DALLAS — State Representative Victoria Neave, a Dallas Democrat in her third term, was appointed to a coveted committee chair position in the Texas House.
“As we strive for equity and put a spotlight on issues that affect women in Texas, I’m just really thrilled that the speaker had the faith and trust in me to lead on these really important issues for Texas women and children,” said Rep. Neave on Sunday’s Inside Texas Politics.
She will chair the Texas House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues. Neave is one of five women that Speaker Dade Phelan selected for a leadership position.
“One of the other deep dives that we’re going to be doing is looking at the school to prison pipeline, for example, the disproportionate impact on students of color,” Neave added.
Committee chairs have significant influence on what legislation advances to the full House for consideration. Considering that, Neave said she’s already considering legislation resulting from the pandemic.
“We saw during the pandemic, a significant increase in domestic violence right here in Dallas and all across different parts of Texas. That is something we really want to prioritize,” she explained. “We want to make sure our rape crisis centers and our family violence centers that have been providing such necessary resources to individuals trying to escape abuse – that they have the tools they need to be able to continue to serve our community.”
In a nod to the bipartisanship that the Texas House has become known for, Neave said “We want to make sure that the bills that come out of our committee are bipartisan, that they really accomplish something meaningful for the state of Texas.”
The Dallas Democrat said she is also planning to strengthen The Lavinia Masters Act, which she got passed into law last session. The law completely transformed the justice system for rape survivors.
The bill required law enforcement agencies to prioritize and test rape kits rather than leave them sitting on evidence shelves for months or even years. The Lavinia Masters Act was designed to eliminate the state’s backlog of sexual assault forensic exams.
It was named in honor of Lavinia Masters, a Dallas woman who was raped at age 13 but had to wait 20 years for Dallas police to finally test her evidence and identify the perpetrator. By that time, though, the statute of limitations in her case had expired and Ms. Masters could not pursue charges against her rapist.
“I just met with the [Texas Department of Public Safety],” Neave told the television program. “We’re thrilled about the progress of the legislation. We’ll be rolling out very soon our legislative package to address additional issues so that we make sure not one rape kit goes untested and the survivors get the justice that they deserve.”
The first Latina to chair a committee in the Texas House was the late Irma Rangel. In 1995, she was appointed chair of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education.
Currently, of the 34 standing committees in the Texas House, 21 chairs are Republicans and 13 are Democrats, the Texas Tribune reported.