ALEX MAKES HIS MARK: PASSES 7 BILLS, 3RD HIGHEST OF 30 NEW HOUSE MEMBERS AND MORE THAN MANY OLD LEGE HANDS

(Ed.'s Note: Defying his detractors' assertions that as a new member of the Texas House of Representatives he wouldn't be able to pass a bill as would 34-year House veteran Rene Oliveira, new District 37 State Rep. Alex Dominguez has proven them wrong. In his freshman session, Dominguez passed seven bills out of the House, two through the Senate awaiting the governor's signature, and the other five are still under consideration by the Senate. Below is the scorecard from the state rep's office.)

By Texas District 37 Office

AUSTIN-- State Representative Alex Dominguez (D-Brownsville) has advanced seven bills out of the House Chamber. 

 Dominguez has passed the third highest number of bills out of the nearly 30 new members of House, and more than many experienced members as well. Of the seven bills that have passed out of the House, one has passed through the Senate and is on it's way to the Governor's desk.

"I came to the legislature to take on the issues most dear to my district and make progress toward a better Texas," Dominguez said. "I'm proud of the hard work that our office has put in to accomplish this."

House Bill 2565 updates the Port of Brownsville to current business standards.

House Bill 2566 grants limited ordinance making authority to Cameron County regarding health and safety.

House Bill 4726 creates the Cameron County Flood Control District, which would be able to construct and maintain improvements and other infrastructure to address flood management county wide.  

House Bill 1873 requires the Texas Division of Emergency Management to create a report for the Legislature on improving oversight, accountability, and availability of building trade services following disasters.

House Bill 2340 creates an Information Sharing Work Group and an Unmanned Aircraft Study Group to recommend changes to improve data quality and the use of drone technology during response and recovery of a disaster. (Update: Bill 2340 has passed the Texas Senate today and is headed to Governor Greg Abbott to be signed into law. Senator Nathan Johnson (D- Dallas) sponsored the bill in the Senate. It also encourages cooperation and partnerships among federal agencies, state government, local government, and private entities to reduce red tape and improve the effectiveness of response and recovery efforts.)

"The Legislature has learned very hard lessons from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and this bill is one of many pieces of legislation that will help our State to prepare for the next major disaster," said Dominguez. "I am proud to be the author of this piece of legislation that will ultimately help not only my constituents, but also Texans across the state."

House Bill 1457 gives counties the authority to provide better representation for indigent clients at the most critical at the most crucial point of the criminal process, the magistrate hearing.

In addition to passing the above bills, Representative Dominguez successfully offered amendments as well as joint authored and co authored prominent legislation.

Most notably, Representative Dominguez was one of the few legislators to successfully amend Senate Bill 2, the state's major property tax legislation. The amendment allows local taxing units to continue to collect increased no-new-tax and rollback rates an additional year to allow effective recovery following a disaster.

As the 86th Legislative Session comes to a close, Representative Dominguez continues to work to get the remaining legislation to Governor Abbott's desk.

"We have been working long days and late nights trying to get our agenda across the finish line," commented Dominguez. "I am very proud of the work my staff, including two staff members from Brownsville, has been doing, influencing members and staff to achieve the goals of my constituents and district."