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Intergovernmental Relations Program
As directed by the City Council, the City of San Marcos participates in state and federal legislative processes by monitoring and advocating for or against policies to support, safeguard, protect and enhance the interests of residents and businesses.
The Intergovernmental Relations Program is guided by the core values found in the City Charter's Statement of Goals and the Comprehensive Plan Vision Statements.
As part of the program, city representatives have visited the Texas State Capitol and Washington, D.C. They've also met with state and federal elected officials including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, and State Rep. Erin Zwiener.
87th Texas Legislative Session
Our Participation
Representatives from the City of San Marcos have actively participated in the legislative process throughout the 87th Texas Legislative Session. City staff and Council members attended a series of legislative webinars to monitor legislation, held meetings with elected officials, and submitted several letters to our state and federal delegation advocating for and against policies on behalf of San Marcos residents and businesses. The City's efforts helped propel policies through the political process and played a pivotal role in adding beneficial amendments to proposed legislation. A resolution to make San Marcos the Mermaid Capital of Texas is also one step closer to becoming a reality, thanks to City representatives who traveled to Austin to testify on its behalf.
Above left: San Marcos City Council member Alyssa Garza testifies to the Texas House of Representatives Culture, Recreation & Tourism Committee in support of HCR 13, which would officially designate San Marcos as the Mermaid Capital of Texas.
Above right: Interim Director of Utilities Tyler Hjorth meets with State Rep. Erin Zwiener on April 14, 2021, after traveling to Austin to testify in support of HB 2275 relating to critical infrastructure resiliency.
Projects Submitted for Federal Funding
Along with advocating for and against legislation proposed during the session, the City has worked alongside elected leaders to meet residents' needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented winter weather event in February. The City submitted three projects to be considered for funding by the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee. Representative Lloyd Doggett, a member of the committee, selected one of the City's proposals for further consideration. If approved, the City would receive an estimated $950,000 in federal funding to invest in weatherization and resiliency upgrades to critical infrastructure. Click on the document to the right for more details, or visit the Community Project Funding Requests page on Representative Doggett's website.
Contact your state lawmakers:
Name | District |
---|---|
Rep. John Cyrier | House District 17 |
Rep. John Kuempel | House District 44 |
Rep. Erin Zwiener | House District 45 |
Sen. Judith Zaffirini | Senate District 21 |
Sen. Donna Campbell | Senate District 25 |
Contact your U.S. lawmakers:
Name | District |
---|---|
Rep. Lloyd Doggett | Congressional District 35 |
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez | Congressional District 15 |
Rep. Chip Roy | Congressional District 21 |
Sen. John Cornyn | U.S. Senate |
Sen. Ted Cruz | U.S. Senate |
Website Links
- Texas Legislature Online
- Texas Municipal League @(Model.BulletStyle == CivicPlus.Entities.Modules.Layout.Enums.BulletStyle.Decimal ? "ol" : "ul")>
About Community Advocacy
Thousands of bills are filed each session. In the 87th Texas Legislative Session alone, more than 5,000 bills have been introduced by lawmakers across the state, and many of those carry potential impacts for the City of San Marcos, its residents, and its businesses. The City's staff and elected officials lean on community advocate organizations like the Texas Municipal League (TML) and contracted firms to track each piece of legislation, understand its implications, and act in the best interest of the community.
Click here to visit TML's "Our Home, Our Decisions" website and learn more about community advocacy and why it's important for decisions that affect our residents to be made at the local level.