The Holiday Season is here and many of us are looking forward to a Christmas and holiday season spent with family and friends.  Unfortunately, there are many in our community who will not be so blessed as to be surrounded by loved ones, gifts and the simple pleasures that make Christmas and the holidays so special.  This year we should focus on being charitable and helping those who are less fortunate and in need.  Over the next two weeks, I will use this column to point out different ways in which you can make this Christmas and holiday season a little brighter for those who need it the most.

 Toys for Tots

The “Toys for Tots” Program has been a mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve since it first began in 1947.  The program collects new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distributes those toys as Christmas gifts to disadvantaged children in the community.  In its first year, founderMajorBillHendricks, USCR and a group of Marine Reservists inLos Angelescollected and distributed 5,000 toys to children.  Over the past 65 years, the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program has distributed well over 452 million toys to more than 209 million needy children.  Many of those toys have been distributed in our Coastal Bend region.

In the Coastal Bend region boat parades are used as part of the Toys for Tots campaign.  The lighted boats in the parades are accompanied by “pick-up” boats with Marines on board that stop along the route at boat docks and collect toys.  Our area ranks as one of the top areas in the country in the amount of toys collected every year.  It is important to note that there are more than 50 drop-off locations for unwrapped toys located throughout the Coastal Bend.  For more information on how and where to make a donation, please visit www.toysfortots.org.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS)

Many of our state’s most vulnerable citizens are currently under the care of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).  The agency has a broad charge which in part includes protecting children as well as adults who are elderly or have disabilities that are living at home or in state facilities.  There are approximately 249 offices across the state with roughly 6,800 DFPS employees assistingTexascitizens in need.

It is important to remember that many of the citizens being served by DFPS are children in foster care.  These are children in need of a loving home, but many are also in need of something much simpler this Christmas and holiday season — the joy that comes with the receipt of a thoughtful gift.

DFPS has partners across the state called Rainbow Rooms, who accept donations on behalf of the children and families with whom they service.  These donations can be items such as toys and even basic essentials. It is important to remember that toy donations should be new and unwrapped.  If you are unable to find a Rainbow Room near you these items can also be taken to the DFPS local offices.  There are several offices located in the counties that make up House District 32.  You can find out more about how you can help as well as locate the nearest DFPS office by visiting the agency’s Web site at www.dfps.state.tx.us.

If you have questions regarding the giving opportunities mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office.  As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).

- StateRepresentativeToddHunter, District 32

Rep. Hunter currently represents Aransas, Calhoun, Nueces (Part) and San Patricio Counties.  He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672. 

On November 12, 2012, pre-filing began in earnest at the Texas State Capitol for the 83rd Legislative Session.  Due to the shortness of the legislative session (140 days beginning on the second Tuesday of January and ending around June 1st of every odd-numbered year) many bills are pre-filed before the legislative session even begins.  On the first Monday in the week following the November general elections current members and those just elected but not yet seated may begin pre-filing bills.  In the first three weeks of the 2012 pre-filing period, more than 359 bills were filed with the Chief Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate’s respective offices.  In an upcoming series of articles I intend to present a cross section of the bills which to date have been filed.

The first bill pre-filed in the Texas House of Representatives for the 83rd Legislative Session was House Bill (HB) 21.  HB 21 outlines the establishment of a central database listing individuals of whom on three or more occasions have been convicted of family related violence. The database would have information regarding convictions of family violence and other such information about the individual’s which is open to the public.  Several of the other bills pre-filed in the Texas House are:

• HB 27 relating to the creation of an offense for certain prohibited uses of a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle.
• HB 29 seeks to require that general academic teaching institutions offer a fixed tuition rate plan to undergraduate students.
• HB 37 relates to the criminal penalty for and certain civil consequences of damaging property with graffiti..
• HB 47 is related to a handgun proficiency course that is taken to obtain or renew a concealed handgun license.
• HB 48 relates to the procedure under which a person may renew a license to carry a concealed handgun.

In the Texas Senate the first bill filed is Senate Bill (SB) 11, which addresses the administration and operation of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.  SB 11 would require that those individuals of whom apply for TANF funds, to submit to a controlled substance use screening assessment in order to be eligible for those benefits.  A number of the other bills pre-filed in the Senate are:

• SB 46 seeks to establish an exemption for books purchased, used, or consumed by university and college students from the sales and use tax for a limited period.
• SB 52 relates to exclusions for disabled peace officers from payment of tuition and fees at public institutions of higher education.
• SB 72 would establish a prohibition of the use of credit scoring in underwriting and rating certain personal lines of insurance coverage.
• SB 93  seeks to provide for the continuation of the Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force.
• SB 101 is related to a constitutional limit on the rate of growth of appropriations and the use of surplus state revenues.

The pre-filed bills for the 83rd (R) legislative session are available for the public to view at www.capitol.state.tx.us.

I would like to take this opportunity to let everyone know that my Capitol Office  room location has changed.  My new office location is GW. 18. I welcome everyone to come by and see the new space and visit with my staff if you are in Austin. Please feel free to call if you need any assistance in locating the new office.

If you have questions or comments regarding any of  the pre-filed bills mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office.  As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).

- State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32

Rep. Hunter represents Aransas, Calhoun, Nueces (Part) and San Patricio Counties.  He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672. 

This month marks the 21st anniversary of the Wreaths Across America Program which was started in 1992 with the donation and laying of 5000 Christmas wreaths in the Arlington National Cemetery by Morrill Worcester.  Though the program initially started as the Arlington Wreath Program, recent years has seen it cultivate into a nationwide project.

The Wreaths Across America story began over 21 years ago when the Worcester Wreath Company from Harrington, Maine initiated a tradition of donating and placing wreaths on the headstones of our Nation’s fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery. Recognition of the service and sacrifice of our veterans, and their families, is especially poignant during the traditional holiday season.

This year the program has set a goal of providing wreaths to over 850 veteran’s cemeteries across the United States.  Of those 850 cemeteries, they hope  to place more than 500,000 wreaths on gravestones and will count on the assistance of hundreds of thousands of volunteers. The wreath laying officially takes place on the second Saturday in December, which this year falls on the 15th.

An extremely important part of Wreaths Across America project is to reach out to kids across the country each year and to stress the importance of  “Remembering, Honoring and Teaching” about the fallen servicemen and women who have served their country so faithfully.  The themes are Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve including their families who sacrifice, and Teach our children the cost of the freedoms we enjoy each day.  Through their webpage, Wreaths Across America provides a number of educational programs directed at middle school students.  One of the programs is the Million Memories Project which seeks to preserve the memory of veterans as a way to remember their lives and teach future generations the value and cost of the freedoms that they enjoy.  Additional information about the Wreaths Across America Project or their educational programs can be found at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON YOU CAN SAVE A LIFE

One of the greatest gifts you can give this holiday season is to save a life.  During the winter holidays, blood centers often experience a decline in blood donations and thereby a shortage in blood supplies.  In order to maintain the blood supply for the Coastal Bend, the blood center requires 120 donors a day to donate blood.  Each year approximately 4.5 million people nationwide would die without the lifesaving blood transfusions made possible by generous donors.  A single blood donation made this holiday season can be used to save up to three lives.

District 32 is serviced by two blood donation centers, which are the Coastal Bend Blood Center and the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center.  The Coastal Bend Blood Center provides services to fourteen medical centers in its ten-county service area of Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, Refugio and San Patricio. The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center provides blood, plasma, platelets and other blood components to 100 hospitals and clinics in forty three South Texas counties including the Victoria/Calhoun area.  If you would like to donate this holiday season, you can get additional information by contacting the Coastal Bend Blood Center at 1-800-299-4943 or the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center at 1-800-292-5534.

If you have any questions regarding the Wreaths Across America Project or would like more information on being a blood donor please don’t hesitate to contact either my Capitol or District office.

Through the summer and over the last few months, I have been outlining Texas’ sunset review process. The agencies I have covered  include the State Employee Charitable Campaign Policy Committee, State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Texas Pension Review Board, Procurement and Support Service Division of the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Department of Information Resources and numerous others.  As a reminder, in order to identify and eliminate government waste, duplication and general inefficiencies in state agencies, the Texas Legislature established the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission in 1977.  The sunset review process is designed to review each of these agencies every twelve years. This review is done by taking up a certain number of the state agencies each session when the Texas Legislature convenes.

In my previous article covering the sunset process, we examined the Procurement and Support Service Division of the Comptroller of Public Accounts which has undergone a partial sunset review.  The Procurement and Support Service Division is responsible for managing and awarding hundreds of statewide contracts on behalf of more than 200 state agencies and approximately 1,900 local government co-op members. In this week’s article, the final article this year covering the sunset review process, we are going to review the Public Utility Commission of Texas which is currently under a partial sunset review process following its full sunset review prior to the 82nd Texas Legislative session.

The Public Utility Commission was established in 1975 along with the passage of the Public Utility Regulatory Act.  The Public Utility Regulatory Act provided for and has expanded the statewide regulation of both the rates and services of monopoly electric and telecommunication companies.  Due to the complex nature of the electric and telecommunication industries in Texas, the Public Utility Commission serves as the most reviewed of all the state agencies subject to the sunset review process.

During the 82nd Texas Legislative Session, the bill allowing for the continued operation of the Public Utility Commission was filed as Senate Bill 661. Unfortunately due to the limited time bills have to be passed during the legislative process, Senate Bill 661 failed to be passed.   The failure of Senate Bill 661 to pass would have resulted in the Public Utilities Commission being shut down.  As a result of the need for the functions in which the Public Utilities Commission provides, the Legislature allowed for it to continue for two more years. This gives the 83rd Texas Legislature the opportunity to review a comprehensive Public Utility Commission bill.  This is the reason why the Public Utility Commission is currently under a partial sunset review process.

If you are interested in learning more about the Public Utilities Commission, you can go to their website at http://www.puc.texas.gov/.  On their site you can find information specific to consumers and industry along with information about the Public Utility Commission.  Some of the information you can find in regards to consumer information is information regarding your electricity or your telephone, to include information on no call list or knowing what your rights are.

If you would like to learn more on your own about the Sunset Advisory Commission or other agencies undergoing the sunset review process, you can go to www.sunset.state.tx.us .

If you have any questions regarding the Public Utility Commission of Texas or the sunset review process, please don’t hesitate to contact either my Capitol or District office.

The Holiday Season is drawing near and the month of November not only brings the start of cold weather but also the reminder that many families are going without food.  For this upcoming Thanksgiving, I ask that you give back by being charitable to and helping those who are less fortunate and very much in need this year.  District 32 is served by two important food banks; the Food Bank of Corpus Christi which serves eleven coastal counties which include Aransas, Nueces and San Patricio; and the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent which provides for Calhoun County.  The food banks are two of the 19 food banks located throughout the state that make up the Texas Food Bank Network.  The network provides food to charities and services organizations in all 254 counties in Texas.

The Texas Food Bank Network member organizations provide emergency food for over two million individuals annually.  The food banks are an extremely important source of food, accounting for approximately 80% of the food used by pantries, roughly 47% of the food provided by kitchens, and around 45% of the food served by shelters.  It is important to remember that the individuals that need help from the food banks come from a broad cross-section of households.

There are many ways that you can help feed the hungry not just this Holiday Season but year-around.  You can donate either food or money to the food banks or even coordinate a food/fund drive.

Here are some helpful tips to organizing your own food/fund drive:

• Plan Ahead.
  Determine a leadership committee who will be responsible for planning your event.  Remember that coordination of a successful event should not fall on the shoulders of just one person, but a team of dedicated volunteers who believe in the cause.
• Set an Attainable Goal.Decide how many pounds of food or dollars you’d like to collect.  A good rule of thumb: set a goal for each participant and multiply this number by your total head count.
• Organize a Kick-Off Event. Invite participants, potential sponsors and even the local news media.  Your local food bank may have supplies available to assist in fundraising, such as barrels for collection of non-perishable food items and brochures about their mission.
• Keep It Fun and Simple. Have a pizza party for participants and consider gathering prizes from local merchants to use as incentives.  Create challenges among individuals or teams. Display daily or weekly totals in highly visible areas to encourage participation.

If you would like to donate food, the food banks are always in need of nutritious, non-perishable foods such as: meals in a can (stew, chili, soup), tuna / canned meat, peanut butter, canned foods with pop-top lids, low sugar cereals, 100% fruit juices in single serving boxes, canned fruit packed in juice, and canned vegetables (low salt).  The food banks can be found at:
Food Bank of Corpus Christi                                 Food Bank of the Golden Crescent

826 Krill Street                                                       3809 E. Rio Grande

Corpus Christi, TX 78408                                      Victoria, TX 77901

361-887-6291                                                         361-578-0591

While food donations are welcome and appreciated, the most cost-effective and convenient way to give is to make a monetary donation on-line.  Both the Food Bank of Corpus Christi and the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent are able to accept credit card donations by way of their websites:

www.foodbankofcorpuschristi.org  (Aransas, Nueces, San Patricio Counties)

www.victoriafoodbank.org  (Calhoun County)

Monetary donations give each food bank the flexibility to put resources towards specific food areas that may be more depleted than others.

If you have questions regarding the giving opportunities mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office.