Ed’s Telecom Alert

All..

All the hullabaloo about "earmarks" and pork barrel bills, I thought I would share a little bit of history on how Relay Texas was created in Texas. 

In 1989, Senator Chet Brooks – a veteran legislator – pushed the relay service bill . Senator Brooks got the bill into both House and Senate, and they were progressing along just fine.  Remember in Texas, legislation sessions are held once every two years and from Jan thru end of May.

There was an informal lobbying committee from Texas Assoc of the Deaf and the sole purpose of the committee was to lobby Texas Legislators to pass a relay service proposal. That was in 1989. Larry Evans who was executive director of TX Commission for the Deaf contracted with Eileen Alter (she now works at Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Office under DARS).   Pregnant Eileen and the committee – Jerry Hassell, Julius Seeger, and myself lobbied at the Capitol.   Vaughn House (independent living service for deaf/hoh) loaned their interpreters so we deaf persons can effectively lobby legislators.   I spent an average of 15 hours a week doing that.  Eileen probably spend 40-50 hours a week doing that if I recall correctly.   A few others did lobbying as well, but not as often.  

Towards end of May (May 31 is the last day where bills can be passed) the relay bill passed thru required phases to get into the calendar to be posted to the Legislators to finally become the law, but somehow at the last stage, the relay bill was not posted.  Legislators were scrambling and trying to get all the "high priority" bills posted to calendar so neglected to include relay bill.   Senator Chet Brooks read the crystal ball and knew relay bill won’t make it.  So his political savvy and probably did a few behind the scene deals earmarked relay bill onto a major telephone bill that is already on the calendar.   I remember that time – with just a few hours before the midnight hour struck, the major telephone bill passed along with relay service bill.  So the relay service was to be implemented on Sept 1 1990.  

All the negative news about pork barrel and earmarked bills are not necessarily negative.   If not for that, Relay Texas and VRS may not be available.    It was soon after the bill was created, Relay Texas Advisory Committee was formed, and ultimately I became its first Chair.    Shortly after that, I then applied for Relay Texas Administrator and got the job.  

The morale?  Don’t be so quick and look down on earmarked bills.   If the earmarked bill is to analyze mating of salamander to the tune of 25 million bucks, then that is clearly excessive!   If the earmarked bill is to replace old bridge with a new bridge at a small town, then this is a good cause.  Often, earmarked bills are the lifeblood of small towns.  

eyes open & thumbs up,

Ed B 

 All…

This is an archive story dating back to early 1990’s.  Apologies to persons who do not know sign language. There is no full text on that story.   Basically it harks to the outreach days where Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing with me representing PUC did a blitz for Texas.  This is a story about mainstreamed day program at Waco where deaf children called their hearing parents (unbeknownest to hearing parents) and how parents wept and rejoiced over this event.   

eyes open and thumbs up,

Ed
RT Admin.