Directing the Texas Facilities Commission to name the building being constructed in Phase Two of the Texas Capitol Complex Master Plan at the northwest corner of Congress Avenue and 15th Street the Irma Rangel Building.

89(R) HCR 19 - Introduced version - Bill Text

89R820 KSM-D

By: González of Dallas

H.C.R. No. 19

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Pioneering lawmaker Irma Rangel left an indelible

imprint on the State of Texas; and

WHEREAS, In 1976, Irma Rangel became the first Mexican

American woman elected to the Texas Legislature; she embarked on a

mission to dismantle structural inequities and improve the lives of

the most vulnerable; during more than a quarter century in office,

she secured passage of numerous bills that empowered the

disadvantaged, including legislation extending the absentee voting

system, creating centers for victims of domestic violence, and

providing educational and employment programs to mothers with

dependent children; and

WHEREAS, Representative Rangel worked tirelessly to ensure

access to quality instruction at all levels and transformed the

state's higher education landscape; as chair of the Higher

Education Committee, she expanded opportunities for low-income and

minority youth; she was the primary sponsor of the bill that gave

high school students in the top 10 percent of their graduating class

automatic admission to the state's best public universities;

moreover, she was instrumental in providing funding for the first

professional school in South Texas; in appreciation, Texas A&M

University-Kingsville named that school the Irma Rangel College of

Pharmacy; also honoring her legacy are the Irma Lerma Rangel Young

Women's Leadership School in Dallas and the Irma Rangel Public

Policy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin; and

WHEREAS, Born in Kingsville in 1931, Representative Rangel

attended a segregated elementary school; she went on to earn a

bachelor's degree in business administration from Texas A&M

University-Kingsville and taught in Texas, California, and

Venezuela for 14 years; determined to make a greater impact, she

graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law and became the

first Mexican American woman district attorney in Corpus Christi;

she returned to Kingsville to open a law practice and became

involved in grassroots politics; and

WHEREAS, Representative Rangel served in the legislature

until 2003, when she lost her battle with brain cancer; since then,

her enormous contributions have continued to resonate, and the

naming of a state building in her honor would be a fitting tribute

to a trailblazer who opened avenues of advancement for all Texans;

now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas

hereby direct the Texas Facilities Commission to name the building

being constructed in Phase Two of the Texas Capitol Complex Master

Plan at the northwest corner of Congress Avenue and 15th Street the

Irma Rangel Building; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official

copy of this resolution to the chair and executive director of the

Texas Facilities Commission.