State Senators
By Patrick Brendel
Friday, 19 December 2008
Steve Ogden, District 5
- Terms: Served as state representative from 1990 to 1997; elected as state senator in 1997 and re-elected in 1998, 2002 and 2006
- Education: Bachelor of Science, U.S. Naval Academy; graduate, Naval Nuclear Power School; Master of Business Administration, Texas A&M University
- Contact: 463-0105, www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist5/dist5.htm
- Q. What are your legislative priorities for this upcoming session?
- A. The budget. I'm chair of finance, so 90 percent of my job in the session is to produce a budget that my colleagues will vote for and pass it before sine die (end of session). And we brought a pretty good budget last session. Total outlays were around $170 billion. And the good news is that Texas is in pretty good financial shape, and it's in great financial shape compared to other states. We're probably going to run about a $2 billion surplus this biennium.
- Q. What are your priorities as a member of the Senate Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee?
- A. I'm a veteran myself, and I have a great deal of emotional commitment to veterans and wounded veterans. That's an interesting committee that I like being on. We didn't even used to have it.
We have several million veterans in Texas, and our job in that committee is to basically listen to their issues and then use our ability in state government to make sure that the federal government is doing what it's supposed to on behalf of veterans.
- Q. What do you expect state legislators to do about illegal immigration and border security?
- A. Well, we can do a lot. But I don't expect a lot of changes next session. The most tangible thing we did last session was basically appropriate $150 million to the governor's office to go down there and enforce border security.
But the issues changed. I think there's going to be, frankly, less of a drive to basically shut down the border and stop illegal immigration than there was last session. And surprisingly, or not surprisingly, part of it's economic. As the country goes into a recession ... and as the economy slows in Texas, there's less demand for Mexican labor. And if there's less demand for Mexican labor, there's less Mexicans sneaking across the border. So in an economic sense, the problem's not as acute as it was two years ago.
- Q. What else would you like to emphasize?
- A. I have decided — this is the first time I've ever done this — to concentrate on the Legislative session several months before the Legislative session. I have leased a house and am living in Austin and spend four days a week trying to get prepared.
And one of those days is generally spent out in the district, visiting with the district media, visiting with local elected officials and touring state facilities, just so when we get to session, I feel like I've got a good handle on what's going on in my district.
Kirk Watson, District 14
- Q. What are the most important issues the Legislature should address in the spring?
- A. The first is the overriding issue of, ‘Are we doing what we need to do to have Texas prepared for the next 25 years?’
Texas is facing a challenge, in that because of our growth, because of the good times in the economy that we've had over the past couple of years, we need to start making sure that we're reinvesting in such a way so that in the next 25 years we have infrastructure capacity to make sure that our economy is sustainable.
And we need to make sure that we're not doing things in such a way that ultimately we create an unsustainable business climate. The truth of the matter is that 25 years ago we had excess capacity in things like roads. We had excess water capacity. We had excess capacity in terms of workforce.
One of the reasons we're enjoying such success is our higher education. Schools were putting out enough workers to fill what was then a growing, creative, imaginative economy, and one that was based upon intellect. **
Now, going into 2009, we know that our roads are clogged. We know that we have a hidden issue — it feels somewhat hidden to people — about what our water situation is going to be. We know that particularly here in Central Texas, we're already behind on the number of people we're going to need for a workforce. So the question is going to become, ‘Are we looking at a variety of things to make sure we're meeting those needs for the next 25 years?’
- Q. What are the key issues facing Senate District 14?
- A. Senate District 14 is the home of not only the No. 1 football team in the nation, but one of the great public research universities in the world. [One issue is] making sure that it continues to be able to be strong and continues to transition and do what it needs to do to stay ahead of what is going on in higher education and in the economy generally. So you know, higher education becomes a big issue. **
We in Central Texas, and particularly because of Austin Energy, we've always been a leader on issues related to energy. How do we stay out front and deal with that?
One of the other big issues as it relates to Senate District 14, specifically related to the Legislature: We have a large number of public employees that live in Senate District 14 that work for the state. And I'm a big believer they're entitled to a pay raise, and I want to work to ensure that they have a pay raise.
Many people say that they think we ought to operate like a business. Well, I agree. And one of the things that occurs is that in businesses, in order to attract and retain the most talented workers and people you need, you have to pay them. And you have to provide them benefits. And I'm a firm believer that we've got a lot of world-class public servants that work here at our state agencies, and we need to make sure that they're well paid.
