Friday, May 28, 2021-47Th Day (Cont.)
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SENATE JOURNAL EIGHTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE Ð REGULAR SESSION AUSTIN, TEXAS PROCEEDINGS FORTY-SEVENTH DAY (Continued) (Friday, May 28, 2021) AFTER RECESS The Senate met at 11:46 a.m. and was called to order by the President. Senator Hughes offered the invocation as follows: Heavenly Father, we come before You and we just thank You for who You are. When we consider that You created everything, everything seen, everything unseen, we know that You existed before anything else, You always have and You always will. And, Father, we thank You for what we ve' learned, what we know about You. We know that You are all powerful, that You can do anything, nothing is in Your way, You can accomplish everything. We also know that You are all wise, You know exactly what You re' doing. You re' not caught by surprise by anything. You know exactly what s' happening. And, Father, we thank You that You are all loving. What You do is best, it s' best for us, even when we don t' understand. We thank You that we can trust You. And, Father, if we ever doubted Your love, we would just look at Calvary, where the Lord Jesus, Your Son, the creator, humbled Himself and there gave His life for us. The just for the unjust. We thank You for the resurrection, His ascension into heaven and His work there at Your right hand. Father, all these things we re' reminded You are for us in all these ways. In all these important ways these things that really matter. So, Father, if You look back at the last few months together, and here the last few days, we just thank You. Each one of us here has a role, some serving on a staff level, some volunteers, many participants in the process, and even those elected. You ve' put each one of us here, so help us, Father, to finish strong, to follow through and honor You. We ask You to give us wisdom to know what to do, courage to do what s' right, and give us humility to honor You and the way we do it. We pray in Jesus ' name. Amen. SENATE RESOLUTION 487 Senator Paxton offered the following resolution: SR 487, In memory of Carroll Homer Maxwell Jr. The resolution was read. 2502 87th Legislature Ð Regular Session 47th Day (Cont.) On motion of Senator Paxton, SRi487 was adopted by a rising vote of the Senate. In honor of the memory of Carroll Homer Maxwell Jr., the text of the resolution is printed at the end of today s' Senate Journal. Senator Paxton, joined by Senator Hughes and the President, was recognized and introduced to the Senate the family of Carroll Homer Maxwell Jr. including Alice Cromwell, Karen Prejean, Cathleen Frederickson, and Nicholas Cromwell. The Senate welcomed its guests and extended its sympathy. SENATE RESOLUTION 489 Senator Taylor offered the following resolution: SR 489, In memory of Kenton Dale Harris. The resolution was read. On motion of Senator West and by unanimous consent, the names of the Lieutenant Governor and Senators were added to the resolution as signers thereof. On motion of Senator Taylor, SRi489 was adopted by a rising vote of the Senate. In honor of the memory of Kenton Dale Harris, the text of the resolution is printed at the end of today s' Senate Journal. Senator Taylor was recognized and introduced to the Senate the family of Kenton Dale Harris including Kay Harris and Kevin Harris. The Senate welcomed its guests and extended its sympathy. REMARKS ORDERED PRINTED On motion of Senator Taylor and by unanimous consent, the remarks by Senator Taylor regarding SRi489 were ordered reduced to writing and printed in the Senate Journal as follows: Thank you, Mr.iPresident. Members, I rise today to recognize and honor the legacy and memory of a longtime and dear friend, Kenton Harris, in the Texas Senate here today. Family and friends, thousands of former students and athletes will forever treasure their memories of the man that we knew as Coach Harris. He died on March 9th of this year at the age of 88 with a long life well lived. He was born in Kingman, Kansas. He grew up there and was an impressive athlete on his own, played football, was named an all-state running back. Later, went on and played varsity football at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. While there in college, he met his soon-to-be wife, Kay, who was the native of my hometown, Friendswood, Texas. Answering his nation s' call to duty, Coach Harris served the U.S. Army with the 868th Field Artillery Battalion from 1956 to 1958. And then began his education career in Kansas but later moved to Friendswood, Texas, in 1971, where he began to make a great mark. The football teams back in those early 70s' in Friendswood, they won a state championship. They were perennial playoff contenders, going deep in the playoffs almost every year. And he was the defensive coordinator for those teams. There was the year Friday, May 28, 2021 SENATE JOURNAL 2503 that we won the state championship, I think, I think we had like 20-some-odd points scored against us the whole year. He knew what he was doing on the football field, but he always also knew he, what he was doing in life. Coach Harris, sorry, he served as such a positive example and mentor to many of Friendswood High School students and athletes, including myself. He was vigilant with his integrity, compassion, and respect for others every day. Beyond his successes on the athletic field, he had many successes with his students, life-changing turnaround successes with his students. You know, we all understand the power of positive words from a teacher to a student, how it can affect someone s' life. Coach Harris did that reliably every day, and it was meaningful and it was genuine. I can tell you, he was my shop teacher. I didn t' football, but beyond the athletic field, he was my shop teacher for a couple of years. And I loved taking shop, as woodworking and doing all that. But it didn t' matter if you were working on a cutting board or some kind of a bedside table, he would come up and tell you, you do good work. It s' such a positive affirmation that many students need and don t' get all the time. Not surprisingly, he was a man of strong faith. He was a longtime member of the Friendswood Friends Church, where he was a Sunday school teacher, youth sponsor, and on the ministry and oversight committee. He also helped found and lead the Friendswood High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes for many, many years. He shared a loving relationship with his wife, Kay, who is still with us, spanning over six decades. In fact, he had two sons, Kevin and Kelly. And Kelly is with us here in the gallery. If you would, stand up, Kelly, Kelly Harris. Looks a lot like his dad, actually, which is, I m' so pleased that you re' able to be here with us today. On the day that Coach Harris left this earth and stepped into heaven, I can hear God greeting him with, you do good work my good and faithful servant. You have made a positive difference for so many of my children. With that, Mr.iPresident, I move adoption of the resolution, Senate Resolution 489. GUESTS PRESENTED Senator West was recognized and introduced to the Senate his 87th Legislature interns including Addison Coe, Prince S. Giadolor, Jason Castillo, Marissa Elder, William Jackson, Maguire Kilpatrick, Chelsea Laughrun, Tarshyana Hall, Shelby McNulty, May Lilly, Shu-Ching Tseng, and Tony Wen. The Senate welcomed its guests. (Senator Springer in Chair) SENATE RESOLUTION 505 Senator Birdwell offered the following resolution: SR 505, Recognizing William David Lacy for his induction into the Texas Bankers Hall of Fame. The resolution was read and was adopted without objection. 2504 87th Legislature Ð Regular Session 47th Day (Cont.) GUEST PRESENTED Senator Birdwell was recognized and introduced to the Senate William David Lacy. The Senate welcomed its guest. (President in Chair) SENATE RESOLUTIONS Senator Perry offered the following resolution: SR 507, In memory of Samuel Alexander Leonard. The resolution was read. Senator Perry offered the following resolution: SR 513, In memory of Stephen Jones. The resolution was read. On motion of Senator Bettencourt and by unanimous consent, the names of the Lieutenant Governor and Senators were added to the resolutions as signers thereof. On motion of Senator Perry, SRi507 and SRi513 were adopted by a rising vote of the Senate. In honor of the memory of Stephen Jones and Samuel Alexander Leonard, the text of the resolutions are printed at the end of today s' Senate Journal. REMARKS ORDERED PRINTED On motion of Senator Perry and by unanimous consent, the remarks by Senator Perry and the President regarding SR 507 and SR 513 were ordered reduced to writing and printed in the Senate Journal as follows: Senator Perry:iiThank you, Mr.iPresident and Members. Tyrel, Kimber, Dakota, Grace, Katie, Magnolia, Morgan, and Rebekah are all now part of a perpetual bond created by unspeakable and unconscionable event when their dads suited up, went to work, put the badge and gun on, swore an oath to protect us, and didn t' come home. They won t' be there for the graduations, the weddings, and all the other things that we as dads enjoy or the anniversaries with their wives.