Texas State Representative Cecil Bell

Posted by Carl Gerhardt 
on Sep 30, 2014
 
On September 30, 2014 Texas State Representative Cecil Bell updated the Rotary Club of Magnolia concerning bills before the Texas Legislature this session. Pictured left to right are Representative Cecil Bell and Magnolia Rotary Club President Dan Lowe.
 
Cecil Bell, Jr. is a sixth generation Texan whose family has been in the State of Texas since 1852. The oldest of three siblings, Cecil was born in Rosenberg but raised all across Texas.
A 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist for the Southwest Region, Cecil serves as the CEO of six active enterprises, providing clients with a variety of services and creating jobs for Texans. Driven by his strong entrepreneurial nature, Cecil has been self-employed at B-5 Construction Co., Inc. since 1983, constructing water and wastewater treatment facilities. Tejas Underground Utilities, incorporated in 1997, provides installation of underground utilities.

Cecil’s support for the future of our community and willingness to volunteer his personal time and resources can be seen in his community service. Cecil remains Chairman of the Montgomery County Pct. 5 TCLEOSE Training Facility and has served as the Chairman of the Greater Magnolia Economic Development Partnership and President of the Magnolia ISD School Board of Trustees. He is a charter member of the local rotary who also supports his local FFA, youth clubs, area churches and community organizations.
 
He is a member of the following legislative committees: Appropriations, Economic and Small Business Development, and Health Care, Education, and Training. Cecil Bell told us about some of the upcoming legislative events:
  1. In November 2014, Texans will vote whether or not to use 1/2 of the "Rainy Day Fund" for roads and transportation. Although not enough to solve all of the mobility needs in Texas, it will go a long way toward helping the situation get better.
  2. The budget for Medicare/Medicaid in Texas for the first time will be bigger than the education budget.
  3. The Texas legislature is working on a bill that would allow Texas to contract out some health care to lower cost clinics rather than going to the hospital emergency room every time.
  4. The Texas legislature is working on ways to get more students interested in Technology since every business makes use of it.
  5. The Texas legislature is working on a bill to make all High School Diplomas exactly the same so that they are not all unique which is much more expensive to the school systems.
  6. The Texas legislature is working on a bill that would not allow U.S. Presidential Executive orders bypass state laws.
  7. The Texas legislature is working on a bill to prevent computer "BOTS" from immediately buying up all event tickets as soon as they become available and then charging a higher price for the tickets
Cecil Bell told everyone that the old saying of "one size fits all" does not work well for legislation because of all of the un-intended consequences. He then open the floor up for questions. One of the questions asked is how much of the gasoline tax that the state get go to transportation. Cecil Bell explained that 25% of every dollar in taxes goes to education and the rest goes to the Transportation Fund (known as Fund 6). The second question was about the major problem we have with illegal immigration to the U.S. Cecil Bell explained said that most likely nothing will change until the American people elect a U.S. Congress and President who want to really fix the problem.
 
 
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