Last week, Hurricane Nicholas made landfall, impacting the coastal region of Southeast Texas and neighboring counties. Though the storm hit as a hurricane, it was later downgraded to a tropical storm and then to a tropical depression.

There are 19 counties under the disaster declaration and five are in Senate District 3, including Jasper, Liberty, Montgomery, Newton and Orange counties.

If you have been affected by Nicholas, please complete the Self Reporting Damage Survey found on Texas Department of Emergency Management’s website to help the state identify damages to private homes and businesses at damage.tdem.texas.gov.

Here are five things happening around your state:

1. Texas Health and Human Services Commission to award $5 million to rural hospitals.

The HHSC and Gov. Greg Abbott announced the commission will receive $5 million in federal funding for rural hospitals through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The funding is coming through an innovative new program at CMS called the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model.

CHART is aimed at improving health outcomes, ensuring access to telehealth and addressing health disparities in rural communities. It is a seven-year cooperative agreement for rural communities to address significant barriers in access to health care.

The funding will help rural hospitals maintain financial stability due to low patient volumes, higher average fixed costs and difficulty attracting and maintaining health care workers. Eligible communities in Senate District 3 include areas within Angelina, Polk, and San Augustine counties. HHSC may expand eligibility as funding allows.

2. Abbott signs bail reform legislation.

This week Abbott signed Senate Bill 6 into law in Houston, finalizing bail reform measures he named as an emergency item in January before the regular legislative session.

The Damon Allen Act, as the legislation is known, is designed to make it harder for violent offenders to be released from jail. The bill bans the release of those accused of violent crime on personal bonds. Personal bonds do not require offenders to post any bail; they just require a promise the accused will appear in court.

The problem was that numerous violent offenders would go on to commit more violent crime, even murder, while on personal bonds. For example, a pregnant Houston-area woman was murdered by her estranged husband after he was released on a personal bond after being arrested for attacking her. Keeping these violent offenders behind bars while their case is being resolved keeps the public safe from further criminal acts.

3. DSHS to award $10 million in grants for local vaccination efforts.

The Department of State Health Services announced it is awarding $10 million in grants for local vaccination efforts through the Texas Vaccine Outreach and Education Grant program. It is encouraging education entities, faith-based organizations, government entities, community coalitions, associations and nonprofit groups to apply for grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000.

Community groups should be engaged in vaccine education and aiming at increasing the number of vaccinated Texans. Priority is given to rural communities, disability organizations and communities of color.

4. SFA launches inaugural Aviation Science Program class.

This fall, Stephen F. Austin State University is offering a new degree program — Aviation Science. This month, the inaugural class began piloting aircraft at A.L. Mangham Airport.

The program is a public-private partnership with Nacogdoches-based HCH Aviation and other entities. The city of Nacogdoches is providing the airport, HCH Aviation and Piper Aircraft provide the planes and HCH Aviation provides the instructors.

Aviation Science graduates will be FAA certified upon graduation. The flight training program is open to collegiate and non-collegiate students, as well as those not interested in earning a bachelor’s degree. Though the program now has only 21 students, program leaders are hoping to expand their offerings to have up to 200 or more students in the program.

5. Texas Veterans Commission grants $1 million to East Texas veteran’s services.

Six veterans service groups in East Texas received a combined $1 million in grants from the Texas Veterans Commission this month. Grants range from general assistance to housing and transportation assistance.

The money for these grants comes from veterans’ cash lottery tickets, vehicle registrations and hunting and fishing licenses, which all have the option to donate to the Texas Veterans Commission. Through these small donations, the Texas Veterans Commission has been able to award more than $33 million just this year.

More than 5,000 East Texas veterans receive help from the community organizations that received grants this month. Veterans have access to other important resources through the Texas Veterans Commission and can learn more at tvc.texas.gov.

1. Gov. Greg Abbott calls third special session.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced this week that he will be calling the Legislature back for a third time, starting Sept. 20. One of the most important topics the Legislature will cover in this special session is redistricting.

The redrawing of legislative boundaries is a once-a-decade process that shapes the political landscape for the next 10 years. In addition to redistricting, the Legislature also will address appropriating federal pandemic aid dollars, vaccine mandates by local governments, transgender athletes in school sports and legislation similar to a bill the governor vetoed after the regular session related to chaining dogs.

This third session comes on the heels of the second special session that saw the passage of legislation on election integrity, bail reform and border security.

I look forward to once again joining my colleagues in Austin to work on these issues.

2. Senate Redistricting Committee holds public hearings.

For the past week, the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting that I serve on has been holding public hearings daily to gather input from local communities about the redrawing of legislative boundaries. Every 10 years after the release of the Census, the Legislature must redraw district lines for the state House, state Senate, U.S. Congress, and State Board of Education to adjust for population changes across the state.

Last month, the U.S. Census Bureau officially released the data to the states. The data show that Texas’ population grew by more than 4 million people in the last 10 years. As a result, Texas gained two new U.S. congressional seats. Decisions about where to place those seats and how the other 36 congressional districts will look have to be made by the Legislature, as well.

The Senate has been gathering public testimony about communities of interest in virtual public hearings that Texans can participate in from anywhere across the state.

3. New TxDOT task force to direct highway safety project funding.

This week, the Texas Department of Transportation announced a new task force that will identify safety projects that focus on reducing the number of fatalities on Texas highways. The group is comprised of TxDOT representatives and members of each of the state’s 23 metropolitan planning organizations.

The Safety Task Force will have an initial two-year term and will develop a short-term plan to invest funding in current safety initiatives like rumble strips, cable barriers, shoulder widenings and other safety projects.

Additionally, it will develop a long-term plan to identify funding sources, establish criteria to determine the effectiveness of the plan and create incentives for partnerships in reducing highway deaths.

The task force will provide regular updates to the commission with a final report delivered at the end of its initial two-year term.

Safety on our roadways is one of the highest priorities at TxDOT and additional safety planning is essential to ending deaths on Texas roadways.

This task force will help Texas on “The Road to Zero,” an initiative to reduce the number of deaths on Texas highways by half by 2035 and to zero by 2050.

4. Operation Lone Star continues.

The Texas Department of Public Safety continues working to secure our southern border. Operation Lone Star includes air, ground, marine and tactical security assets along the border to combat human trafficking and drug smuggling into Texas.

Since the beginning of Operation Lone Star, DPS has made 5,298 criminal arrests and more than 65,000 migrant apprehensions and referrals.

DPS also has seized 1,500 firearms, more than 8,300 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine, and more than $14.7 million in currency. Officers also have been involved in 694 vehicle pursuits. I’m proud of the work they are doing with the Texas National Guard and local law enforcement.

5. Texas again named No. 1 state for infrastructure.

For the fourth year in a row, Site Selection magazine has named Texas the No. 1 state for infrastructure in 2021.

The Global Groundwork Index measures the state’s success in combined infrastructure and corporate end-user project investment. It identifies where billions of dollars in corporate facility activity intersects with billion of dollars in roads, bridges, airports, tunnels, pipelines, utilities, railroads and other major infrastructure projects.

Louisiana, Virginia, Arizona and Ohio rounded out the rest of the top five.

Here are five things happening around your state:

1.    COVID-19 antibody treatment center opens in Nacogdoches

The Texas Division of Emergency Management in conjunction with Nacogdoches County, the City of Nacogdoches, and Nacogdoches Medical Center launched a new COVID-19 therapeutic infusion center in Nacogdoches. The center uses Regeneron’s monoclonal antibodies to treat outpatient cases of COVID-19. Importantly, patients need a referral from a doctor to receive the treatment. This treatment is available at no cost to the patient. This new center ensures that East Texans have access to high quality treatment options at no cost. The Regeneron treatment is shown to prevent a patient’s symptoms from worsening to the point of hospitalization. There are also more than 200 private health providers across the state who provide the antibody infusion treatment, including 15 in Senate District 3. To find a provider near you, visit www.meds.tdem.texas.gov.

2.    Hogg Foundation awards $3.75 million in grants 

The Hogg Foundation announced grants to five organizations for the second phase of the Well-Being in Rural Communities initiative. The grants totaled $3.75 million. One of the awardees was Better Together, a group in Nacogdoches dedicated to improving the mental and physical health of all residents in Nacogdoches County. The grants are designed to support collaborative approaches to well-being in rural communities. During the first phase of the program, awardees were successful in completing baseline assessments of communities needs, developing identities and brands, and elevating themselves to a leadership role in their communities.

3.    Funding for securing the border passed House, Senate 

House Bill 9 was finally passed by the Senate this week, sending the measure to Governor Abbott’s desk. The legislation appropriates $1.8 billion for securing our southern border. This bill appropriates funds for activities related to the border crisis in the Office of Court Administration, the Texas Military Department, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Criminal Justice, the Commission on Jail Standards, the Department of State Health Services, and programs within the Governor’s Office. There are ongoing threats of property crime, human trafficking, violent crime, to public health, and violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity. These funds will provide additional appropriations for overtime and staffing related to border security efforts.

4.    Election integrity bill going to Governor 

After hours of debate during regular session and two special sessions, Senate Bill 1, the election integrity bill, is finally passed and headed to the Governor’s desk. It was named an emergency item by the Governor at the beginning of regular session and has been on the call for both special sessions. Ensuring the security and validity of our elections are central to the democratic process. Voting is a sacred right and any form of illegal voting is a violation of that right. This bill expands voting access by expanding voting hours and ensures voters in line at closing time during early voting can vote. It also gives disabled Texans more options when voting. This bill makes it easier to vote and harder to cheat. I was proud to vote for this legislation and look forward to the Governor signing it into law.

5.    Bail reform legislation passes 

Another priority bill that was held up during the regular session and both special sessions was Senate Bill 6, the bail reform bill. SB 6 is the enacting legislation for Senate Joint Resolution 3, which proposed a constitutional amendment codifying the changes in the bail system made in the bill. While SB 6 did pass and will become law with Governor Abbott’s signature, the SJR did not receive a two-thirds vote of the House, so the measure will not be on a constitutional ballot election. SB 6 prohibits the release of violent offenders on personal bonds or the release of offenders who are charged with additional crimes while out on bail. It also requires more judicial training, data collection, and that officials examine a defendant’s criminal history before setting bail. The bill is also known as the Damon Allen Act, named after State Trooper Damon Allen who was ambushed, shot, and killed following a traffic stop. His accused murderer had been previously convicted of assaulting a sheriff’s deputy and was out on bond on an aggravated assault of a public servant charge.