| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Former Texas state senator Eddie Lucio Jr. has been |
|
|
named the 2023 recipient of the Defender of Life Award by the |
|
|
St. John Paul II Life Center; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, First elected to the Legislature in 1986, Eduardo |
|
|
Andres Lucio Jr. served two terms in the Texas House of |
|
|
Representatives before winning his Senate seat in 1990; he served |
|
|
in numerous leadership roles over the course of his 16 consecutive |
|
|
terms in the Senate, including chair of the Intergovernmental |
|
|
Relations and International Relations and Trade Committees and vice |
|
|
chair of the Education Committee; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Lucio improved access to higher education in the |
|
|
Rio Grande Valley, authoring legislation to create such |
|
|
institutions as South Texas College and The University of Texas at |
|
|
Brownsville, which was a legacy institution to UTRGV; he was also |
|
|
instrumental in the establishment of the Regional Academic Health |
|
|
Center, a precursor of the UTRGV School of Medicine; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Dedicated to the health, safety, and well-being of |
|
|
children, Mr. Lucio secured passage of legislation expanding |
|
|
access to school nutrition programs and requiring three-point lap |
|
|
and shoulder belts on new school buses; moreover, he has been a |
|
|
staunch advocate of health care for children with disabilities and |
|
|
of equity in public schools; his love for children extends to those |
|
|
still in the womb, whom he sees as the most helpless and innocent, |
|
|
deserving of the full protection of the law; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, During his tenure on the Finance Committee, |
|
|
Mr. Lucio worked tirelessly to advance economic development in |
|
|
South Texas by securing funding for infrastructure; his efforts |
|
|
contributed to the designation of the first interstate highways in |
|
|
the Rio Grande Valley; in addition, he has been a champion of |
|
|
veterans issues and of the ranchlands of the Coastal Bend; the |
|
|
Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas presented him with |
|
|
its Legislative Hero Award in recognition of his endeavors in |
|
|
behalf of families of fallen police officers; he was further |
|
|
recognized with the naming of Senator Eddie A. Lucio Jr. Middle |
|
|
School in Brownsville in his honor; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Lucio's career in public service was informed by |
|
|
his strong Catholic upbringing in the Bougainvillea neighborhood, a |
|
|
subdivision of the Brownsville Housing Authority; he completed his |
|
|
bachelor's degree in education at Pan American University, a |
|
|
predecessor of UTRGV, and worked in the Brownsville Independent |
|
|
School District; at the age of 25, he became Cameron County |
|
|
treasurer, and he later served as a county commissioner; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Eddie Lucio has greatly benefited his fellow Texans |
|
|
through his wide-ranging contributions, and he is richly deserving |
|
|
of this prestigious accolade; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature, 4th |
|
|
Called Session, hereby congratulate the Honorable Eddie |
|
|
Lucio Jr. on his receipt of the 2023 Defender of Life Award from the |
|
|
St. John Paul II Life Center and extend to him sincere best wishes |
|
|
for the future; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Mr. Lucio as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
Senate. |