The 88th Legislature’s regular session began Jan. 10 and runs through May 29, so by the start of April lawmakers are deep into the substance of presenting and debating bills.
Representing Dickens and Kent counties in the Texas House is Representative Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) of the 83rd district, which includes Borden, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd, Garza, Kent, Lubbock (part), Lynn, Mitchell, Scurry and Terry counties. Burrows took the time to visit this week with The Texas Spur as this year’s session is more than half over.
“There are 58 days left, more than halfway done,” Burrows said, “but we’re only about 20 percent of the work done.”
In chatting with Burrows, The Texas Spur specifically asked which initiatives were the most likely to benefit his rural constituents in Kent and Dickens counties.
“Expansion of broadband, school security and Right to Farm,” Burrows said. He’s the joint author of the Right to Farm bill, an initiative advocated by the Texas Farm Bureau and the cattlemen’s association.
He elaborated on the bill’s importance. “Farm lands and farm families are threatened when cities annex land, and then try to regulate farms out of existence. This bill insures that farm lands will be protected for future generations.”
As for the broadband initiative, Burrows said that this bill will provide additional funding and support for rural cooperatives, such as Spur-based Cap Rock Telephone, to expand and enhance their broadband efforts. “That’s why every one of the cooperatives are supporting this bill,” he said.
Regarding school security, Burrows explained that HB 3 dedicates $1.6 billion to school security, including providing coordination between law enforcement and schools. “This is especially important in rural areas,” he said. “The bill insures that every school will have a security guard, and we are working with the Texas Education Agency to have enhanced technology on each campus.”
Education is always a major focus in the Texas legislature, and this year is no exception.
Burrows said that two bills are making their way through the legislature which should help rural schools: one increases teachers’ pay and the other increases the allotments for small and medium sized schools. “Both of these bills should help rural schools recruit teachers,” he said.
Health care is another focus of the 88th legislature, including providing more support and funding for telehealth. Bills are being developed to provide more funding for medical providers to build out telemedicine facilities.
One final initiative of prime interest to rural areas is the reduction of regulations that govern the kinds of vaccines and shots that pharmacies can dispense. With the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, amendments to the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (also know as the PREP Act) allowed trained pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to give vaccinations to anyone age 3 or older. Previously, children in Texas who were younger than 14 couldn't get any vaccination at a pharmacy except for a flu shot, and they had to be at least 7 for that.
That provision of the PREP Act will expire Oct. 1, 2024. At that point, anyone younger than 14 would have to go to a doctor’s office for vaccinations.
Both the Texas Senate and House have bills to make the 3-and-older provision the law in Texas. Senate Bill 749 was introduced by Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton. House Bill 1105 was introduced by Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo.
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