AUSTIN — On Monday, state legislators toasted the adjournment of the governing body’s “sine die” — the session’s end. Though this session was plenty contentious — school vouchers and THC dominated discussion and highlighted the party rift in the Lone Star State — the mood after this year’s last gavel strike is markedly different than in June 2023, when Gov. Greg Abbott called several overtime sessions that rivaled some of the longest and most intensive in state history.
The Big Bend is represented by Sen. César Blanco of El Paso and Rep. Eddie Morales of Eagle Pass, both Democrats. While Blanco and Morales spoke out on the issues grabbing headlines around the state, much of their time was devoted to drafting and passing bills aimed at economic development in Far West Texas.
Blanco and Morales made big moves impacting Sul Ross State University — moves that they hope will keep homegrown talent employed along the borderlands. Morales was one of a handful of authors on HB 1022, a bill signed by Gov. Abbott last week that made the university’s Eagle Pass campus eligible to offer four-year degrees alongside its Alpine hub.
Morales considered it a big win for the historically Hispanic-serving institution and history-making for young folks in South Texas. “Our students deserve more than words — they deserve real investment and a path to earn their degrees close to home,” he posted on X in April. “A four-year university means jobs, growth, and opportunities that stay local.”
Blanco followed up with $13 million for Sul Ross, with $8 million going toward the Borderlands Research Institute. (See story, page one.)
One hyper-local economic development bill didn’t make the cut this session — HB 1039, a bill authored by Morales that would repeal a portion of state hotel occupancy tax (HOT) law in Alpine. The law would have given the city more leeway in the way that it uses HOT funds generated from hotel stays. Currently, Alpine is the only city in the state required to use 50% of those funds on advertising. The Alpine-specific bill passed the House, but Blanco’s companion bill died in the Senate.
Border security didn’t gobble up as much of the spotlight as vouchers or the Ten Commandments this session, but one bill did raise some hackles — SB 8, which requires county sheriffs to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions, was sent to Gov. Abbott on Tuesday.
Blanco spoke out publicly against SB 8 in April. “SB 8 is an unfunded mandate that forces local cops to do ICE’s job — draining millions from our communities, and making Texans less safe,” he said. “I’m proud to have voted no.”
Morales followed the lead of Texas reps on the national stage in asking for reimbursements for local communities forced to shoulder the financial and logistical burden of border security. He fought for a $2 million reimbursement for the city of Eagle Pass after Shelby Park, a municipal recreational space along the river, was closed to city residents in favor of serving as a staging ground for the state’s border security Operation Lone Star.
The move was devastating to local business after the city was forced to relocate a festival celebrating the extremely rare solar eclipse that left Del Rio and Eagle Pass in the path of totality. State leaders ultimately compromised on $1 million. “I authored and supported Operation Lone Star because I believe our border communities deserve help when the federal government fails to act,” Morales told Jose Landa of the Eagle Pass News Gram. “But the unilateral seizure of Shelby Park left Eagle Pass taxpayers holding the bag for a festival they could no longer host as planned. That was never right, and I fought to make it right.”