Political play pays off for 8th District in legislative process

By Janet Jacobs

Although things bogged down towards the end of the 2009 Texas legislative session, and the governor has called a special session to pick up some of the loose ends, it was a positive five months with some long-lasting consequence for the 8th District, represented by Corsicana’s Byron Cook.

“Working with each other was very positive this session,” he said.

Cook placed himself well politically even before the session began by supporting the candidacy of Joe Straus as the new Speaker of the House. Straus handily won the seat from former speaker Tom Craddick, ending a rather tumultuous period in the House. The upshot was that Cook was assigned to some crucial committees, including the chairmanship of the Environmental Regulation Committee, and he was the only House member on both calendar committees.

His position on the environmental regulation committee meant the very quick approval of an air monitor in Navarro County that had been formerly deemed too expensive by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Although only approved in April, the machine has already been installed at the Corsicana Municipal Airport.

“It’s up and running,” Cook said Thursday.

In addition, the session ended on a positive note for the Corsicana State Home — officially the Corsicana Residential Treatment Center — which was targeted for closure at the beginning of the session. The Corsicana facility, which houses more than 150 youthful offenders, was saved, and the Mexia State School was given new responsibilities and funding as the forensics facility for the state of Texas for alleged offenders.

“The state homes are extremely important, and it serves a very valuable purpose for the clients and the state,” Cook said. “The Corsicana treatment facility, that was a big deal to me, making sure we didn’t get in the crosshairs of closing. The facility in Mexia is one of the (economic) drivers. That’s the heart and soul over in Limestone County. That was a big deal for me, personally.”

Cook pointed to the changes in the top 10 percent bill as another benefit for rural students. The bill allows limits on the number of kids accepted to the state’s top schools, but it will also allow those top 10 students to delay their admission for two years. The change allows them to go to community college for two years and still retain their place at the universities.

“There’s a lot of positives we were able to effect,” Cook said. “There was a group of us who were able to affect the final outcome in a way that will be beneficial for our constituents. All in all, there’s always more things you need to do, but I think we had a good session for my constituents, which is the reason you send me down there.”

Beyond the local issues, the house also worked smoother during this last session, Cook said. The big bills, including the state’s $182.3 billion budget, and the education reforms were two major accomplishments of the body.

“I think the important thing was that the house became a members-driven body again,” Cook said. “The committees and chairs were allowed and encouraged to function the way they should. At the end of the day we had a much more positive session with respect to how members interacted with each other.”

Cook regretted the delays at the end stopped a copper-theft bill he was working on, and some other important bills that didn’t make it out, but the session wasn’t dominated by a single issue.

“There are always certain issues. There are singular issues that sometimes become divisive, but as a whole it wasn’t something that permeated the whole session,” he added.

Although Gov. Rick Perry has called a special session to begin on July 1 to deal with the funding for five state agencies, road bonds and some other issues, Cook said he doesn’t predict the special session will be too intensive or long.

“The real intent is to address those few issues in a short period of time,” Cook said. “I think it’s just addressing some things that needed cleaning up. Sure, members will want to get things added (to the agenda), but in my mind I don’t know how you do that because then where do you stop?”

Byron Cook, a Republican from Corsicana, represents Navarro, Anderson, Freestone and Limestone counties.

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