FAR WEST TEXAS — With the 2020 elections now in the rearview mirror and the 2021 Texas legislative session fast approaching, state lawmakers last month were given the chance to pre-file bills outlining the policy visions for Texas. And many local lawmakers have already taken that opportunity, with more than 530 bills filed on the first day of pre-filing last month, as the Texas Tribune reported.
Among those lawmakers are Roland Gutierrez, a Democratic state representative who last month won an election against Republican incumbent Pete Flores for control of State Senate District 19, which stretches from Brewster County out to San Antonio. Gutierrez has pre-filed a bill to legalize marijuana across the state, as The Big Bend Sentinel previously reported.
Another lawmaker getting into the pre-filing game is Cesar Blanco, the El Paso-based lawmaker who last month won an election to replace popular State Senator José Rodríguez. Rodríguez last year announced he was retiring after a decade in office.
At press time, Blanco had pre-filed at least nine bills, with several filed on gun safety and healthcare alone. That first batch of pre-filed bills focuses on “common-sense gun safety reforms, school safety, relief for college students, improving healthcare, and increasing renewable energy goals,” Blanco’s office said in a news release.
On state gun policy, Blanco has proposed a number of reforms. He wants to require instant universal criminal background checks with certain gun transfers and tighten rules around making false statements to acquire a firearm.
In a statement, Blanco paid homage to the victims of a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso last year, which claimed 23 lives. Authorities have called that shooting a hate crime, with the accused shooter travelling across the state in an effort to stop what he called an “invasion” of Latinos.
“I owe it to the 23 souls we lost, the dozens injured, and their loved ones to fight for needed reforms to ensure this does not happen again,” Blanco said in his statement. On a related note, Blanco also wants to create new guidelines that will “protect students’ well-being” in designing active-shooter drills at schools.
“Certain school safety drills for active shootings can also have a detrimental impact on students,” Blanco said.
Separately, Blanco has also pre-filed several bills in an effort to make higher education and healthcare more accessible and affordable. He wants to limit the amount of tuition public universities can charge people, criticizing “sky-rocketing tuition” rates and students who are “being saddled with large debt.” He also wants to make it easier for students to drop classes without being punished, citing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On healthcare, Blanco also pre-filed bills to cap co-payments on insulin at $25 for a 30-day supply and to ensure that Medicare providers are properly reimbursed.
Again citing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Blanco also wants to expand eligibility for the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program, allowing students who commit to join the U.S. Public Health Service to apply. After all, Blanco said in a statement, the public health service has been “on the front lines” of the coronavirus pandemic, “providing medical care and helping to control the spread” of the virus.
Last but not least, Blanco wants state lawmakers to look into further tightening its renewable energy standards. Texas has not updated its renewable energy rules in almost 20 years, he noted.
“As climate change continues to exacerbate weather conditions and challenge communities, more needs to be done to promote renewable energy to combat global warming,” Blanco said in a statement. The bill he filed on that issue would “study the feasibility of expanding Texas’ renewable energy generation to 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.”
The Texas Legislature goes into session January 12, 2021, and will wrap up on May 31, 2021, during which time legislators will do their best to advance their bills. The Texas Legislature only meets once every two years.
