SCREENSHOT TAKEN BY JACQUELINE PERAZA FROM LAST THURSDAY’S TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING WEBCAST
Jacqueline Peraza | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
House Bill 695, relating to the establishment of a new law school in the Rio Grande Valley, is pending without objection after Rep. Armando Martinez (D-Weslaco) presented it in front of the Committee of Higher Education last Thursday.
The committee met to hear from various representatives across the state of Texas in Austin.
Martinez gave his testimony in front of 1o Higher Education Committee members about a needed feasibility study, funding and other criteria needed for the creation of the school.
“If more than one system notifies the coordinating board, the board is required to determine which of these systems may open the law school and the decision must be based upon the need for the law school, potential student demand, available resources, feasibility and proposals and other criteria the board finds appropriate,” Martinez said.
He also told the members about the disparity and need for attorneys in comparison to other cities in Texas.
“Along the Rio Grande Valley, you have one attorney for every 805 residents,” Martinez said. “When you compare that to Austin and Round Rock, there is one attorney for every 172 residents. So, the disparity is very large.”
He said in addition to the general issue for higher education in the Rio Grande Valley, the area is also geographically isolated.
“The nearest law schools are San Antonio, Austin and Houston,” Martinez said. “The distance would be a heavy burden for an individual from the Valley to shoulder if they choose to attend law school.”
He told the committee the bill passed out of the 86th Legislative Session with over 107 votes but was not passed after running out of time in the Senate.
“It got hung up in the Senate,” Martinez said. “So, we want to make sure we can kind of get it over there as soon as possible this session.”
Rep. John Turner (D-Dallas) asked Martinez if the “bill [considered] or [implied] any particular kind of time table. What might that conceivably look like if that process were to advance in terms of timing?”
Martinez said the process does not have a time table set and that any public university can explore the idea of opening the school in the Rio Grande Valley.
“It’s pretty much just laying out the foundation for them to do that,” he said. “If they see fit and have the funding available for it, then they will be able to open one … following the rules set by the [Texas] Higher Education Coordinating Board.”
Martinez said different systems he has spoken to throughout the years have expressed interest but have not received a definite answer.
Rep. Jim Murphy (R-Houston), chairman of the Higher Education Committee, asked Martinez about funding for the school if the bill is passed to the next stage and is later approved by the Senate.
“Just to help us understand … no school has to do this, but if they were to do this, would [the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board] be in a position of having to fund it?” Murphy asked. “I mean, some years down the road, perhaps?”
Martinez told Murphy if a university takes on the school and it is approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, it may return to the legislature and ask for funding.
Many committee members, including Reps. Sergio Muñoz, Jr. (D-Mission), Phillip Cortez (D-San Antonio), John Frullo (R-Lubbock) and Evelina “Lina” Ortega (D-El Paso) voiced their support of the bill.
Martinez ended his testimony with his definition of success.
“At the end of the day, members, when we talk about success and what my definition of success is: that’s opportunity,” he said. “The only way we can offer an opportunity for students and the brightest minds in the Rio Grande Valley is by offering them a good education. That education comes with law schools.”
As of press time, the bill is pending approval from the Higher Education Committee. If approved, the bill moves into the House for voting.
