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Juan (Chuy) J. Hinojosa (D-SS20)
Email - Web Site
Capitol: 512.463.0120
FAX: 512.463.0229
District: 956.972.1841
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Senator
Room CAP 3E.10 Capitol Station 1100 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78711
District Office:
2820 South Padre Island Drive
Corpus Christi, TX 78415
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| Elected: 2002 Next Election: 2016 | | Spouse: Rosalie Weisfeld DOB: 3/7/1946 |
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BioOccupation- Attorney. Education- BS Pan American University, JD Georgetown University. Legislative Experience- House Member, 1981-1991/1997-2002; Senate Member (2002). Hometown- McAllen. Party- Democrat. Born in McAllen, Texas, in Hidalgo County, Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa is the eldest of eight children born to Juan de Dios and Esperanza Hinojosa. He attended Mission ISD schools as a child and worked as a farm worker during his teen years. He led the Mission Eagles football team as their quarterback, and after graduating, Hinojosa volunteered to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. In Vietnam, Hinojosa served from 1966 to 1968 before returning home to continue his education. Hinojosa graduated with honors from the University of Texas-Pan American with a bachelor's degree in political science. He completed his legal studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. After returning to South Texas, Hinojosa served as staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Nueces County and later as an Assistant Attorney General for the Texas Attorney General. In 1980, Hinojosa began his own private practice in McAllen, where he continues to represent clients in both civil and criminal matters. Hinojosa was first elected into office in 1981, serving in the Texas House until 1990 and again from 1997 to 2002. During his tenure in the Texas House, Hinojosa passed landmark legislation, such as the establishment of the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) which promotes physician training on the Texas/Mexico Border. As the Chairman of Criminal Jurisprudence, Senator Hinojosa sponsored the Texas Fair Defense Act, reforming procedures for providing court-appointed defense counsel to indigent defendants, and carried DNA legislation that has resulted in freeing many wrongly convicted citizens. Since his election to the Texas Senate in 2002, Hinojosa has secured more than $84.7 million for new construction at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and at the University of Texas-Pan American. Senator Hinojosa's efforts have brought millions in funding to support the growth of Senate District 20, composed of Brooks, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, and Nueces Counties. During the 2011 legislative session, Hinojosa authored S.B. 975, the Statewide Dropout Recovery Bill, offering a better future to our younger generations in Texas. S.B. 975 created statewide access for students and parents to the dropout recovery model in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District, a successfully proven program. Hinojosa has been a leader in making state government more efficient by serving as the only South Texas member of the Sunset Advisory Commission from 2008-2011. He carried sunset legislation for high profile agencies such as TxDot, DPS, and the Texas Water Development Board. Hinojosa championed legislation to rein in rising university tuition costs and he has worked with a bipartisan group of legislators to allocate more than $120 million on training and technology for border security. Senator Hinojosa has received a number of awards for his public service during his more than 20 years as an elected representative of South Texas. Twice he has been named one of Texas's "Top 10 Legislators" by Texas Monthly magazine, and the National Organization of Women named him their "Legislator of the Year." In 2005, he received the John Henry Faulk Award from the American Civil Liberties Union, and Capitol Inside has twice named Senator Hinojosa to their Top Ten Legislator list. He has also been a co-recipient of the James Madison award given by the Freedom of Information Foundation. In 2011 he received the "Big Voices for Little Texans Award" from CASA and was recognized with the National Award/State Alliance Champion Award by the Boys & Girls Club. In 2012 Senator Hinojosa was honored to receive the CHRISTUS Health Eagle Award for his outstanding legislative leadership and strong commitment to health care issues and the 2012 "Border Texan of the Year" for his great contributions to the lives and well-being of residents along the border and his tireless dedication to bringing economic and educational benefits to the Coastal Bend area and South Texas.
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