Marty Schladen

Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - State Rep. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, is getting an early start in the battle to prevent cuts to a state program that pays millions in college tuition for veterans and, in some cases, their families.

Blanco held a session in San Antonio Friday with Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, to raise awareness that the Hazlewood Act was almost cut during the 2015 legislative session.

“I heard that (Lt. Gov.) Dan Patrick has said (cuts in the program) are going to be a priority in the next session,” Blanco said.

Patrick’s office did not respond last week to a request for comment.

The Hazlewood program began in 2009 and has grown rapidly since.

Nine students at the University of Texas at El Paso participated during the 2009-2010 school year in the program. That number rose to 449 in the 2013-2014 year. Costs rose from $18,000 to $2.3 million during the same time frame.

The cost of the program is likely to grow further. A federal court in 2015 ruled unconstitutional a requirement that beneficiaries must have been Texas residents when the service member entered the military.

The state only covers part of the cost and some lawmakers are concerned that the program places an unsupportable burden on colleges and universities. In the 2015 legislative session, they proposed to only allow veterans who have served at least six years in the military to transfer their benefits to family members. They also wanted that ability to expire after 15 years.

But Blanco and Rep. Joe Farias, D-San Antonio, both veterans, were able to kill the limitations as time ran out on the session at the end of May. Blanco criticized colleagues for proposing the cuts in a session in which the House found money to pay for tax cuts on yachts, firearms and businesses.

Now he’s he’s looking for colleagues who will invite them to their districts for town halls to explain the Hazlewood Act and why he thinks it’s important to preserve it in its current form.

“I want to hit every major market in Texas,” Blanco said, adding, “I’m hoping I can get some Republican colleagues to agree with me.”

He said he wants to end his effort with a session in El Paso.

Marty Schladen can be reached at 512-479-6696;mschladen@gannett.com; @martyschladen on Twitter.



















