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January 09, 2007
The 80th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature has now convened, and for the next 140 days, the members will draft a $150 billion state budget and consider more than 5,000 items of proposed legislation. As you know, their consideration of our legislative appropriations requests and of many issues concerning higher education, public health and health care are vital to our future.
I wish to share a few expectations for interactions between our faculty and staff and members of the Texas Legislature.
Our interactions with legislators, their staffs and committees, and with statewide public officials are governed by guidelines set by The University of Texas System Chancellor Mark Yudof. These guidelines essentially provide that all communications and interactions must be managed by my office and by our own internal Office of Governmental Relations, which works in close collaboration with UT System Office of Governmental Relations in Austin.
To this end, I ask that if you have any reason to be in contact with legislators or have any questions about our legislative process, please contact Sabrina Midkiff, chief governmental relations officer, 713-500-3015, or Scott Barnett, legislative research analyst, 713-500-3959. Further, if contacted by any of the Governmental Relations staff for response to any legislative inquiry, please respond in a timely manner. (See also contact list below.)
As a reminder, when testifying before a legislative committee in an official capacity representing the UT Health Science Center at Houston, Texas law prohibits state employees from lobbying the legislature or taking official positions favoring or opposing legislation. If you desire to testify in an individual capacity, it is important to notify our Office of Governmental Relations as well.
I am very proud of the work that each of you do and of the progress and growth that we have made in the last several years. It is my belief that our elected officials recognize our good efforts and I appreciate your contributions to our success. Thank you for working within this process during the legislative session.
Sincerely yours,
James T. Willerson, M.D.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Office of Governmental Relations
Contact List
Sabrina Midkiff, Chief Governmental Relations Officer
Sabrina.Midkiff@uth.tmc.edu
713-500-3015
Scott Barnett, Legislative Research Analyst
Scott.Barnett@uth.tmc.edu
713-500-3959
Patricia Sanchez, Executive Assistant
Patricia.Sanchez@uth.tmc.edu
713-500-3964
Cameron Krier, Graduate Assistant
Cameron.M.Krier@uth.tmc.edu
713-500-3289
Averell Sutton, Graduate Assistant
Averell.H.Sutton@uth.tmc.edu
713-500-3948
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