“We are in a crisis right now,” said incoming state Rep. Dennis Villalobos.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The opening session of the 89th Texas Legislature begins one week from now, and local lawmakers are listing their priorities.
A discussion sponsored by the United Chamber of Commerce was held Tuesday afternoon on the Texas A&M University Corpus Christi campus.
Economic growth, border security, and human trafficking were at the top of the list, but so was fighting property tax increases.
Discussions began by recognizing the region’s critical water needs.
This is because the total water level in the lake has dropped below 20 percent.
“Water in particular is a big issue. I actually requested to be on that committee,” said Sen.-elect Adam Hinojosa.
Hinojosa, who will be sworn in to represent the 27th District, said for economic opportunity to continue to grow in South Texas, it must start with infrastructure.
“We need long-term solutions to our water needs, and the state needs to play a more active role locally as a whole in actually supporting our water needs. I think so,” he said.
He told the audience that the state’s water grid could be an option.
“For far too long, we have allowed state municipalities and smaller entities to really shoulder the burden of water issues,” Hinojosa said. “We, as a nation, need to commit to ensuring that our needs are met indefinitely.”
He agrees that desalination is strategic for the Coastal Bend, but the plant won’t be built until 2028.
District 34 newcomer Dennis Villalobos said the area has immediate short-term needs.
“We are in a crisis at the moment, and I commend all of the city’s projects and the steps it is taking now to close that gap,” she said, adding that the city is working to increase production. He talked about being. In addition to the Mary Rose Pipeline, we will also invest in water reuse for irrigation.
City leaders met with the governor’s office on Monday to help move many of these projects forward quickly.
“There are a lot of new companies looking to come to Corpus Christi, but they can’t because there’s no water,” she said.
“I came to the Tesla lithium refinery in my district in HD 34 today and they still don’t have a water contract,” Villalobos added. “Construction has just started, but water is scarce. We need water. We need good jobs. We need all of that to help our economy. ”
“The three biggest issues we hear about in the state are power, water and labor,” said veteran state Rep. Todd Hunter.
Hunter, who represents District 32, encouraged people to work together on this issue.
“Let’s stop shooting at each other. There are so many different water projects, let’s put them all on the table,” he said.
Hunter added that higher education needs funding, and that includes pay raises for teachers.
He said the state is doing well heading into this legislative session and actually has a $22 billion surplus. He said this is going to be a money session and his goal is to ensure the Coastal Bend is funded.
