Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas, Regular Session of the Sixty-Second Legislature, Volume 1 Page: 48
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48 SENATE JOURNAL
a conscientious legislator. This one will
be no exception. Legislatures are al-
ways looking for money. This one is
certainly no exception.
"I have noticed this, too: No Ses-
sion, however difficult, is quite impos-
sible.
"Whatever the challenges, a consci-
entious member and a strong Legis-
lature can survive them--with honor,
and at least a reasonable measure of
success. And this Legislature will be
no exception.
"It is well to think for a moment of
Who We Are.
"This is the first Texas Legislature
that ever represented the nation's
fourth most populous State. It is the
first to deal with the welfare, health,
safety, education, economic opportuni-
ties, citizenship rights, and voting
rights of 11,200,000 people-including
their children, their automobiles, their
credit cards, their monthly payments,
their prosperity or their poverty . . .
the privileged, the underprivileged,
the strong, the handicapped, the un-
employed, those on country club rolls,
and those on relief rolls.
"We are among the first lawmakers
who--as an almost unanimous group
-are worried about the water our
people have to drink, the air they
breathe, the alcohol they misuse, the
drugs they abuse, how much DDT
there is in their vegetables, and how
much mercury in their tuna. And why
a lot of them throw their garbage on
the freeway.
"We DO concern ourselves now with
the environment; we do care about
the quality of life. We do want our
people and our State to compete on
fair terms in the meeting place and
the market place. And for all of this,
we have to pay.
"I speak of these trends in our ex-
citing and new-patterned times be-
cause I want everyone to understand
something of what we face in this
Legislative Session.
"With one more word, I shall turn
to the business at hand. That word is
confidence-confidence in Ben Barnes
... in Gus Mutscher... and in you,
the members of the 62nd Legislature.
"Because you know as well as I
what we must do here, I am confident
we will do it-not satisfactorily to
every constituent, but acceptably in
our own hearts. We will work with
good will to compromise our disagree-
ments in the public interest."Time is too short and precious for
pettiness.
"Disaster is too near for anything
short of dedicated response.
"Great challenges can inspire great
responses. I go into this Session with
high hopes of working things out for
Texas. We will do this TOGETHER-
there is no other way.
"I have already encountered one im-
possible assignment: That of present-
ing the Governor's Program and the
Governor's Budget in a single mes-
sage of endurable length.
"Recognizing that I am legally and
morally obliged to report fully on
what is often called "the state of
State"-and to make recommenda-
tions in many areas, I shall do that
in this manner:
"1. I am today delivering to you
copies of the Executive Budget, which
anticipates the need for no new taxes,
reflecting my suggestions for spend-
ing in the 1972-73 biennium, accom-
panied by an extended analysis of
these recommendations.
"2. In another wrtten message, I
am summarizing a number of my sug-
gestions for new laws and amend-
ments to existing laws and adminis-
trative procedures of general interest.
"3. I am hereby noting that other
significant topics will be covered in
special messages as promptly as they
can be prepared, or when a reason for
them develops.
"4. Finally, I shall devote these re-
marks today to three important top-
ics:
"(1) Emergency subjects, primari-
ly our welfare dilemma, and recom-
mendations for covering emergency
revenue needs.
"(2) Recommendations for Consti-
tutional amendments to be submitted
to a vote at the earliest possible date.
"and, (3) Recommendations for
funding the general appropriations
for the biennium.
PUBLIC WELFARE
"I submit to you first for emergen-
cy consideration the subject of Public
Welfare.
"The word 'emergency' may not be
strong enough. Actually, Texas is liv-
ing with three welfare crises-past,
present and future.
"The PAST crisis was postponed
last February when, under authority
granted by the general appropriations
bill, I transferred $13.5 million from48
SENATE JOURNAL
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Texas. Legislature. Senate. Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas, Regular Session of the Sixty-Second Legislature, Volume 1, legislative document, 1971; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146003/m1/48/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.