State rep details session’s work 

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Crop inputs, water rights and usage, education, etc. are concerns of Rep. Robby Cook. -- Staff photo by Taylor

Oct. 27, 2005 - As a rice farmer in Eagle Lake, Robert (Robby) Cook, representative of the 17th District in the Texas Legislature, is always looking out for rural areas and their specific needs.  While it is still unknown if a third special session will be called before the end of the year, Cook talked about what has been accomplished at the Capitol … and what is still lacking.

Although this year’s crop of rice was good, Cook noted the prices received by producers are at historical lows, while fixed costs continue to rise … such as diesel fuel. No matter how much planning goes on for crop budgets, with rising costs, producers just never know what’s going to happen.

During the past sessions, Cook has either authored or co-authored 52 bills; some made it and some did not. Many of the bills concern water districts and groundwater rights. One point he made was the fact that the San Antonio plan to take water from rural counties is “dead in the water.

�The water is market driven, rather than supply and demand,� explained Cook.

Private property rights are very important to Cook, and he was pleased to be a part of the action that has made headway in dealing with the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC), protecting private property and annexation. He noted that everyone needs to keep their eyes and ears open, when dealing with the TTC plans.

Cook is very adamant concerning school finance and property tax discussions.

�The state needs to fund a larger share (of school finance) like it used to,� said Cook. �If you want kids to make teaching a profession and career, you have to pay a decent, living wage.�

He believes that a good education is the best thing we can give our children and grandchildren, but the “no child left behind” means dollars left behind. It is an area that both Democrats and Republicans need to work, together, to fix, he noted.

�I know there is no such thing as a perfect fix, but there shouldn�t be such a burden on the property taxpayers,� explained Cook. �It�s my major job to protect my district.�

Cook said that he is for doing “whatever protects our school districts and tax payers.” Streamlining waste in government at the state level is where Cook believes it should start, so Texans could have a balanced budget with even a little bit of surplus.

One, major problem in the Legislature is the lack of rural representatives. After the re-districting, several years ago, the majority of representatives are from urban areas and know little … or care … about rural area needs, Cook noted. He encouraged citizens to contact their representatives concerning areas of concern, and if the representatives don’t seem to want to listen, there’s always another election in the future.

Cook has his local office in Eagle Lake, along with the office at the Capitol during sessions, and is accessible to his constituents. He is there to serve his 17th District, and he stressed that’s what he plans to continue to do.

(To contact Robby Cook: 979-234-2493-Eagle Lake or 512-463-0682 in Austin.)