Texas Senator Goes Above and Beyond for Fire Fighters

July 5, 2007 – July 7, 2007 – Mario Gallegos was a career fire fighter and a member of Houston, TX Local 341 for 22 years. After he retired, he continued to fight for Texas fire fighters as a member of the Texas State House of Representatives and later as member of the Texas State Senate. He has served in these capacities even to the detriment of his own health.

During the most recent legislation session, Senator Gallegos underwent a complete liver transplant. His doctors advised him to stay in Houston in case of any medical complications, but he insisted on going to Austin to ensure that important legislation to fire fighters got a fair shake.

“Before he left, he called us and asked us what bills needed his attention,” says Mike Higgins, lobbyist for the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters (TSAFF). “We gave him a list, and it was not a short one.”

Almost every bill Gallegos pursued on behalf of fire fighters and on behalf of TSAFF was passed and became law. “We were so honored by his dedication that the TSAFF chose him as ‘Outstanding Senator’ for the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature,” says Higgins.

Gallegos held two terms as a representative, where he served on the Appropriations Committee and Urban Affairs Committee, before he became the state’s first Hispanic senator in 1994. He is currently the chairman of the Senate Sub-Committee on Flooding and Evacuations, and is also a member of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, the International Relations and Trade Committee, Senate Jurisprudence Committee and the Government Organization Committee.

In 2007, Senator Gallegos was elected president pro tempore of the Texas Senate by his fellow senators. Under the Texas Constitution, the president pro tempore is third in line to fill the office of Texas Governor, should that office become vacant.

Gallegos has received numerous awards for his legislation benefiting fire fighters, including a Special Legislative Achievement Award from the TSAFF in 2003 for the passage of legislation requiring payroll deduction of union dues for fire fighters. This effort was the conclusion of a 30-year pursuit of payroll deduction for union dues, which had been passed twice and vetoed twice before. However, the 2003 bill was signed and went into effect that year.

In addition, Senator Gallegos was a co-author of Senate Bill 310, the Presumptive Disease Legislation that became law in 2005. This bill created a rebuttable presumption that certain cancers and diseases suffered by fire fighters and EMS workers were contracted in the line of duty.