Veto Update
 Finally ... We can report that the Governor’s veto of funding for employee health insurance has been formally resolved.
Last week, the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor’s Office issued a letter instructing the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to pay forward funds to cover group health insurance. Although an agreement was reached on this issue last fall, no formal action was taken until last week.
This resolution happened only because of successful advocacy efforts undertaken by community colleges across the state. Thanks to each of you who played a role in these efforts.
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Community Support
 Recently, Dr. Lassiter and our Board of Trustees held a legislative briefing luncheon with area chambers of commerce and civic groups. This meeting provided an opportunity for us to discuss the draft of our legislative priorities with these important community opinion leaders.
We continue to work with these groups to ensure that they adopt portions of our legislative agenda into those of their organizations. We’re pleased that the Dallas Regional Chamber supports community colleges in its own draft legislative agenda. We hope that others will follow suit.
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Legislative Agenda
 Speaking of our legislative agenda ... we have developed a draft list of legislative priorities, which are provided below, and full details (PDF - 40KB) are posted on DCCCD’s legislative affairs web pages.
- Sufficient base funding for community colleges
- Proportionality
- Increased financial aid
- Dual credit
- College readiness funding
- New nursing education funding models
- Community College Purchasing Bill
- An exemption to the “Six-Drop Rule”
This list represents our top priorities. Clearly, we face other legislative issues — including textbook costs, safety issues and others — but this list gives you a sense of direction for our legislative agenda.
Because this agenda is still in draft form, please contact us with any feedback you might want to share. Once our agenda is finalized, we hope you will contact your legislators to ask for their support.
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A-Teams
 Speaking of support ... We continue to add members to our Advocacy Teams. Please join us today! As a reminder, our A-Teams comprise: Trustees, members of the executive team, current/former students, employee groups, retirees, and business and civic leaders.
A-Team members extend our advocacy initiatives by participating in or lending their names to letters to the editor, op-eds and letters to public officials; by participating in blogs and online forum discussions; and by making phone calls to elected officials. Our A-Teams will be an important part of our efforts during the next legislative session.
We are updating membership on our A-Teams and would appreciate as much participation as possible. We many never need to call upon you for help, but we never know what surprises the legislative session will bring. If you are interested in being part of an A-Team, please contact Justin Lonon at justin.lonon@DCCCD.edu or call 214-860-2135.
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DCCCD-PAC
 The DCCCD-PAC is alive and well. We continue to receive donations to the PAC, which are used to fund small contributions to members of the Dallas Legislative Delegation. The DCCCD-PAC helps demonstrate our commitment to our legislators.
Persons who are interested in supporting the DCCCD-PAC through a contribution — large or small — can mail their check (payable to DCCCD-PAC) directly to DCCCD-PAC, 9330 LBJ Freeway, Suite 270, Dallas, TX 75243.
If you would like additional information about the DCCCD-PAC, please contact DCCCDpac@hotmail.com. Any level of support is helpful to our overall advocacy efforts.
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