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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Proposed legislation would permit the sale of liquor on Sundays. PA G E 3
Resident Assistant prospects deserve an expedited application process. PA G E 4
Insurance lawyer promotes law firm through late-night rock performances. PA G E 8
Longhorns seek third-straight home win as Baylor comes to town. PA G E 6
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LEGISLATURE
joshua guenther | the daily texan staff Gov. Greg Abbott declares five emergency items during his biennial State of the State address. Among them, Abbott called for property tax reform and increased school security.
Abbott lists emergency items Gov. Abbott declares five objectives, including school safety and raising teacher pay, at State of the State. By Chad Lyle @lylechad
ov. Greg Abbott delivered his biennial State of the State address Tuesday morning before members of the Texas House and Senate, outlining the political issues he wants the Legislature to immediately consider. The first 60 days of the Texas legislative session are officially reserved for the consideration of bills, and voting on bills only takes place at the conclusion of this 60-day period. However, Gov. Abbott has the ability to declare certain things “emergency items,” which means they can be voted on before the first 60 days are over. Emergency items are traditionally named during the State of the State address. Abbott declared five emergency items, two of which were increasing funding for public education and raising teacher pay.
“We must provide incentives to put effective teachers into the schools and classrooms where they are needed the most,” Abbott said. “And we must create a pathway for the best teachers to earn a six-figure salary.” Abbott’s third emergency item was school safety. He described it as being equal in importance to increased education funding — particularly in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School that left eight students and two teachers dead last May. “It is simply not enough just to give our students a better education,” Abbott said. “We must also create a learning environment that is safe. No student should be afraid to go to school. No parent should be fearful when dropping their child off at school. Texas must act now to make our schools safer.” In order to decrease the likelihood of future mass shootings in public schools, Abbott has voiced support for increased security on campuses and more funding for mental health programs. As part of his
emergency item for school funding, he declared a mental health initiative by state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, that would seek to address mental health issues statewide. “Mental health issues are not just confined to our schools,” Abbott said. “They touch our entire society. To better address these issues, Sen. Nelson also provides a broad-based plan, a plan that creates a mental health care consortium to collaborate on statewide mental health needs.” Abbott’s fourth and fifth emergency items were property tax reform and disaster relief. Both the House and the Senate have proposed identical bills to lower property taxes, which Abbott praised. Abbott also endorsed a set of bills by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, that would create Texas’s first statewide flood plan in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. In addition to declaring his emergency items,
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LEGISLATURE
Bill proposes tax-free week for college textbooks
UT unlikely to reach zero waste by 2020 By Mason Carroll @masonccarroll
By Katie Balevic @KatelynBalevic
The average college student spends more than $485 on textbooks annually, and with Austin’s 8.25 percent sales tax, the total cost for course materials is around $525, said Cheryl Phifer, president and CEO of the University Co-op. But House Bill 21, authored by state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, would change that by excluding course materials from sales tax for a week at the beginning of each semester. If passed, Phifer said she estimates the bill will save students $40 annually. “From my perspective, it’s a really good thing for students because it’s another way for them to save money on course materials, which we all know are expensive,” Phifer said. Canales said he filed HB 21 to help give students a break when it comes to their education. “Making education more affordable should be the utmost priority of the state of Texas and not collecting sales tax on
the students who are generally not the wealthiest people on the planet,” Canales said. Canales said the government makes more money when students graduate college, get jobs and become productive members of society, rather than through a mere sales tax on textbooks. “When someone is making money, they have buying power, and that buying power is equivalent to sales tax,” Canales said. “So on the back end, (the government is) likely to make more money off a long-term consumer purchaser than off a one-time purchase or limited purchase of textbooks.” Phifer said the bill would not have any negative impact on the Co-op’s sales. “Ultimately the state is the one that’s making that decision and essentially making that contribution of not charging the sales tax,” Phifer said. “For the Co-op, it doesn’t have an impact because while we collect the sales tax and we have to remit the sales tax, that’s not money that ever stays at the Co-op.”
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Zero waste on campus by 2020 has been a goal since UT President Gregory Fenves announced the Sustainability Master Plan in 2016. However, UT’s overall diversion rate of waste from landfills is only at 40 percent, with less than one year until the deadline. McKenzie Beverage, Zero Waste senior program coordinator, said she is unsure if the University will hit the zero waste goal by 2020, but the program is working hard to make it happen. “I don’t feel great about the prospect, but it doesn’t mean we are going to stop the effort,” Beverage said. “So we’ve been talking a lot about that … and if we need to come out and formally say, ‘Yes, we can do this,’ or ‘We need a couple more years.’ Regardless, the effort is not going to stop.” In order to reach the 2020 goal, UT’s Zero Waste program is implementing different initiatives such as the Zero Waste Workspace, which will work on composting paper towels around campus. In addition, the program just finished relabeling recycling bins in the McCombs School of Business to make it easier for students to dispose of waste correctly.
elizabeth garabedian | the daily texan staff Nivva Emmi, a business honors pre-med sophomore, uses the new recycling bins in the McCombs School of Business. These bins have been implemented to help UT become a zero waste campus, a goal the University originally hoped to reach by 2020.
“We can’t achieve zero waste without really, really incorporating compost at a serious level,” Beverage said. “To be safe, I probably want to say … maybe three more years, 2023. (But) after the pace picks up with some of these implementations, I’ll probably change my mind (about the timeline).” The plan also incorporates other UT organizations, including UT Athletics. The UFCU Disch-Falk Field reached the zero waste standard of 90 percent
diversion, and Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium reached an alltime high of 76 percent diversion this past fall. “If we don’t start complying with zero waste, campus can’t succeed because (UT Athletics produces) between 10 and 15 percent of the waste generated in total on campus in a year,” said Lauren Lichterman, operations
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