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February 4, 2021 Newsletter
State Representative Michelle Beckley
There is a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel!
Both personally and for our district, this week has been an exciting one! On Tuesday, I was one of 9,100 to be vaccinated at Denton County Public Health's record-breaking COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Texas Motor Speedway! For me it was my second dose, as I had received my first at Denton County's first Vaccine Clinic on January 4. With two more clinics today and tomorrow, we anticipate that Denton County will surpass its goal of vaccinating over 30,000 people in one week.
Both personally and for our district, this week has been an exciting one! On Tuesday, I was one of 9,100 to be vaccinated at Denton County Public Health's record-breaking COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Texas Motor Speedway! For me it was my second dose, as I had received my first at Denton County's first Vaccine Clinic on January 4. With two more clinics today and tomorrow, we anticipate that Denton County will surpass its goal of vaccinating over 30,000 people in one week.
This week Team Beckley started calling seniors, 75 and older, in the district to make sure they were aware they could now be vaccinated - and at times helped them submit the online form so they could be placed on the waitlist.
To sign up to be placed on the Denton County Public Health Vaccine Waitlist, call 940-349-2585 or complete the form at this link.
Ask not what your County can do for you, but what you can do for your County…
Due to the incredible job Denton County Public Health has done in organizing its Vaccine Clinics quickly and efficiently, the State of Texas has allocated them more vaccines than any other Texas County, but…
Now they need our help!
If you have time and the ability to assist, we urge you to sign up for the Denton County Medical Reserve Corp. Volunteers are needed to help assist with traffic flow and paperwork at the County’s vaccine clinics. To sign up, go to this link.
Our Pledge
Along with 38 of my colleagues, I signed onto the Safe House Pledge:
It was very important to me that I signed on to this pledge, to publicly state that I will do what I can to remain free from infection, so that my colleagues and I can remain healthy and able to fulfill our duties to our constituents and represent them during the 87th Legislative Session.
Our Bills
This week our Legislative Director Cesar Obregon filed our Alcohol Delivery Bill, HB 1519: Relating to the delivery of alcoholic beverages from an alcoholic beverage retailer to an ultimate consumer. This bill will allow holders of package store permits, wine only package store permits, mixed beverage permits, and consumer delivery permits to deliver alcoholic beverages (within their permits) to a consumer in any destination in Texas.
When the pandemic hit, I like many began having my groceries delivered to my home. I was surprised to discover that one thing that I could not have delivered was liquor. While I understood that my home city of Carrollton is damp, meaning we can only purchase beer and wine; I thought that since I was purchasing the spirits from neighboring Lewisville, I could still have it delivered. I was wrong.
Texas law currently only allows delivery of alcoholic beverages where the beverages can be legally sold.
This bill will change the law and allow any permit holder with the ability to sell and/or deliver alcohol to be able to deliver to any Texas destination.
It will not affect city and county's local control in regard to their zoning. They can still choose whether they want brick and mortar package stores. This bill will just let Texans have their alcohol - whether beer, wine, spirits or all three - be delivered to their homes like the rest of their groceries, regardless of the city they live in.
If you have any questions about any of our bills, please do not hesitate to contact our Cesar at cesar.obregon@house.texas.gov. Either he or our new Legislative Aides will reach out to you.
Our Cities
We continue to work with our cities on how to respond to the Comptroller’s unlegislated rule change concerning how sales tax is collected, which will deeply impact local city budgets. Today, I am conducting a roundtable with other Representatives’ offices and their sales tax consultants on possible legislative solutions.
Our Meetings
Since our last message, I have met with various organizations to discuss their legislative agendas, including the Texas Small Business Association (NFIB), the Texas Public Interest Research Group, and Texas A&M University (TAMU). Concerning TAMU, my team and I are excited to go on a virtual tour of Texas A&M University Law School tomorrow. District Director Ariana Johnson, Communications Director Linda Quintero, and Legislative Aides Abigail Jablon and Shruthi Murali are all planning on attending law school. Let’s hope that a future message will be announcing their acceptance to TAMU Law School. Fingers crossed!
Last but not least, I was happy to virtually attend Texas Muslim Capitol Day and speak about issues facing the Muslim community in our district and state. I am looking forward to attending Youth Muslim Capitol Day next week to speak virtually with students about their experiences and bills they are advocating for.
If you would like to schedule a virtual appointment with me or my staff, please email Christina.Wagoner@house.texas.gov with the purpose of the meeting and proposed dates/times.
Sincerely,
State Representative Michelle Beckley (HD-65)
Uncover the impact voucher programs have had on public schools in Texas and how defunding these institutions would be detrimental to student success.
The city council of Carrollton, Texas provided comments regarding House Bill 4072 , which was proposed during the 87th Texas Legislative Session. The city council of Carrollton, Texas expressed their opposition for HB 4072 . HB 4072 sought to simplify and clarify local sales and use tax administration by establishing as the state’s default sourcing method a destination-based method under which sales are sourced to the location where the item is shipped or delivered or where the purchaser takes possession. HB 4072 requires that local sales taxes be collected and reported based on an item’s final destination as opposed to the transaction location. The city council of Carrollton voiced that the proposed changes would have disproportionally impacted cities with large commercial bases, placed undue burden on businesses, and caused unintended consequences. Our office also reviewed the potential impact of HB 4072 on the City of Lewisville. If HB 4072 had been passed, the changes would have resulted in an annual loss of more than $10 million in sales tax for Lewisville. Lewisville would have likely faced reduced services and employee layoffs across all city departments, including police and fire departments. The Office of State Representative Beckley proudly represented the interests of Carrollton and Lewisville, by opposing this piece of legislation. HB 4072 intended to address a perceived inequity that results from the misuse of Chapter 380 agreements, but the Comptroller already has the authority to invalidate these types of agreements. Cities use Chapter 380 agreements to grow their economies and benefit their communities. HB 4072 was unsuccessful during the 87th Legislative Regular Session; it was voted out of the Ways & Means House Committee but did not make its way to the House Floor. HB 4072 was left pending in the Calendars Committee; the Calendars Committee has jurisdiction over the placement of bills and resolutions on appropriate calendars. The 87th Regular Session ended on May 31, 2021. Sincerely, State Representative Michelle Beckley
Are you or a loved one heading to college this Fall? Does he/she/they need financial help? The Office of Representative Michelle Beckley is asking for submissions for the Texas Armed Services Scholarship. The Texas Armed Services Scholarship (TASSP) has been created to assist promising students from the State of Texas who are committed to education and service. It encourages young leaders to participate in the Texas Army National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, the Texas State Guard, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Merchant Marine, or to become commissioned officers in any branch of the armed services of the United States. Each year the governor and the lieutenant governor may each appoint two students, and each state senator and each state representative may appoint one student to receive an initial conditional scholarship award. The amount of the award will be up to $10,000 and cannot exceed the student’s cost of attendance. Eligibility for Nomination: Students selected must meet two of these four academic criteria: Be on track to graduate or have graduated high school with the Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP), the distinguished level of achievement under the Foundation High School program, or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program Have a high school grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale Achieved a college readiness score on the SAT (1020) or ACT (23) Be ranked in the top one-third of the prospective high school graduating class Eligibility for Award: To receive a scholarship, an appointed student must: Be registered with Selective Service or be exempt Be enrolled an in good standing in a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program or another undergraduate officer commissioning program as certified by the institution Maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) as indicated by the financial aid office at the recipient’s institution of higher education Enter into a written agreement with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Complete school-initiated Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program application by October 15, 2021 Repay the scholarship if requirements are not met If you’re interested in the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program, please send your resume and a short essay (300-500 words) explaining your interest in the program to Michelle.Beckley@house.texas.gov . You will receive an update to your nomination status by July 9, 2021. Feel free to reach out to our District Director , Ariana Johnson, if you have any questions about the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program. Thanks and good luck! Please note: The scholarship applicant should be a House District 65 constituent. If you are unsure of who represents you in Texas, find out here . Best wishes, State Representative Michelle Beckley