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TSCRA Government News May 29, 2009 As Session wraps up, many bills die
As Session wraps up, many bills die Early Thursday morning the House and Senate reached the final deadline to vote out bills in each chamber. Due to the stall tactics the Democrats used in the House to kill the voter identification bill over the Memorial Day weekend, many bills died before the deadline. One of those bills was the eminent domain reform bill (SB 18). The Senate was able to revive many of the bills by adding them as floor amendments on the Senate floor on Tuesday and Wednesday, but SB 18 did not make it. One eminent domain reform measure still has hope. HJR 14 is being negotiated by state Rep. Frank Corte (R-San Antonio) and state Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock). HJR 14 would allow Texas voters to amend the state constitution to prohibit the condemnation of property for private use. This would address the concerns raised by the controversial Kelo case. TSCRA was able to hold off many bad amendments that would have been attached to Senate bills. The Senate amended House bills, so those bills will have to be approved by the House or sent to a conference committee to work out the details. The House and Senate have until Sunday at midnight to come to an agreement on each bill that goes to conference committee. Many of the amendments the Senate put on face germaneness issues in the House, meaning they are not relative to the bills they were amended to. Friday (today) is the last day for the House to make that decision. TSCRA will be working closely with any conference committees as they move to finalize numerous bills. The budget conference committee has issued their final report on SB 1. The House and Senate have both approved this conference committee report. The final budget spends $182.3 billion during 2010-2011. $80.7 billion of this is state general revenue. This represents about a 9 percent increase from the previous budget.
Gov. Perry signs all three TSCRA bills into law Over the Memorial Day weekend, Gov. Perry signed SB 1163, introduced by state Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) and state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), into law. The bill would increase the penalty for livestock theft in the state of Texas from a state jail felony to a third degree felony. The bill was introduced at the urging of TSCRA after cattle theft in the state tripled between 2007 and 2008. The bill takes effect Sept. 1, 2009. Gov. Perry also signed into law SB 1059, introduced by state Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) and state Rep. Larry Phillips (R-Sherman). The bill would require a 90-day notice by certified mail to any landowner who owns land adjacent to a cattle guard before it is removed. The bill also gives citizens of the county the option to request a public hearing concerning the removal of a cattle guard. This bill will take effect Sept. 1, 2009. A bill to allow the TSCRA special rangers to share proceeds from the sale of stolen assets was also signed into law by the governor. HB 2062, introduced by state Sen. Chuy Hinojosa (D-McAllen) and state Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine) is effective immediately.
TSCRA members participate in Young Cattlemen's Conference Seth Denbow, Amanda Dyer and Ty Keeling are representing TSCRA at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) 30th annual Young Cattlemen's Conference (YCC). Denbow, Dyer and Keeling will head to the nation's capitol next week to meet with members of U.S. Congress, Senate and the Administration to discuss policy issues affecting today's beef industry. The 10-day tour kicked off Thursday in Denver with a comprehensive overview of the industry. Participants will then head to western Kansas, Sioux City, Iowa and Chicago, before ending the trip in D.C. Fifty-four young cattle industry leaders from across the country are participating in this year's tour, which will expose them to all aspects of the beef industry, including industry structure, issues management, production research, and marketing. The YCC tour has become the cornerstone of leadership training efforts within the cattle industry. Over 950 cattlemen and women have graduated from the YCC program since its inception in 1980. Many of these alumni have gone on to serve in influential leadership roles within the industry.
Numerous issues top D.C. lawmakers' to-do list. Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. have been back home in their districts this past week, but with the Memorial Day recess coming to an end, the Administration as well as House and Senate leaders have a long to-do list of legislation for the summer and rest of the year. Among those topics is the controversial Waxman/Markey bill also known as the "American Clean Energy and Security Act." The bill, criticized by many agriculture groups, requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop performance standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, which will likely include livestock operations. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said she wants to see the legislation passed before the August recess; however, Republicans and conservative Democrats have already expressed strong opposition to the bill. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) has broken ranks not only by challenging the bill as unfair to agriculture, but also conveying all the Democrats on the committee would oppose the bill unless it was changed to better benefit the ag community. So far the bill has not been scheduled for any further action in the House. The Clean Water Restoration Act, introduced by U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), has been referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; however, the committee has repeatedly delayed action on the bill. Currently, waters under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act are defined as "navigable waters of the United States." The Clean Water Restoration Act would remove the word "navigable" from the definition, which would give the federal government, for the first time, the power to regulate all waters within a state including: small and intermittent streams, mudflats, sloughs, mud holes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural and manmade ponds including stockponds, groundwater, ditches, pipes, streets, gutters, ephemeral drainages, wet farmland, drain tiles and more. This bill would take authority away from state governments and private property owners. TSCRA strongly opposes this bill. Other policies the Administration and Congress have said they want to see enacted before the end of the year include, health care reform, a possible second stimulus package, proposals to shut down Guantanamo Bay, and the fiscal year 2010 spending bills
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