State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst summarized the 2007 Texas Legislature to the Bedias Civic Club on Thursday night, including her bill to protect the name of Sam Houston State University.

During her address, the Brenham Republican discussed House Bill 1418, relating to the name of SHSU.

“I filed a bill to protect the name of the university,” Kolkhorst said. “It passed through the House and the Senate, and now it’s sitting on the governor’s desk, awaiting his signiture.”

The deadline for Gov. Rick Perry to sign the bill is June 17. If he does not sign the bill by that date, its conditions will still go into effect.

A representative from Perry’s office said the governor felt the bill was important and would give it “full consideration.”

“The only way House Bill 1418 wouldn’t become a law is if he vetoes the bill,” Kolkhorst said. “I’m very pleased about getting it through. It was an important bill for Huntsville and for university alumni all over the state of Texas.”

Kolkhorst also addressed the budget, which she said would send millions of dollars directly into the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, SHSU and school districts in Walker County.

“I spent most of my time in the Appropriations Committee this session,” Kolkhorst said. “We drafted a $152.4 billion budget.

“The largest percentage of the budget, $60.9 billion, went to education, and $51 billion went to health and human services. Overall, the budget grew 3.5 percent, and I think this was a fiscally conservative budget.”

About $4.3 billion of the budget was set aside for a rainy day fund.

The budget also left $2.5 billion available to be used for property tax relief funds, a cause that Kolkhorst supported in the budget and in specific bills.

“House Bill 2 provided $14.2 billion for property tax relief, which will take property tax for maintenance and operation for schools down to an even dollar,” she said. “Essentially, we’ve cut property taxes by a third.”

Another bill Kolkhorst passed started a pilot program to provide student loan repayment assistance to certain correctional officers who graduate from SHSU.

“I’ve been working on that bill for years,” she said. “I think it’s a good bill to help TDCJ recruit more people, especially considering the cost of education.”

Kolkhorst also discussed state park funding, which she said was increased “to the tune of $100 million.”

“That increase will have a very positive impact on the Huntsville State Park,” she said. “This is very important to our district, because the increased funds will mean an increased investment in our region.”

Other major issues Kolkhorst addressed included the future construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor and a toll-road moratorium that would keep revenues from roads in the hands of Texas residents.

“Private property rights are an important set of rights, and it shouldn’t be so easy for the government to take your land,” she said. “Texas should build highways for Texans, and their money should stay here where it’s working for Texans. I don’t want your hard-earned money to go to investors in another country. That’s just not right.”

A final bill Kolkhorst mentioned concerned the Office of Rural Community Affairs, located in Bedias.

“It was originally slated that ORCA would be absorbed by the Texas Department of Agriculture, but I faught very hard to make sure it was kept as a stand-alone agency,” she said. “That will keep the agency focused on economic development from a rural perspective, which is very important for this area.”

Bedias Mayor Mackie Bobo led a brief question-and-answer session following Kolkhorst’s address.

After answering questions, Kolkhorst gave a final comment about how she thought the session went.

“We were passing major bills up until midnight on Memorial Day,” she said. “Overall, it was one of my best sessions for District 13.”