousand people
attended these events in tribute to Representative
Moreno's impact on his community. The House and
Senate also passed House Concurrent Resolution
185, honoring Rep. Moreno's life and accomplishments.
Born on August 12, 1964, in Houston, Texas, Representative
Moreno lived in Denver Harbor and represented House
District 143. Representative Moreno's commitment
to House District 143 ran deep—he was a member
of Resurrection Catholic Church, Harris County
Tejano Democrats, the League of United Latin American
Citizens Council Number 60, and served as Harris
County Precinct Judge for Precinct 62.
His legislative career began early; he served
as a legislative aide to former District 143 State
Representative Al Luna and Chief of Staff and Campaign
Manager for State Representative Jessica Farrar.
During the 79th Legislative Session, Representative
Moreno served on the Border and International Affairs
Committee and the Juvenile Justice & Family
Issues Committee.
Representative Moreno will be remembered as a
man of integrity, dedication, laughter, and warmth.
He was a constant champion of children, the elderly,
and Texas schools. He leaves behind a great legacy,
but he will be truly missed.
The Moreno family has begun a scholarship fund
in his memory. Those wishing to make a memorial
contribution in his name may send their gift to
the following address:
Joe E. Moreno Scholarship Fund
Laredo National Bank-Houston
7047 Harrisburg Boulevard #B
Houston, Texas 77001.
http://www.lnb.com/
To
read House Concurrent Resolution 185, click here.
Caucus End of Session Gathering Honors Agencies
and Unveils Poster
On Wednesday, May 25th, the Caucus held its traditional
end of session gathering for the Capitol community.
This year the Caucus honored Hispanic leaders in
our state agencies. Honorees included Jesse Ancira,
Associate Deputy Comptroller, Comptroller for Public
Accounts; Ralph Marquez, Commissioner, Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality; Jose Montemayor, Commissioner,
Department of Insurance; Raymund Paredes, Commissioner,
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; and
Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, Commissioner, Texas Department
of State Health Services.
The Caucus also unveiled its 79th Legislative
Session membership poster. The membership poster
is a Caucus tradition going back twenty years.
This year, the poster is in memoriam to Rep. Joe
Moreno, who passed away on May 6th (see story above).
The poster also features a historic first—both
husband and wife Rick and Melissa Noriega are shown
representing District 145 (see story below).
To view the poster, go to: http://www.malc.org/poster79.html
Prior posters can also be viewed at: http://www.malc.org/archives.shtml
For information on ordering a copy of this year's
poster, contact the Caucus office at 512-236-8410.
End of Session Legislative Notes: School Finance & Top
Ten Percent
The legislative session ended on Monday, May
30th, with no success on reforming Texas school
finance or lowering property taxes. These issues
had been the centerpiece of an agenda announced
by the Governor and legislative leadership when
the session began in January. The leadership's
proposals were not supported by the majority of
the MALC members as the proposals would have essentially
ended the equalized spending per student in the
current system. In addition, the proposals also
would have increased taxes on average Texans while
lowering them for Texans making above $140,000.00
per year.
These proposals were contained in House Bill 2
and House Bill 3 and were fully debated in the
Texas House.
The debate on HB 2 can be read in the House Journal
at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday29final.pdf#page=8
The House Vote on 2nd reading of HB 2 can be found
at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday30final.pdf#page=54
The final House Vote on 3rd reading of HB 2 can
be found at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday31final.pdf#page=2
The debate on HB 3 can be read in the House Journal
at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday30cfinal.pdf#page=7
The House Vote on 2nd reading of HB 3 can be found
at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday32final.pdf#page=116
The final House Vote on 3rd reading of HB 3 can
be found at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday33final.pdf#page=6
In May, House Speaker Tom Craddick appointed ten
House members for each bill to work with Senate
members and find common ground on the differing
House and Senate versions of the two bills. The
Speaker chose Reps. Kent Grusendorf (R-Arlington),
Dan Branch (R-Dallas), Dianne White Delisi (R-Temple),
Rob Eissler (R-The Woodlands), and Bill Keffer
(R-Dallas) to work on HB 2. He chose Reps. Jim
Keffer (R-Eastland), Warren Chisum (R-Pampa), Charlie
Geren (R-Forth Worth), John Otto (R-Dayton), and
David Swinford (R-Dumas) to work on HB 3. No Latinos
or Democrats and only one woman served on these
conference committees. In addition, school districts
south of Temple (located 68 miles north of Austin)
and east of Houston were not represented on the
conference committees. Ultimately, the conference
committees were unable to work out a solution.
There were also several bills that attempted to
make changes to the Top 10% rule that ensures public
university admission to Texas students graduating
in the top ten percent of their high school class.
This plan was created by a former MALC Chair, Representative
Irma Rangel, during the time that she chaired the
House Committee on Higher Education. Though Representative
Rangel died of cancer in 2003, the Top 10% rule
remains as an enduring legacy of her commitment
to higher education for all students.
Legislators filed over a dozen bills on the topic,
but House members debated only one proposal (HB
2330) on the House floor.
The House Journal pages on this debate can be viewed at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday66final.pdf#page=16
The House Vote on 2nd reading of HB 2330 can be
found at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday66final.pdf#page=35
The final House Vote on 3rd reading of HB 2330
can be found at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/hjrnl/79r/pdf/79rday67final.pdf#page=22
Though the proposal passed the Texas House, it
did not pass the Texas Senate. Thus, the program
remains unchanged.
Caucus Honors Thompson & Freshmen of the
Year
On Monday, May 31st, the Caucus bestowed its
first biennial Matt Garcia Award upon Representative
Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston). The Caucus honored
her for her service to MALC and the Latino community
in Texas. The award is named for former Representative
Matt Garcia (D-San Antonio) who served from 1973 – 1983.
He was one of the pioneers of MALC and a champion
of the Latino community who died while still in
office.
In addition, MALC named as its Freshmen of the
Year, Rep. Rafael Anchía (D-Dallas) and
Rep. Veronica Gonzales (D-Austin). The members
were chosen for their leadership and involvement;
Rep. Anchía took strong stands on voter
access issues, and Rep. Gonzales advocated for
improved conditions in colonias.
The Caucus Executive Committee nominated this
year's award recipients, and the members ratified
their nomination. The Caucus then announced the
awards from the front microphone on the House Floor
and presented each award winner with a commemorative
certificate. All MALC members were present at the
podium during the announcements.
Caucus Member Rick Noriega Receives Promotion
 Caucus
Member Rick Noriega (D-Houston) continues his tour
of duty with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan
as a Lieutenant Colonel. Rep. Noriega was promoted
from Major in a pinning ceremony at Kabul Military
Training Center on May 8th, Mother's Day. Admiral
Edmund Giambastiani, Commander, United States Joint
Forces Command did the honors of pinning Rep. Noriega.
Rep. Noriega requested that date as a tribute to
his wife, mother, and mother-in-law.
His wife, Melissa Noriega, serves as the Acting
Representative for District 145 in his absence.
She is the first person to serve in the Texas House
without having gone through an election. Representative
Melissa Noriega serves in the House pursuant to
Texas Constitution, Article 16 §72(c), which
Texas voters approved in 2003. She served through
the regular session of the legislature and continues
in office until Rep. Rick Noriega's return.
New Members
On Monday, May 31st, the Caucus welcomed two
new members, Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin) and David
Liebowitz (D-San Antonio).
Elliott Naishtat represents District
49 in Austin, Texas. A native New Yorker, he has
lived in Texas for thirty years. He served as a
VISTA volunteer in Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty
before moving to Austin and earning a Masters in
Social Work and a law degree from The University
of Texas. Rep. Naishtat served as staff counsel
for Senator Gonzalo Barrientos before entering
private law practice. He also directed the U.T.
School of Social Work's Legislative Training Program.
He is an adjunct assistant professor of social
work at St. Edward's University. Rep. Naishtat
won his seat in 1990 and has been re-elected six
times. He serves as Vice-Chair of the Human Services
Committee and a member of the Public Health Committee.
For more information, go to: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist49/naishtat.htm
David Leibowitz represents District
117 in San Antonio, Texas. A native of Mercedes,
Texas, he was the eighth in a family of twelve
and picked cotton as a child. He attended elementary
and secondary school in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo
School District and graduated from high school
in 1975. During school he met Delia Gutierrez,
his future wife. Rep. Liebowitz attended the University
of Notre Dame and earned a B.B.A. in Accounting.
He then earned his J.D. from St. Mary's University
in 1982. He has spent his legal career defending
consumer rights and fighting for safer workplaces
and environmental justice. In 1986, the San Antonio
Trial Lawyer's Association named him "Outstanding
Young Lawyer". Rep. Leibowitz won election
to his first term in 2004 and in the 79th Legislative
Session served on the Defense Affairs & State-Federal
Relations Committee and the Land & Resource
Management Committee.
For more information, go to:
http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist117/leibowitz.htm
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