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TSCRA Government News, May 8, 2009 News from the Texas Legislature News from the Texas Legislature Eminent Domain Bill Passes State Senate The bill to provide a more property owner friendly eminent domain process was unanimously approved by the Texas State Senate. Senate Bill 18, introduced by Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls), reforms the process of eminent domain and condemnation for property owners in the state of Texas. SB 18 now moves to the House for consideration. SB 18 prohibits condemnation of land for private use. It improves procedures to initiate eminent domain proceedings by requiring any actions by governmental entities to be done in public and by a record vote. Additionally, the bill would require a bona fide offer by the condemning entity. If no bona fide offer is made, SB 18 would require the condemnor to pay all fees incurred by the property owner. The bill would also allow for a property owner to be compensated for a material impairment of direct access on or off the remaining property if it affects the market value of the remaining property. It goes further to define "direct access" as ingress or egress on or off a public road, street or highway at a location or locations where the remaining property adjoins that road, street or highway. The bill allows for a property owner or their heirs to repurchase the property at the price paid to the owner when the property was acquired if the land is not used for public use in a timely manner. TSCRA strongly supports this bill. Budget Conference Committee Approves Final Budget Proposal The conference committee on the state budget acted on the budget for the Texas Animal Health Commission this week The conferees adopted the Senate version of the budget for fever tick funding. This will provide $1 million for the next two years for fever tick control. Despite an initial proposal to increase fees on first-point testing for brucellosis at livestock auction markets, the conference committee voted to keep the testing protocol and fees as they are now. Livestock Theft Bill Passes Out of Senate Committee The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee voted SB 1163 out of committee last night. The bill would increase the penalty for theft of livestock. The next step is to get SB 1163 to the House floor for a vote. If SB 1163 passes the House, it will go to the Governor's desk to be signed into law or vetoed. Margins Tax Legislation Approved in State HouseThe Texas House approved legislation this week to increase the small business exemption from the margins tax for the next two years from $300,000 to $1 million in gross receipts. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration. Texas Senate Confirms TCEQ Commissioner Shaw This week, the Texas Senate confirmed the appointment of Dr. Bryan Shaw of Bryan, Texas, to serve as a Commissioner of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Shaw is an associate professor in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department of Texas A&M University. Many of his courses focused on air pollution engineering. His term will expire Aug. 31, 2013. "The TCEQ faces many challenges as we seek to balance protection and enhancement of the environment with the need to maintain a robust economy. With a rapidly growing population, we will need sound technical analysis to ensure that agency programs and decisions are based on the best science and engineering available," Shaw said in a statement Tuesday. "I am honored by the Governor's appointment and the Senate's support." Shaw received a bachelor's and master's degree in agricultural engineering from Texas A&M University and a doctorate degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Shaw was born and raised on a family farm and ranch in Seminole, Texas. USDA Makes Federal Appointment USDA recently announced that J. Dudley Butler will serve as the new administrator for the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). GIPSA facilitates the marketing of livestock, poultry, meat, cereals, oilseeds, and related agricultural products and promotes fair and competitive trading practices for the overall benefit of consumers and American agriculture. GIPSA is part of USDA's Marketing and Regulatory Programs, which are working to ensure a productive and competitive global marketplace for U.S. agricultural products. Butler, an attorney for over three decades, has been involved in cattle, timber and farming operations. He is a member of R-CALF and a founding member of the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), both of which have strongly criticized GISPA in the past. Butler replaces TSCRA member Jim Link. Mark-up on Clean Water Restoration Act Delayed The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) has announced they are delaying the mark-up of the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2009 (S. 787). 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 would like to thank everyone who contacted the committee with opposition to the mark-up. TSCRA will continue to strongly oppose this bill.
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