Friends and neighbors –
Leap year is like getting an extra day without aging. Cool.
While nothing to sneeze at, a single day won’t add much to the legislative Interim. I used to wonder how we’ll fill the time before the next session. Now I wonder how we’re going to get to the place we want to be before session starts. The community involvement has been amazing – civic interest groups, businesses, associations and individuals have consistently brought ideas and questions and sometimes answers. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
In and around town and Texas:
- As part of its continuing mission to bring state policy to the people, the Texas Tribune hosted a healthcare conference in the Rio Grande Valley, where health is truly a dire matter. I spoke about how increased access to healthcare yields better health outcomes. You can watch the conversation here.
- The 2020 State of Reform Health Policy Conference, held in Austin on February 4, 2020, featured a candid keynote discussion of not just a healthcare crisis (old news) but also of new developments in federal policy that can have a HUGE effect on Texas. Check out the discussion here
- The Senate Committees for–(i) Water and (ii) Natural Resources–held a combined hearing, where Water Committee Chairman Charles Perry brought in many of the top water experts in the state. Water regulation and use is a critically important and highly complex issue that requires careful planning to ensure environmental sustainability and sufficiency of supply.
- On a tour of the Children’s Health of Dallas campus, we were impressed and encouraged by among many other things, their model NICU, leading youth mental health program, and their telehealth services.
- The 2020 CES Consumer Technology Association convention offered a glimpse of promising new products (okay some were just silly), but also insights into how legislative and regulatory strategies can change and develop in tandem with the changing technology industry, promoting innovation and protecting consumers.
- North Dallas Chamber invited me, along with my colleague Senator Kelly Hancock, to present a legislative perspective on the costs of healthcare. Dallas Federal Reserve Chairman Robert Kaplan preceded our discussion with observations about how the Texas economy would benefit from investments in the health of our citizens.
- I moderated a Texas Association of Business panel on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The fascinating discussion with AI experts included stirring comments about the importance of the humanities in a world where people design intelligent machines.
- TEXProtects CEO Sophie Williams and Sheryldine Samuel of Family Compass visited my District Office to provide an overview of their important work protecting vulnerable children, and to explore ways we can support their efforts next session.
Spotlight: Water in Texas
Adrift at sea, the ancient mariner lamented “Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” So, too often, we might say of water in Texas. Our state has vast water resources – rivers, aquifers, seasonal rainfall – yet meeting demands while preserving supply and protecting our natural environment is difficult.
The sparse population of early Texas enjoyed the fresh water surplus of Gulf coast rains and spring-fed rivers. But when the Texas population grew seven-fold between 1870 and 1930, rains and rivers were not enough. Fortunately for Texas, the New Deal of the 1930s brought massive investments in dammed reservoirs, establishing a reliable water supply for the burgeoning population.
The drought prompted legislators to create the Texas Water Development Board (“TWDB”), to plan for water needs and finance water infrastructure projects. One of the Board’s first undertakings was to transition the state from dependence on surface water to ground water, i.e.the state’s bountiful freshwater aquifers. Today, aquifers supply 60% of Texas’s fresh water.
Every five years, the TWDB crafts a “State Water Plan” to ensure Texas has enough water to withstand a recurrence of the 1950s Texas Drought. By all accounts the Board has performed admirably. Nevertheless, there remains significant risk of drought in Texas. Climate change is sure to bring more frequent and severe conditions, like the devastation of Hurricane Harvey or the drought of 2011. Meanwhile, the aquifers on which we have long relied are depleting, endangering not only the aquifers themselves but also our spring-fed rivers. Aquifers and reservoirs simply cannot sustain our growing population and industry.
It’s time again to adapt. Just as past generations of Texans adapted from river water to reservoirs, and from reservoirs to aquifers, we will have to adapt from principle reliance on aquifers to more sustainable means. Technology can help: aquifer storage and recovery (“ASR”) technology can recharge aquifers using excess floodwater overflows, and new and more advanced desalination techniques can turn sea water and brackish groundwater into fresh drinking water. But though promising, desalination and ASR are expensive. The cheapest way to meet water supply demands is to find ways to use less of it. As we search for the right combination of measures, we can expect to see cooperation among environmentalists and industry, which, I think, gives good reason for optimism.
Interesting fact:
German chocolate cake comes from Dallas! In 1852 an American baker named Samuel German developed a dark, rich, bittersweet chocolate for the Baker’s chocolate brand. About a century later, in 1957, Dallas-ite Mrs. George Clay launched Mr. German’s chocolate to dessert stardom: her “German’s Chocolate Cake” was selected by The Dallas Morning News as “Recipe of the Day”. The Baker’s chocolate company liked it so much that they sent the recipe to newspapers around the country, and it became an American dessert staple.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and our community. I welcome your input, and look forward to working with you to serve the interests of our District and our state. Please contact my Capitol Office at 512-462-0116 or my District Office at 214-750-2913 anytime if you have any questions or concerns.
