GRAPEVINE CHAMBER

RaDonna Hessel Grapevine

While often businesses think of the Chambers of Commerce as a place to market your business and network with others, one of the priority items that this membership organization focuses on every other year is the 140 days of the Texas Legislative Session While one voice most often doesn’t make a difference over 1 000 businesses and their employees can help make change When the opportunities arose, several of you used the legislative notices sent out to let our elected officials know your thoughts on issues before them While we didn’t get all of the votes to go our way, there were some items passed that will help our businesses grow expand and help build the economy while providing jobs for those who are building their own families

The 88th Texas Legislature adjourned Monday evening with several issues unresolved that we had hoped to see passed especially an increase in school funding from the enormous budget they had to spend, which was a huge disappointment Late-night negotiations between the House and Senate Sunday delivered a couple of last-minute items including an economic development agreement and electric grid reform legislation which was thought to be dead but survived to be sent to the Governor for signing Just a few hours after the House and Senate adjourned the session Governor Greg Abbott issued a proclamation immediately calling the legislature back for a special session to address reducing property taxes and increasing criminal penalties for human smuggling. The Governor also shared in his announcement that there would be more than one special session, each with specific items to consider

Legislators filed a record number of bills in 2023 and ultimately advanced more than 870 bills to Governor Abbott for consideration, including the $321 billion 20242025 state budget He has already acted on over 250 bills by either signing, filing without a signature, or exercising his veto power Two bills were vetoed prior to the end of session, with additional vetoes anticipated Governor Abbott has until the 20th day after the end of the session, June 18th, to take action on bills passed by the legislature

The focus of the final week of the legislative session shifted to Attorney General Paxton Ultimately, House Resolution 2377 was filed, and the House voted to adopt the 20 articles of impeachment against General Paxton Saturday afternoon following several hours of discussion Per Texas law applicable to impeachments, General Paxton has been temporarily relieved of his duties as attorney general pending the outcome of the impeachment trial Governor Abbott can appoint someone to temporarily serve as the Attorney General; however, he has not yet acted or made a statement relating to the impeachment

Here is a quick overview of some of the legislation your Grapevine Chamber was involved in, including:

House Bill 4, (Capriglione) – Data Protection bill creates data management best practices to improve the security of our information and allows Texans to opt out from certain data collection Also, it would give Texans the right to know, access, correct, delete, and transfer personal information Waiting on the Governor’s signature

Brad is a proud member of the Grapevine Chamber’s Ambassadors Brad enjoys serving the community and local businesses while professionally specializing in Visual Marketing with Sustainable Signs & Graphics. The company is built on values of Community, Family, and Responsibility Their mission is to act ethically, maximizing commitment to sustainable activities, while producing the highest quality products and services.

Brad feels blessed to live in Grapevine with his wife, Elizabeth and dogs Stanley and Denver Brad has years of diverse operational, leadership, and entrepreneurial experience, ranging from launching and growing start-up companies to serving in executive positions for corporations in the banking, finance, and insurance industries

Brad has traveled all over the country and lived in four states “It took me almost 20 years to move to Grapevine since falling in love with it, and it was worth the wait and I wouldn't be happier living anywhere else ” Brad enjoys many sports, cooking and experimentally pairing wine

HB 5 (Hunter) –The Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, & Innovation Act is a new economic development program that will encourage investment in the state The Commission worked hard all session with a large group of state-wide associations to ensure the state kept a business recruitment program like this on the books HB 5 creates a program that will incentivize businesses to invest in Texas and increase local tax bases, and create high-quality, highpaying jobs for Texans. HB 5 was passed into law in the final minutes of the session The Senate and House came to an agreement that will last until the next legislative session

HB 8 (VanDeaver) –HB 8 establishes a new funding model for community colleges that focuses on outcomesbased funding. HB 8 is on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature

HB 100 (K. King) – The state had an opportunity to invest historic amounts of money into our public schools this session When HB 100 was voted out of the House, it included, among other important provisions, teacher pay raises and increases to the basic allotment The Commission worked diligently to ensure this bill and other pro-public school policies became law Unfortunately, HB 100 did not pass this session When HB 100 passed out of the Senate, a provision was included that created education saving accounts (vouchers) in the bill Unfortunately, HB 100 ultimately died in conference committee

HB 2127 (Burrows) – HB 2127, dubbed the “death star,” preempts cities and counties across the state from adopting policies in a broad swath of areas, including labor, agriculture, natural resources, and finance This bill was passed into law We hope the Governor will veto this bill

Aloft DFW Grapevine-Coppell

Elizabeth Abell (214) 888-4088 www.marriott.com

B & B Home Services

Robin Grist

(817) 733-2261 blu.blu.be Bath Company

Theresa Vella (682) 558-5077 www.blu4good.com

Body20 Colleyville

Sean Studzinski

(817) 200-7619 www.body20.com/colleyville

Dallas Wealth Advisors

Jason Fernandez

(817) 809-6464 www.dallaswealthadvisors.com

Foundation Wealth Partners

Conor Shepard (817) 754-1790 www.foundationwealthpartners.com

Get Up And Go KayakingGrapevine

Paul Heilman

(941) 270-3297 www.getupandgokayaking.com

Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare

Dana Jones

(469) 420-5255

Illumin8 Chiropractic

Jon Mark Horton

(469) 625-1502 www.illumin8chiro.com

Linda Berman Medicare Translator

Linda Berman

(940) 321-8881

Magnolia Title

Amber Stilwell

(817) 905-0941 www.magnoliatitleinsurance.com

TEXAS FARM BUREAU

INSURANCE- PATRICK DAILY (817) 301-3245

WWW.TXFB-INS.COM

NuStar Energy

Sami Rabas (806) 341-6472

Taluspay

Wes Renard (682) 395-9975 www.taluspay.com

Texas Farm Bureau

Insurance - Patrick Daily Patrick Daily (817) 301-3245 www.txfb-ins.com

The Warrior Connection

Elizabeth Fields

1-866-278-3155 www.warriorconnection.org

Touchless Colon Cleansing & Wellness

Ardin ''Angel'' Kirk (469) 245-4198 www.touchlesscoloncleansing.com

The hard work of our Great Taste of Grapevine Committee paid off in a big way on April 20th, the twenty seventh year the Women’s Division has hosted this showcase of local restaurants It was especially exciting to be on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad platform for the first time, a venue that represents the unique character of Grapevine We have heard from many attendees that the food was outstanding and that they discovered new restaurants and enjoyed old favorites This year we were pleased to include wine from our local wineries for the first time, we hope that this will become a mainstay of the evening

Early numbers indicate that Great Taste 2023 was a successful event on every level. Ticket sales, sponsorships, & restaurant participation were all substantially higher than recent years. All the funds raised at this event go to our two main charitable projects, purchasing school supplies for GCISD students receiving free or reduced lunch services and our Christmas Spirit program for lowincome senior citizens Brandi Hodge Villegas, our committee chair, Cass Clements, and Les Jordan, put in many hours of work and endured some sleepless nights ahead of this event We are so thankful to have so many highly skilled members of Women’s Division members, if you worked on this event, please know that we are grateful for the time and effort you put forth for a successful fundraiser

Special thanks are also due to Nick Kaufman of

Wine Fusion, who took on the job of organizing and running our drink service, an essential part of Great Taste Finally, this event would not have been possible without the support of the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, their talented employees offered advice and encouragement at every stage of planning. We are looking forward to Great Taste of Grapevine 2024 and once again celebrating our unique hometown