BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.C.R. 4
88R5926 BPG-D	By: Eckhardt
	Business & Commerce
	4/14/2023
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

S.C.R. 4 directs the Texas Facilities Commission to name the Capitol Complex Child Development Center "Emma's Garden" in honor of Emma Barrientos.

Emma Barrientos was instrumental in the creation of the Capitol Complex Childcare Center in 1989. In the 71st Legislative Session, she encouraged her husband, Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, to file S.B. 1480 and helped him pass it, thus creating the Capitol Complex Childcare Center. The Capitol Complex Childcare Center currently serves approximately 100 children for a tiered fee based on family income and is operated by the U.T. Child Development Department. In 2022, the Childcare Center moved to a lovely two-level, 14,291-square-foot facility in the new office tower at 1601 Congress Avenue. The facility will be able to serve two times the number of children currently served and will include a library and three playgrounds. S.C.R. 4 would name the new center "Emma's Garden" to honor this work of the late Emma Barrientos.

Letters of support from the Texas State Employees Union and the Texas Public Employees Association are attached.

The Capitol Complex Child Development Center moved to a new facility in the Barbara Jordan State Office Building in August 2022, and this milestone provides a welcome opportunity to name the center "Emma's Garden" in honor of the late Emma Barrientos.

In 1989, the 71st Texas Legislature established the child development center by passing S.B. 1480, which was authored by former State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos and supported by his wife, Emma Barrientos. Over the course of more than three decades, the center has provided childcare services to employees of the State of Texas and to the faculty and staff of The University of Texas at Austin. Construction of the new facility commenced in 2019.

A respected civic leader, Ms. Barrientos devoted much of her time to political activism. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she participated in marches and rallies in support of organized labor and civil rights. Additionally, she was instrumental in her husband's campaign for state representative, and after he joined the Texas Senate, she served as treasurer and president of the Texas Senate Ladies Club. Later, the couple became founding members of the Tejano Democrats.

Ms. Barrientos held a deep appreciation for cultural engagement, and she helped create Ballet Folkl�rico de Tejas, a professional dance company, as well as the Mexic-Arte Museum. Moreover, she served as board president of the Austin Museum of Art and she was an early supporter of the Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin.

Emma Barrientos was a champion of the Capitol Complex Child Development Center, and naming the facility for her would be a fitting tribute to her tireless efforts to make the world a better place for all young Texans.

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RESOLVED

That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby direct the Texas Facilities Commission to name the Capitol Complex Child Development Center "Emma's Garden" in honor of Emma Barrientos.

That the secretary of state forward an official copy of this resolution to the chair and to the executive director of the Texas Facilities Commission.