In this issue: Funding and Bill Update

I. URGENT CALL TO ACTION ON DATABASE FUNDING

I. URGENT CALL TO ACTION ON DATABASE FUNDING

The Senate Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday (March 20) next week to consider riders to the State Library budget and riders to the Texas Education Agency budget Thursday (March 22). This will be our only opportunity to get rider funding for databases (K-12 and TexShare) approved by the Senate!

URGENT CALL TO ACTION:

Contact your senator as soon as possible and ask support for increased funding for library online database access.  Sen. Judith Zaffirini is sponsoring two riders (proposed additions to state agency budgets).

1) The first rider requests for $2.5 million a year for K-12 database access through the Texas Education Agency budget, which is in Article III of the budget and will be considered on Thursday.

2) The second riders requests $500,000 a year for an increase in TexShare in the Texas State Library and Archives Commission budget, which is in Article I of the budget and will be considered on Tuesday.

Contact your senator before the hearings next week and ask for them to support these funding requests. If your senator serves on the Finance Committee (see the list below), it is critically important that they hear from you about these funding requests. If your senator does not serve on the Finance Committee, ask him to contact colleagues on the Finance Committee in support of these two funding requests. 

What to ask for when you contact the offices:

"Please support funding for library online resources. Senator Zaffirini is proposing two riders that will help ensure equitable, online resources for all Texans. First, support a rider for $500,000 a year for TexShare, a program that supports the needs of communities and higher education. This rider will be considered on Tuesday and is proposed in Article I. Second, please support the rider requesting $2.5 million a year for K-12 databases. There is currently no statewide program to provide Texas students with equitable access to online library materials. This measure will be considered on Thursday with Article III."

Then, do describe the value of these resources to your learning communities. Be as specific as possible. For additional talking points, go to http://www.txla.org/html/legis/80/database_access.pdf.

Members of the Legislative Budget Committees

To contact members, click on the URL for an online email form or for phone and fax numbers.

Senate Finance

Sen. Steve Ogden – Chair (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist5/dist5.htm)

Sen. Judith Zaffirini – Vice Chair (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist21/dist21.htm)

Sen. Kip Averitt – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist22/dist22.htm)

Sen. Bob Deuell – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist2/dist2.htm)

Sen. Robert Duncan – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist28/dist28.htm)

Sen. Kevin Eltife – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist1/dist1.htm)

Sen. Troy Fraser – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist24/dist24.htm)

Sen. Juan Hinojosa – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist20/dist20.htm)

Sen. Kyle Janek – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist17/dist17.htm)

Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist27/dist27.htm)

Sen. Jane Nelson – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist12/dist12.htm)

Sen. Florence Shapiro  -- (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist8/dist8.htm)   

Sen. Royce West – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist23/dist23.htm)

Sen. John Whitmire – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist15/dist15.htm)

Sen. Tommy Williams – (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist4/dist4.htm)

To find out who represents you, go to: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/.