Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Sixty-Fifth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1 Page: 16
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65th LEGISLATURE - REGULAR SESSION
But, that is all behind us and now we must look to the future. I see the 65th
Legislature as one of the hardest-working, problem-solving groups ever assembled.
The dedication of you, the Members of the 65th Legislature, is evident. And
you have an array of new tools to assist in your work.
During the interim, new procedures have been instituted to help make the legis-
lative process more efficient. The expected record workload can be handled by the
new process and the additional committee and House business office space which
will help to ease the logjams of past years.
You, along with the news media and the general public will have more informa-
tion at your fingertips than in any previous session.
These ingredients, however, must be coupled with good, hard-working commit-
tees to obtain the best possible results. For this reason, I will take a hard look at
past performance and work product and personal acceptability by members when
making selections of those who will chair our 24 substantive and 4 procedural com-
mittees.
Some people will be pleased and others will certainly be unhappy. It will be a
hard chore for me, but the end product reflected in my appointments must assure
results through dedication and desire to solve the problems we face.
Not only the leadership of the committees but the other members, too, with
exception of seniority selections, will be appointed with the very same factors in
mind.
To accomplish these goals we will draw heavily on experience and expertise. I
would like each of you to serve exactly where you would like to serve during the next
session, but that would be impossible. After all, we couldn't have 150 Speakers.
When committees are appointed, please evaluate your appointment in the light
of the job that must be done. We will all have ample opportunity to be of real ser-
vice to our fellow Texans.
Whatever your role, all I ask is that you give it all you have. It is my sincere
desire to make this the most productive legislature in Texas history. To do this we
must address some of the pressing problems of the day by placing them in priority
status.
First, we must be prudent in handling the surplus in our State Treasury.
Second, we must find a permanent solution to public school financing, which I
believe should include a property tax reduction.
Third, we must come to grips with the ever-rising cost of medical malpractice
insurance rates. Fourth, we must give our law enforcement officers encouragement
by passing law and order legislation that will protect the victim of the crime instead
of the criminal.
Fifth, we must address an array of energy issues. We must seek relief for our
people from the high cost of utilities and at the same time encourage development
and production of our energy resources.
The list goes on and on. It adds up to the fact that we have a lot of work to be
done as you can tell by the number cof prefiled bills, which by the way, is another
first for the Texas House. It will take long hours with very little time off for the next
140 days but this deliberative body can and will meet the task. I will give it every-
thing I have and I know you will. The time is at hand and let's be on with the task.
Thank you.
RECESS
Representative Madla moved that the House recess until 4 p.m. today.The motion prevailed without objection.
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Sixty-Fifth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1, legislative document, 1977; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth307701/m1/20/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.