By David A. Díaz – Legislative Media
UT Medical School and Increased Funding for Health and Education Secured for House District 40
With the new “Super University”, a new South Texas University of Texas Medical School, and increased funding for health and public education secured for House District 40, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, on Tuesday, June 23 announced his intention to seek reelection to the Texas Legislature.
Canales’ House District 40 contains most of Edinburg, including The University of Texas-Pan American, Elsa, San Carlos, La Blanca, Faysville, northern Pharr, and portions of McAllen and Weslaco.
“It is an honor to serve the families and businesses of Edinburg and Hidalgo County,” said Canales, a local attorney and father of three. “I am blessed and humbled by the sheer amount of people who encourage me to seek another term as State Representative. Today, I am pleased to announce my reelection campaign for the Texas House.”
He is married to Erica E. Canales of Edinburg, who is a local business owner. They are the parents of Terry Andres Canales, Juliana Figueroa, and newborn Caleb Ezra Canales. The family lives in Edinburg, where Juliana attends public school and son Terry will soon begin pre-school.
Currently, Canales is in the process of renovating his new district office within a building owned by the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, located at 101 North 10th Avenue, across from the Hidalgo County Courthouse.
In the meantime, his constituents who are in the need of assistance are encouraged to call his Capitol office at (512) 463-0426 or to come to his law practice at 2727 West University Drive in Edinburg.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS TO BE CREATED BY LEGISLATION CHAMPIONED BY REP. CANALES
His bid for a second two-year term, which would begin in January 2015, comes after a remarkable first term, which included landmark legislation – of which he was a leading sponsor – that will improve medical education, health care, and economic development in the near future, and for generations to come.
Canales currently serves on the influential Committee on Energy Resources, which deals with the production, regulation, transportation, and development of oil, gas, and other energy resources in the State of Texas, and the Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, which handles legislation designed to protect Texans from criminals, and ensure fairness in the judicial system.
“I worked hard this past session to fight for the priorities of my district, including education, healthcare, veterans, and job creation. Working closely and effectively with the Valley legislative delegation and the other top leadership of the Legislature, we achieved many of these goals that exceeded even my own expectations,” he said.
Canales played a key role in personally securing the majority of votes in the 150-member House of Representatives to pass Senate Bill 24, by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Rep. René Oliveira, D-Brownsville, which will merge UT-Pan American and UT-Brownsville, and with it, create a full-fledged UT medical school with a major presence in Edinburg.
“Tens of thousands of high-paying jobs, directly and indirectly linked to Senate Bill 24, will be created over the next few years as a result of the construction, operation, and maintenance of a UT medical school in the Valley, including here in House District 40, where Edinburg will have a major campus,” said Canales. “Equally important, SB 24 gives UT-Pan American access to the $13 billion Permanent University Fund for the first time. The funds can be used for major construction projects, including a much-needed $100 million Science Building at UTPA and construction of the UT medical school in Edinburg and throughout the Valley.”
On Wednesday, July 10, Canales attended the UT System Board of Regents meeting in Austin, where the first distribution of money from the Permanent University Fund – an allocation totaling $44.8 million – was provided to the “Super University.”
“I was beside myself thinking that District 40 and the people of South Texas will be receiving a distribution of this magnitude as a result of legislation that I, along with the rest of the Valley Delegation, worked so hard to pass,” Canales said.
SUCCESSFUL LAWMAKER HELPED BRING MILLIONS MORE STATE DOLLARS FOR SCHOOLS IN HOUSE DISTRICT 40
Canales’ work in the Legislature also resulted in the passage of a new state budget that helped restore drastic budget cuts to public schools which occurred 18 months before he was elected to the House of Representatives.
“I fought for increases in education and healthcare in the state’s budget – which did not raise taxes – and which allowed for more than $1.2 billion in tax relief,“ Canales emphasized. “This session we fully funded enrollment growth in our public schools which was not done last biennium, while increasing the money to the Foundation School Program by $3.2 billion dollars. On top of that, we managed to secure an additional $530 million to strengthen the Teacher Retirement System.”
According to the Texas Education Agency, Edinburg CISD will see an increase in their budget of 5.05% percent in 2014 and 7.74% in 2015, which is a significant increase in per student funding.
Canales is a passionate advocate for education, always striving to ensure that our children are seen as an investment and not an expense. He holds a deep-rooted belief that education is the cornerstone of society and a great equalizer.
Canales also coauthored House Bill 5 during the regular session, which reduced the number of mandatory high school end-of-course exams from 15 to 5.
“I told the people of District 40 that I would fight to reduce standardized testing, and restore budget cuts, and that is exactly what I did,” he said. “The bill places curriculum back into our educator’s hand by allowing teachers to spend more time teaching and not simply preparing students for tests,” he said.
“This session also saw increases in funding to the TEXAS Grant fund so that Texas high school graduates with financial need can receive up to $7,400 a year to attend public universities. Legislators also increased per-student funding at colleges and universities to reduce the need for tuition increases that can make college unaffordable for our children,” he added.
