Delegates give Leander, Cedar Park a voice on key Legislature committees

By Marcus Funk

Friday, March 18, 2011

http://impactnews.com/leander-cedar-park/142-local-news/11904-delegates-give-leander-cedar-park-a-voice-on-key-legislature-committees

Voters in Leander and Cedar Park have representation on Legislature committees that wield significant clout over education and business issues being debated at the statehouse, with area delegates being tapped for positions on key committees in early February.

On the House side, state Rep. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, has a seat on the powerful House Appropriations committee, which is charged with drafting the chamber’s version of the state budget. Schwertner, an orthopedic surgeon who is one of three doctors in the House, also sits on the Appropriations sub-committee for Health and Human Services.

The sub-committee will wrestle with potentially $11 billion budget cuts to state Health and Human Service programs from 2011 to 2012, and will deliberate over cutting Medicaid funding formulas by 10 percent or more.

The state is facing a $27 billion budget gap overall, and Republican leaders have vowed to close that budget gap without raising taxes.

“Balancing the budget is the No. 1 priority of the Texas Legislature,” Schwertner said. “And while we face many challenges, I am confident that we will pass a budget that is fiscally responsible and keeps our economy moving in the right direction.”

Schwertner also has a post on the Public Health Committee, which has oversight over a number of state medical boards and programs. It also works with the Appropriations sub-committee on Health and Human Services budgeting.

State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, has been reappointed to the Higher Education Committee. The group supervises higher education policy and regulation in Texas, and works closely with an Appropriations sub-committee on education to determine the budget for public universities in Texas.

Howard also has a seat on the new House Technology Committee. The committee was formerly the Technology, Economic Development and Workforce Committee, and had a broader focus.

“I’m thrilled to be on Higher Education, and I actually think it’s a good pairing with the new Technology Committee,” Howard said. “One of its charges is to look at public and private partnerships in regard to investments in such things as biotechnology and renewable, the kinds of things that will hopefully create jobs in our state.”

On the Senate side, state Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, has been re-appointed as chairman of the Senate Finance committee, which supervises the budget-writing process on the other side of the Capitol. Many consider his role to be one of the most influential in the Senate. Ogden represents all of Williamson County.