Wind storm insurance tops the legislative agenda for State Rep. Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi. Now, chair of the Calendars Committee, the Republican legislator will be sworn into his 9th term in office on Jan. 10, 2017.
When State Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi) takes the oath of office Jan. 10, he will one of only 11 returning members who have served since 1989. As chairman of the powerful and important calendars committee, his longevity and experience is a good thing for the Coastal Bend. The plethora of members who have come and gone over time is also a good thing, Hunter told the Corpus Christi Business News recently.
“It’s shows you that the Texas process is very fluid and we’ve brought a lot of new folks in,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”
Hunter has yet to file any bills, though he plans to author legislation pertaining to cruise ship development in South Texas, along with anti-domestic violence and human trafficking. He also plans to work on legislation for ocean sea water desalination and to help keep and possibly increase funding for Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Del Mar College and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.
“And I will do everything I can to defend the current wind storm law against any negative laws against the coast,” he said. “I will also look at any travel tourism laws that promote the Coastal Bend. These are my focuses right now.”
Other laws and priorities could develop over the course of the five-month-long session, Hunter continued. This year, the legislature is going to be dealing with a tighter than usual budget, mainly due to a downturn in the oil and gas industry.
“We are going to have a lean budget, but not a bad budget,” he said.
The turnover in the White House will bring in new people to work with across the board in federal agencies, which could have an impact on Texas.
“It will be positive for Texas,” he said. “Texas is going to do fine and go forward and be its independent self.”
Election reform measures will most likely grab some headlines during the session. Hunter says he expects bills dealing with the security of mail-in ballots and online registration to come before his committee. Also, cleaning up voter registration roles and open voting precincts statewide, similar to what Corpus Christi did this past general election. In Corpus Christi, voters were able to cast ballots at any polling place, rather than having to go to assigned locations based on their home address.
He further expects to see bills that “will put some teeth” in litter and dumping laws. Bills seeking to standardize ride hailing cab regulations and plastic bag bans are also expected to become a priority this session.
“My biggest goal is to make sure the Coastal Bend is taken care of,” he said. “I want to make sure the Corpus Christi, Port Aransas region is on the map. I want to put us on the radar as a place to come not only for Texans but nationally and internationally. I am going to do what I can to promote this area and keep up the economy and jobs.”
