Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Senator Shapleigh, along with Canutillo, Town of Vinton and school officials, met at Canutillo Elementary School Thursday morning to inform victims of steps they could take in a successful recovery effort.

On Wednesday, a day after the worst flooding in fifty years, Senator Shapleigh, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted an aerial assessment of the damage caused to the El Paso region.

Senator Shapleigh's notes and observations will keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes in Austin and El Paso.

In response to heavy rain fall and flash flooding around the El Paso area, measures have been taken by areas governments and agencies to help assist in the emergency effort. Read the update on conditions and services for flood victims.

El Paso is growing by leaps and bounds. We are seeing the addition of new neighborhoods, new schools and new businesses. As we grow, El Paso will also need to grow its transportation infrastructure.

Behind every mistaken denial of low-income health insurance caused by problems plaguing a new contractor is a child, sometimes a very ill one, a children's advocate told lawmakers Wednesday.

Senator Shapleigh's notes and observations will keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes in Austin and El Paso.

"It has been difficult, nevertheless, to conclude as I have, that the Republican House leadership has been so unalterably corrupted by power and money that reasonable Republicans should support Democrats against DeLay-type Republicans in 2006."

One issue Senator Shapleigh has worked hard to address has been improving access and efficiency in El Paso's judicial system. When Senator Shapleigh began his term, El Paso's overloaded courts were experiencing significant backlogs.

Senator Shapleigh's notes and observations will keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes in Austin and El Paso.

The House Judiciary Committee is to hold a field hearing on immigration reform in El Paso on August 17, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, its chairman, announced Wednesday.

The state plans to hold a contractor financially accountable for problems with implementing its system to sign up Texans for public assistance but probably doesn't have grounds to cancel the contract, the HHSC's top lawyer said.

Public schools perform favorably with private schools when students' income and socio-economic status are considered, according to a new report. But the report has generated controversy due to its overly low-key release by the Bush administration.

The El Paso County Commissioners' Court approved on Monday, July 10, a settlement of a civil rights lawsuit against the El Paso County Sheriff's department's use of Operation Linebacker funds to target people who look like immigrants.

"Senator Eliot Shapleigh has dedicated himself to improve higher education at UTEP," writes UTEP student leader Analisa Cordova. Senator Shapleigh listened to the concerns students had about UTEP and together they came up with the UTEP 2015 Plan.

Senator Shapleigh's notes and observations will keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes in Austin and El Paso.

A bipartisan group of 60 Texas House members have called for the cancellation of the state’s $899 million public benefits eligibility contract with Bermuda-based Accenture.

The settlement of a civil rights lawsuit that El Paso County commissioners approved Monday requires a clear immigration policy in the Sheriff's Office.

The public interest would be better served if lawmakers from both parties devise a way to reduce the redistricting excesses that basically leave voters as an afterthought. The Texas Senate actually took a step in that direction last session.

One the Rio Grande Valley’s most respected and influential business leaders says he thinks the Republican Party has lost the Hispanic vote due its attitude towards immigrants. “I think the Republicans have lost the Hispanic vote,