It’s official; you belong to the best state orthopaedic society in America! The TOA was awarded the State Society of the Year award last Thursday night at the National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference (NOLC) in Washington. Congratulations and thanks to our wonderful staff, consultants, and physician volunteers who deserve all the

Representative Dora Olivo has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1997 and represents one of the State’s most diverse districts. District 27 encompasses about half of the fast-growing Fort Bend County. Education, children, economic development, health care, mental health, senior citizens, workforce and job-training are areas of special interest to her.

A grass-roots activist and advocate for her community, Representative

Olivo takes pride in more than 33 years of service to her community and the state of Texas. She possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education. Representative Olivo received her Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1981 from the University of Houston and has a private law practice in Richmond, Texas. She is a former schoolteacher who worked in both the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District for a total of 10 years. In 1977, she founded the radio talk show Lo Nuestro on KFRD in Rosenberg and hosted the program for 15 years.

Past affiliations include: Director of the Fort Bend Voter Registration Education Project; Board Member for the Fort Bend Family Health Clinic; Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Fort Bend Interfaith Council, an IAF organization); Member of the National Democratic Committee; and Board Member of the Fort Bend Housing Finance Corporation.

Currently, Representative Olivo is a member on the Public Education and Public Health Committees. Representative Olivo also served on the Insurance, Public Safety, Human Services, County Affairs, Agriculture & Livestock Committees and served two sessions prior as a member of the Public Education Committee.   She  is presently serving as legal counsel for the Legislative Study Group. She also serves on the national board of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL).

House Speaker Pete Laney appointed Rep. Olivo to the National Council of State Legislatures' Education Committee in 2001. Former Governor Ann Richards appointed her in 1991 to the Texas Punishment Standards Commission that was charged with revising the Texas Penal Code and whose recommendations are now law.

In 2002, Representative Olivo was selected as one of the Black Go Texan honorees. In 2001, Texas LULAC named her the Woman Legislator of the Year. In 1998, the Houston Area Association for the Education of Young Children named her the Elected Official of the Year. In 1997, Representative Olivo received the elite leadership award of the Flemming Fellows Leadership Institute with the Center for Policy Alternatives.

She is married to Victor Olivo, Jr., owner of Olivo Insurance Agency in Richmond, Texas. They have two sons, Victor III and Geraldo; two grandsons, Victor IV and Roman and one granddaughter, Analise Trinity. Both Victor III and Geraldo graduated from Texas A&M University. Victor III is married to the former Dawn Bingaman.

Email Dora Olivio to thank her for her work!
[top] [back to e-card archive page]

By Mignon McGarry
TOA Legislative Advocate / Memos: Thu May 3 & Tue May 1, 2007
TOA Online Version: All Memos

May 3, 2007, Thursday
The Senate today passed a bill (SB 920) that would require doctors administering an abortion to perform an ultrasound and offer the results to the pregnant woman. The vote was 21-8.

There was heated dialogue between bill author Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) and some Senate Democrats who challenged Patrick on the intent of the bill.

The bill is now headed to the House where it will likely generate fireworks. The contentious mood of House debates has been visibly building over the past weeks.

Legislation in the House has been plagued by an unusual number of points of order this session, leaving many members wary of when the next parliamentary pratfall will occur.

Points of order are parliamentary mistakes not related to a bill’s purpose or the misstating of a fact. If sustained, a point of order derails legislation, at least temporarily, by sending it back to committee for repair.

The most prolific point of order “spotter” thus far, Rep. Robert Talton (R-Pasadena), has been dubbed “Torpedo Talton” by the press.

Another source of frustration in the House right now stems from the unusually large number of bills stacking up in the General Calendars committee.

According to the Speaker’s office, there were almost 500 as of yesterday, compared to the 70 to 100 usually expected at this time in the session.

May 1, 2007, Tuesday
The 80^th Texas Legislature is now in its final month. If House bills are not voted out of a House committee by the end of this week, they are dead and the same is essentially true for Senate bills in Senate committees.  The committee process continues however, since all House bills must now pass Senate committees and vice versa.

Keep in mind that the substance of a bill can live on in the form of an amendment attached to another bill. As the calendars become more crowded and time runs short, it can become quite frantic for those playing offense.

In the Senate today gubernatorial nominations took center stage as the Senate took up the nomination of Albert Hawkins, Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.  The Senate also rescinded the nominations of three embattled Texas Southern University trustees at the request of Governor Perry.
[top] [back to e-card archive page]