In February three of our state senators, Sens. Kelly Hancock, Royce West and Don Huffines each joined TREC PAC for lunch in our office.
It was a great opportunity for PAC members to personally meet the senators and also for the senators to hear about current issues and initiatives directly from commercial real estate professionals. While our legislators are familiar with TREC’s policy work, the lunches reminded them of who we are and the impact we make on our economy and community through our programming, TREC Foundation and TREC Community Fund.
Each senator discussed different legislative priorities, but they mentioned several overarching issues important for our state and our region: the economy and budget, taxes, transportation infrastructure and education.
The Economy and Budget
All senators mentioned a concern about the impact of the price of oil and the decrease in drilling activities on the state budget next session. They each stressed that although no one was yet proclaiming that the “sky is falling,” the state budget and financial situation going into the 2017 session would be different from the 2015 session when the state was facing a budget surplus.
Transportation Infrastructure
The senators all discussed the importance of transportation infrastructure and mobility for our region. They explained that Propositions 1 and 7 would in the long term provide for increased transportation funding for our region, despite lower than projected transfers into the State Highway Fund in the next few years with the impact of declining oil and gas production. They did remind TREC PAC that the new dedicated funding streams were never projected to provide all the funding and that more work was needed to be sure transportation infrastructure keeps up with the demands of our growing population.
School Finance and Education Policy
School finance and education policy will also be on the table next session due to an expected court ruling. Sens. Hancock, West and Huffines have all been active in education policy. Sen. Hancock served on the school board for 13 years, while Sens.West and Huffines currently serve on the Senate Education committee. While they have differing approaches to education policy, they all mentioned the important role charter schools play in the system.
The next legislative session will be critical to these issues. TREC will continue to facilitate an open dialogue with our local and state elected officials to help us amplify our voices, support candidates and impact policy.
If you are interested in attending future lunches with local and state representatives, click here to join the PAC.