San Antonio Express News
By Trevor Hawes

Just one day before the start of the 85th Legislature, efforts to improve transportation in West Texas got a small shot in the arm.

Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock filed a bill Monday seeking to direct the Texas Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study that would see Interstate 27 extend south of Lubbock to Laredo.

The bill supports the activities of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance, a Lubbock-based organization that seeks the conversion of the congressionally recognized ports-to-plains corridor into interstate-grade highway and designated as I-27.

The project is a long time coming. “The ports-to-plains highway has been talked about for as long as I can remember,” Burrows told the Reporter-Telegram.

I-27 is unique among interstates in that its southern terminus does not connect to another interstate. Now is the right time to pursue a feasibility study to get it connected, Burrows said, because pro-infrastructure president-elect Donald Trump will soon take over as the nation’s executive.

“Ideally, once we have a new president, who called for a large infrastructure package to be delivered from the federal government, I want Texas to be in the best place to potentially highlight this project as one of the opportunities to do infrastructure expansion,” Burrows said.

The question on many minds, however, is where I-27 will go. The bill does not lay out the route. “It would be improper for my bill to tell TxDOT what the route ought to be,” Burrows said. “TxDOT needs to determine the route.”

According to a map provided by Ports-to-Plains, the corridor has one of two options at Lamesa: continue south on U.S. Highway 87 through Big Spring or head into Midland via State Highway 349 and continue south on SH 158. Both options meet at Sterling City.

Burrows said he doesn’t have a preferred route but that he has heard the most talk about going through Big Spring with possibly a spur heading through Midland.

Ports-to-Plains President Michael Reeves said Monday that it’s possible both routes could be designated as I-27.

“When you look at what’s happening with I-69 in East Texas, they have a couple of different stretches designated. Same with I-35; you have I-35 east and west in Fort Worth and Dallas,” he said. “I don’t think it would be unprecedented to have both of those segments designated. But that’s why you have a feasibility study — to let the professionals and engineers look at it.”

What might work in Midland’s favor is the Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance’s push to re-designate the I-14 project’s western terminus. I-14 is the centerpiece of the congressionally approved Gulf Coast Strategic Highway project, known as “Ports to Forts.”

MOTRAN and other organizations support moving I-14’s western terminus from I-10 and U.S. 190 to a point in western Ector County along I-20, then heading south on what is currently SH 158 and U.S. 87 to Brady.

Reeves said having I-27 and I-14 on the same route would be beneficial. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to get two interstates for the price of one. Overlapping them would be a way to stretch that transportation dollar.”

Burrows and Reeves said having I-27 extend completely to Laredo will be important for several reasons, but namely because a large amount of freight transported between the U.S. and Mexico through Laredo along I-35 has created tremendous congestion on that interstate. Having an interstate corridor traveling north-south to the west would serve the entire western United States, particularly fast-growing areas such as Denver.

The potential economic benefits for West Texans can’t be underestimated, Reeves said. He cited a recent TxDOT freight mobility study that determined more than 73 percent of the Texas population and 82 percent of the state’s employment are projected to be located within 5 miles of an interstate by 2040. I-27 could give the whole region a boost, he said.

Burrows offered similar sentiments. “It’s a really good project for West Texas and our industries, including oil and gas. With a new president in place that wants to see new infrastructure come together, I want Texas to be in a position to show I-27 as a great opportunity for that investment.”

The bill is HB 869; to read it, visit www.capitol.state.tx.us.

Read more here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/state/article/Is-I-27-in-Midland-s-future-10845936.php

Lubbock Avalanche – Journal

With dozens of pieces of legislation already filed, South Plains and Panhandle lawmakers arrived at the Capitol in Austin on Tuesday to convene the 85th Texas Legislature, where a West Texas senator was named president pro tempore of the Senate.

State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, was elected by his peers to the largely honorary post. It places him second in line to the governorship and makes him acting governor when Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are out of the state.

“I would like to think it means I have their trust, that the work they have to do will get done even in the absence of the presiding officer,” Seliger said of his fellow legislators Tuesday in a phone interview.

The session enters just its second day Wednesday, but during a prefiling period Seliger and other area lawmakers submitted bills they hope to pass into law.

In perhaps some of the most noteworthy early work by an area legislator, Seliger co-authored a joint resolution in December calling for a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution in order to limit the power of the federal government.

The resolution has been a goal for Abbott, even with the GOP set to assume complete control of the federal government this year. In January, the governor laid out nine constitutional amendments he would like to see.

They included allowing a two-thirds majority of the states to override a federal law or regulation or a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

One proposed amendment, which Seliger said he saw as most important, required the federal government to pass a balanced budget, something the Texas government has to do under the state Constitution.

“$19 trillion dollars of debt is simply untenable,” he said, referring to the national debt.

“Its a shame that future generations cannot come back some day and sue us for financial mismanagement when we saddled them with debt or don’t try to make the situation better,” Seliger said.

Patrick, the powerful leader of the Texas Senate, included a convention of states in his list of Senate priorities in November.

But for it to happen, 34 state legislatures must pass applications. So far, only eight states have done so.

Other area lawmakers, including Reps. Dustin Burrows, John Frullo, Ken King and Drew Springer, as well as Sen. Charles Perry, have already prefiled an assortment of bills.

Burrows, the Lubbock Republican whose House District 83 covers much of the southern South Plains, had filed eight bills as of Tuesday on topics ranging from education to agriculture and food assistance. He filed a bill Monday that would direct the Texas Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study on extending Interstate 27 from Lubbock to Laredo along the Ports- to-Plains map.

The bill calls for a study analyzing the cost and the impact to be complete by 2019.

Frullo, a Republican whose House District 84 is contained within Lubbock County, had filed one bill by Tuesday — HB 491 “relating to requiring registration as a sex offender of certain defendants convicted of the offense of continuous trafficking of persons.”

King , a Republican from Canadian whose district covers a rural swath of the Texas Panhandle that runs diagonally from the northeast corner southwest into the South Plains, filed eight bills Monday to bring his total to 12.

Most of them are education related.

House Bill 880 allows school districts to assign certified English as a Second Language teachers to bilingual education programs if there is a shortage of teachers certified for bilingual education and none are available.

Rural districts where English is not the primary language for students sometimes struggle to hire and retain enough bilingual instructors.

King, a member of the House Public Education Committee since he joined the Legislature in 2012, also introduced a handful of bills related to school finance.

How the state pays for public schools looks to be a hot topic again this year after the Texas Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that the method used was constitutional but “undeniably imperfect, with immense room for improvement.”

House Bill 883 calls for boosting state funding for career and technical education programs. House Bill 881 would provide additional funds to help small- and midsized school districts under an existing aid program.

House Bill 881 extends a school funding provision that was created in 2006 and set to expire this year. Under the bill, it won’t expire until the 2020-21 school year.

Called Additional State Aid for Tax Reduction, it was designed to plug funding gaps after state lawmakers reduced allowable property tax rates for school districts.

Locally, funds from the provision last year made up about 7 percent of Bushland school district’s $14.2 million operating budget. The looming end of the funding has worried administrators there.

Perry, R-Lubbock, had authored 19 bills by Tuesday, including one filed in November that would require local governments and law enforcement to “uphold the rule of law and enforce the immigration laws currently on the book.”

The aim is to eliminate sanctuary cities in the state.

“By electing a Republican president and Republican majorities in Congress, the American people made it clear that solving our illegal immigration crisis must be a priority,” Perry said at the time. “That starts by eliminating sanctuary cities, securing our border and enforcing the immigration laws we currently have on the books.

Springer, R-Muenster, has filed 19 bills and resolutions.

He represents Wheeler, Collingsworth, Hall and Childress counties in the southwest part of the Panhandle.

Joining a movement that has been making headlines around the state, Springer filed House Bill 410, which would allow for tax-free feminine hygiene products.

“It was driven by constituents that contacted me because they’d heard it passed in other states recently,” he said. “Some even said, ‘I didn’t realize I was paying tax on it. I thought it was treated like medicine and a medical necessity and not a luxury item.’ ”

Springer’s House Bill 365 calls for the secretary of state to conduct a study about implementing a single election date in November.

Currently, municipal elections in Texas are generally held in May.

Supporters say holding those elections in November, alongside state and national contests, could improve voter turnout.

Also filed by Springer, House Bill 207 would allow general-law municipalities, which typically have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, to increase the distance sex offenders can be made to stay away from places like schools and playgrounds.

The current limit for these small towns is 500 feet, Springer said.

Read more here: http://lubbockonline.com/news/2017-01-10/lubbock-area-lawmakers-enter-85th-session-dozens-bills

Lubbock Avalanche – Journal
By: Matt Dotray

State Rep. Dustin Burrows wants Texas to study the proposed extension of Interstate 27.

The day before the state’s 85th Legislature convenes, Burrows filed a bill that would direct the Texas Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study on extending Interstate 27 from Lubbock to Laredo along the Ports- to-Plains map.

The bill calls for a study analyzing the cost and the impact to be complete by 2019.

“The bill would direct TxDOT to examine a critically needed expansion of I-27, which currently ends in Lubbock,” Burrows said of the Amarillo to Lubbock highway. “Given the economic and population growth West Texas has experienced during the last 20 years, the continuation of the interstate to Laredo would allow for further industry and business expansion along the route.”

Going south from Lubbock in the proposed route, the interstate would go down to Lamesa, split in Lamesa with one route going to Midland and the other going to Big Spring; meet back in Sterling City where it continues through San Angelo and down to Del Rio. From there it would hug the border until it reaches Eagle Pass, then go east to Carrizo Springs and then south to Laredo.

The proposed route would cross I-20 in Midland and Big Spring, I-10 in Sonora and both I-35 and the future route of I-69 in Laredo.

Michael Reeves, executive director of the Ports to Plains Alliance, said in a news release that he supports the effort to facilitate the needed study. Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope said the same.

“From an economic development perspective, the extension of I-27 would be a huge boost, not only to Lubbock’s economy, but to virtually all the communities along the Interstate. A thorough TxDOT study would certainly prepare us for the next step in the process.”

Read more here: http://lubbockonline.com/local/2017-01-09/rep-burrows-files-bill-i-27-extension-study

(KCBD) – Texas State Representative Dustin R. Burrows (HD-83) filed House Bill 869 Monday morning, legislation directing the Texas Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study of extending Interstate Highway I-27 from Lubbock to Laredo.

“This bill would direct TXDOT to examine a critically needed expansion of I-27, which currently ends in Lubbock. Given the economic and population growth West Texas has experienced during the last 20-years, the continuation of the interstate to Laredo would allow for further industry and business expansion along the route,” said Burrows. “President-elect Trump has stated he will pursue substantial national infrastructure improvements and my bill positions West Texas to be ready with a solid plan for the I-27 expansion,” Burrows added.

Michael Reeves, Executive Director of the Ports to Plains Alliance, a group of over 275 communities and businesses who advocate for transportation infrastructure improvement, said “We wholeheartedly support Rep. Burrows’ bill which will facilitate a critical next step in our efforts to extend Interstate 27. Texas does not have a major north-south Interstate west of I-35. An extended I-27 will boost economic growth and opportunity in West Texas, while serving as a much-needed alternative to the congested I-35 corridor.”

Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope said “From an economic development perspective, the extension of I-27 would be a huge boost, not only to Lubbock’s economy but to virtually all of the communities along the interstate.

A thorough TXDOT study would certainly prepare us for the next step in this process.”

Read more here: http://www.kcbd.com/story/34216962/tx-rep-burrows-files-bill-to-authorize-txdot-study-of-extending-i-27-to-laredo

Texas State Representative Dustin R. Burrows (HD-83) filed House Bill 869 today, legislation directing the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) to conduct a feasibility study of extending Interstate Highway I-27 from Lubbock to Laredo.

“This bill would direct TXDOT to examine a critically needed expansion of I-27, which currently ends in Lubbock. Given the economic and population growth West Texas has experienced during the last 20-years, the continuation of the interstate to Laredo would allow for further industry and business expansion along the route,” said Burrows. “President-elect Trump has stated he will pursue substantial national infrastructure improvements and my bill positions West Texas to be ready with a solid plan for the I-27 expansion,” Burrows added.

HB 869: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/85R/billtext/pdf/HB00869I.pdf#navpanes=0

KFYO
Chad Hasty Radio Show

Monday on The Chad Hasty Show, Texas House District 83 Representative Dustin Burrows joined Chad in the KFYO studio to talk about the upcoming 85th Texas Legislature, and many of the issues on tap for the state.

Burrows and Hasty discussed what items will be main priorities in the legislature, as well as what Burrows’ own priorities are for this session. Up front will be reforms for both Child Protective Services (CPS) and mental health care, as well as the price of health care, which is rapidly increasing costs above many people’s budgets. “Whether it’s pharmaceuticals or medical devices or just health insurance, it has become un-affordable for the state [and] for individuals. I’ve got some great ideas, great bills put forward to try to address those,” Burrows said.

Burrows and Hasty also discussed weapons carry issues, including the removal of fees for permits, as well as the issues of “campus carry” and “constitutional carry”.

About the bill Burrows has filed that removes state fees for LTC (License To Carry handguns) permits, Burrows said,

“It’s got a real opportunity this session. I’ve talked to the NRA (National Rifle Association), the TSRA (Texas State Rifle Association), some other gun groups [that have] said this is really important, that we just get rid of the fees.”

Also in the discussion were the misuse of SNAP (Texas’ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and the ever-controversial topic of genders and bathroom use.

Listen to the entire interview with Representative Dustin Burrows in the video above.

The Chad Hasty Show airs weekday mornings live, from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM on News/Talk 95.1 Fm and 790 AM, KFYO, online at KFYO.com, and on the freeRadioPup app. Follow Chad on Twitter via @ChadHastyRadio & KFYO Radio at@KFYO!

Read More: Burrows: Health Care Costs A Priority For Texas Legislature | http://kfyo.com/representative-dustin-burrows-says-health-care-costs-will-be-priority-in-85th-texas-legislature-interview/?trackback=tsmclip

KAMC Lubbock
LUBBOCK,TX

As 2017 approaches, proposed laws kick off the New Year with the next Texas Legislative Session starting on January 10.

District 83 State Representative Dustin Burrows said an overall top priority for this upcoming session is resolving issues with Child Protective Services. However, he added there are local concerns he wants to address as his big ticket items as well.

“We start off the session with a tight budget,” Burrows said. “We’ve got to find a billion dollars and asked every agency to come back and one of the big things that’s really driving the budget and why we continue to have less money to go around is the cost of healthcare.”

Fox34 Lubbock
By: James Eppler

Dustin Burrows is the representative for District 83, which includes Lubbock and much of the South Plains. Discussing his priorities for his second legislative session on “Good Day Lubbock,” he said he has filed several bills which include one that should provide more funding for rural school districts.

The Republican also talked about the incoming Trump administration’s impact on the state budget, and whether he would support a statewide ban on texting while driving.

Watch the video for the full interview here:

Lubbock Avalanche Journal
By: Josie Musico

Consider granting specially-trained psychologists the authority to write prescriptions, Rep. Dustin Burrows urges his fellow state lawmakers.

In the mental health profession, prescription privileges are limited to licensed psychiatrists. The Lubbock Republican filed a bill Dec. 13 that would change that.

“I’ve heard from multiple groups we have a lack of numbers of psychiatrists available, and part of the solution is to allow highly-trained psychologists to prescribe medication to their patients,” he said.

Burrows’ proposal, House Bill 593, would allow psychologists to prescribe medication if they’ve met certain criteria. Before they independently write prescriptions, those mental-health providers would have to complete two years of biomedical sciences training, a nationally standardized exam in psychopharmacology and a year of supervision by a physician.

“I support this bill because it’s going to provide more of what the citizens of Texas need, which is appropriate mental health medications,” Dr. Cheryl Hall said. From her office in Southwest Lubbock, the clinical psychologist described a patient demand for mental-health medication and a shortage of psychiatrists.

The Lone Star State’s psychiatric community, on the other hand, has concerns.

“We are very much opposed to this,” said Dr. Debra Atkisson in a phone interview. “It’s unsafe for patients — it really is.”

Atkisson is chairwoman of the Federation of Texas Psychiatry and a practicing psychiatrist in Fort Worth.

Two professions

Pychologists are professionals who has completed a doctorate in the psychological field. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in mental disorders.

Atkisson, for instance, graduated in 1986 from Texas Tech’s medical school, then underwent four years of training in mental health. Next came two extra years training in child and adolescent psychiatry.

But you can’t become licensed overnight as a clinical psychologist, either. The doctorate can take about six years; training for presciption privileges would take an extra three years.

“We take very intensive training,” Hall said.

Atkisson considers medical school graduation a major difference between the two professions.

“I very much respect my colleagues in psychology — they’re excellent in providing talk therapy and doing psychological testing — but they are not trained to provide medical care … They have half the number of years of training we do, and their training is based on very different things.”

Atkisson emphasized the potential for misdiagnosis if a mental health professional lacks knowledge of overall medicine.

For example, she recalled a case in which a psychologist colleague diagnosed a 10-year-old boy with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and told his mother he needed Ritalin. Because the psychologist was not legally allowed to write the prescription, she referred the family to Atkisson.

Atkisson’s exam led her to suspect the child’s difficulty in focus and attention could be caused by a brain disease or seizure disorder, so she referred him to a pediatric neurologist.

The neurologist found the cause of his ADHD-like behavior was a brain tumor. The neurologist was relieved the boy did not take Ritalin.

The scare reinforced Atkisson’s support for comprehensive medical knowledge for prescription privileges.

But while psychiatrists worry their counterparts in psychology don’t have enough medical training to prescribe medicine, those psychologists fear too many prescriptions for mental-health medication come from doctors with limited background in mental health.

Burrows’ bill claims roughly 80 percent of prescriptions for mental health medications come from general-practice physicians or nurse practitioners with limited mental-health training.

Dr. Michael Ratheal, a Lubbock clinical psychologist, recently responded to a call from the local medical school’s pediatric department. The erratic behavior of a patient, an 8-year-old girl, at first seemed synonymous with a movement disorder. Ratheal spent time with the patient, then offered a correct diagnosis: paranoid schizophrenia.

Ratheal and Hall can only speculate the time, hassle and taxpayer dollars they could save by writing a prescription for the girl’s treatment themselves.

“I would have got her on medicine immediately, and she would not have to go to the hospital, which is traumatic and unnecessary,” Hall said.

Shortage

Ratheal and Hall point out that in the military and the four states that already allow prescription privileges to trained psychologists — New Mexico, Louisiana, Illinois and Iowa — those psychologists have received no malpractice suits.

“Basically, there’s no evidence that we are not safe and effective providers,” Hall said.

Hall and Ratheal also clarified if the bill passes, they will not prescribe opioids.

The situation with Ratheal’s young schizophrenic patient gets worse: Her family had been in the process of moving to a rural Panhandle county where no psychiatrists are in practice.

An American Medical Association map shows a few practicing psychiatrists in Lubbock and Hale counties, but none elsewhere in A-J Media’s rural coverage area. Statewide, the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Mental Health Shortage Report designated 207 of 254 counties as shortage areas.

And in locales with practicing pyschiatrists, seeing one isn’t always quick. A spokeswoman from Texas Tech Physicians Psychiatry, for instance, told A-J Media her clinic has a three-month wait for new patients. “There’s a crisis in the state right now — there just aren’t enough psychiatrists to go around, and they’re overwhelmed,” Hall said.

Texas psychiatrists say the solution, though, is to recruit more psychiatrists.

Atkisson, the Fort Worth psychiatrist, supports Texas Senate Bill 239. That bill would help with student loan repayments for certain mental health professionals.

Other ideas could include the collaboritive care model, in which professionals in areas work closer together, and telemedicine, in which patients videoconference with doctors. “We have a blueprint already; it’s just a matter of the Legislature using what we already have in place and getting appropriate funding for it,” Atkisson said.

Meanwhile, psychologists see the bill as vital for their patients.

“The need is desperate,” Ratheal said. “If this legislation doesn’t pass, these underserved people remain underserved. There’s not a backup plan.”

Read more here: http://lubbockonline.com/local/2016-12-26/new-bill-would-give-psychologists-prescription-writing-power

PREVIEW OF THE 85TH SESSION OF THE TEXAS STATE LEGISLATURE

With the state and national elections behind us and the New Year around the corner, I wanted to provide you a brief update on the legislative priorities I will be focusing on during the 85th legislative session. But first, I want to thank you for your vote and your continued support. Elisabeth and I recently welcomed our third child, and my oldest just started kindergarten. My children are a constant reminder to me that all of us must work together to insure that you, your children and grandchildren continue to live in the greatest state in the Nation.

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects of being your State Legislator is visiting with you in my office or at a local service organization meetings, farm bureau meetings, community forum, Co-op Gins or town hall. I am grateful to those of you who answered my questionnaire on the topics you believe to be the most important. I read those questionnaires and your thoughts have helped shaped my legislative agenda. During public events and in my office, I have listened carefully when issues are shared. I am acutely aware that laws and regulations affect each and every one of us, both positively and negatively. I am committed to fighting against over regulation and unfunded mandates that keep our economies from growing.  The Legislature must continue to not get in the way of the private sector creating jobs and growing the economy.

KEY ISSUES GOING INTO SESSION

Governor Abbott and both Senate and House Leadership see public education funding, fiscal discipline, support of law enforcement and improving Child Protective Services as key issues going into Session. I look forward to supporting the Governor and Speaker’s legislative efforts to positively affect these issues. Additionally, I am hopeful that the legislature will address TRS-Care reform. Our state’s teachers are one of the most valuable resources we have – and, to that end, financial pitfalls with regards to their retirement funds must be addressed.

Across House District 83, I have heard your voices loud and clear – and your thoughts and concerns have helped me to effectively create legislation concerning the following issues:

• Market based approaches to address Pharmaceutical and Medical Costs;
• Supporting and Strengthening our Second Amendment Freedoms;
• Protecting Farmers from Burdensome Regulation;
• Property Tax Appraisal Reform;
• Continue to Advance State’s Rights and Strengthen the 10th Amendment; and,
• Defend the 1st Amendment and our Religious Liberties

Prior to and during the course of the Legislative session, I will provide you with regular updates on the progress of bills focusing on these issues. Detailed explanations of the bills will be posted on the Burrows4TX website.

THE STATE BUDGET

Going forward into the 85th Session, it is important to recall that the 84th Legislature approved a $209.4 billion biennial budget, which represented an all funds increase of 3.6%. It was a conservative budget, and spending was less than available revenue and less than spending limit; there is an estimated $4.2 billion in general revenue unspent and the Legislature did not access the Rainy Day Fund. A Supplemental Appropriations Bill of $2.1 Billion remains under the spending limit, but only $600 million is undedicated general revenue. The current balance of the State’s Rainy Day fund is approximately $10.4 billion, which was lower than $11.1 billion predicted. The State’s Highway Fund and Rainy Day Fund bear most of lost energy tax revenue. The largest State general revenue fund source is sales taxes, which, unfortunately, are down 2.27% from 2015.

HOW TO CONTACT ME

When the 85th Legislative Session begins in January, I will continue to regularly update you via email newsletters, my Facebook Page and the Burrows4TXwebsite. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Burrow4TX). I welcome your constant feedback and comments. You can email me at[email protected]; or telephone my State Capitol Office at (512) 463-0542.

God bless,

Dustin