[June 1997 issue of the Dallas County Democratic Report newsletter] Page: 3 of 8
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June,1997
Making State Government Work
by Senator Royce West
The day after the end of the 75th Legislative Session, I picked up a copy of the Dallas Morning
News and read an editorial entitled "Mediocre Session for 75th Legislature." I'm not sure by what
measure the editors at the DMN judged this session, but having been in the trenches for the
session's 140 day duration, it certainly didn't feel mediocre to me!
I worked harder this session than I ever have. Sometimes we work as hard at killing bad legisla-
tion as we do at passing good legislation. Sometimes we spend a lot of time working on things
behind the scenes, like trying to get funding for worthy programs. These are items that don't always
show up in post session reviews and editorials.
During the session, we also addressed zeroing-out the impact of the Hopwood Decision which
struck, and continues to strike, a massive blow to the mechanism by which Texas' public colleges
and universities diversify the student bodies of their campuses. This decision dictated that these
institutions find a way to implement race-neutral criteria in their admissions' policies. I co-spon-
sored House Bill 588 which will increase the diversity of first-time freshmen by automatically
admitting students who are in the top 10% of their graduating class, apply within two years of
graduation, and adhere to application deadlines. The governing boards of selected institutions
could determine the necessity of additional automatic admission of the next 25 percent of the
graduating class and put in place applicable admissions' policies. Additional first-time freshmen
would be admitted using criteria that utilize race-neutral factors that would increase the likelihood
of the admittance of educationally and economically disadvantaged students. In addition, I was
instrumental in securing an additional $10 million for student financial aid.
The second piece of legislation I coauthored (SB 1419) also related to the Hopwood Decision.
The bill simply states that if a public college or university uses grade point averageTGPA) as a
criterion for freshman admittance, then that GPA criterion must be uniform for all entering fresh-
men. I strongly believe that our young people are our greatest asset and that college athletes should
not be valued any more than any other college students. Therefore, if a 3.0 GPA is the requirement
for one applicant, it should be the standard for all applicants, athletes and non-athletes alike. And if
an allowance, waiver, or adjustment of this GPA requirement is offered to an athlete on a scholar-
ship, then non-athletes should receive this same allowance, waiver, or adjustment. Winners and
Super Stars aren't always athletes. They are also scholars.
Another issue that I was very involved in this session was the laws related to underage drinking
and driving. I served as the Chairman of the Senate Interim Committee of Juvenile Justice and
Driving While Intoxicated. As a result of this appointment by Lt. Governor Bullock, I was able to
conduct public hearings across the state concerning this issue. These hearings culminated in a series
of bills that created a new offense of driving Under the Influence of a Minor, lowered the blood
alcohol content for minors from .07 to .00, provided the penalty of a Class C misdemeanor for the
first two offenses and a Class B for the third, and called for license suspensions. If we save one life
through this legislation, then it was well worth it.
And finally, many of you in Dallas County were aware of, or directly impacted by, the manner in
which election judges were selected in the last General Election. The "hodge podge" manner in
which election judges were selected no longer exists after the passage of House Bill 331 which sets
in place a uniform criterion for the selection of election judges (for more on this, see "New Election
Legislation Pending" on page 6).
Not mediocre at all.
Senator Royce West represents Texas Senate District 23.
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[June 1997 issue of the Dallas County Democratic Report newsletter], periodical, June 1997; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc947839/m1/3/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.