Reptile & Amphibian Forums

All,

I spoke with Jim Short tonight and explained to him that we could only come up with about a quarter of the money he wanted to kill HB 2414. I then told him that our letters and calls must have done some good because it was bumped from the LCCC to the General Calendar. He said that he got that done for us. He thought we may need more time and so he went ahead and contacted the chairperson. If this is the case, 1) we need to thank Jim Short. 2) we need to verify this and then figure out what more we can do because what we did was not enough.

I will try to find the answer to this question. Mr. Short said if we need him to let him know. I thanked him for his help.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX

Hello Everyone
I am an attorney and a reptile hobbyist in San Antonio. I know Jim Short and he is excellent. I have some suggestions about the bill.
1. Always be polite to the House Members and staff.
2. Explain that the bill will have a deterimental effect on your hobby which is shared by thousands of Texans.
3. Offer a reasonable alternative. I suggest requesting that the bill be amended as follows: "This bill shall not apply to the non-commercial collection of live reptiles and amphibians."
4. Call and more importantly write not only committee members bust as many members of the house as possible.
5. Contact all Texas based herp. societies and ask them to oppose the bill unless it is amended to exclude reptiles and amphibians.
6. Be prepared to contact state senators and ask that the bill be amended if it passes the house.
REMEBER IT IS BEST TO OFFER A REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE RATHER THAN SIMPLY OPPOSE THE BILL. HUNTING TO MOST REPS AND SENATORS MEANS WITH A GUN SO THIS BILL IS LIKELY TO PASS BUT THERE IS TIME TO HAVE IT AMENDED.
I am going to contact some stte reps that I know.
Richard Strieber

Hello Richard,
Thanks much for the excellent advice.
Best
Joe

Joe
If you send me your email address, I will forward you the emails I sent to representatives Corte and Farias. RStrieber@EscamillaPoneck.com

Richard

Thank you Richard, we need all the help we can get. I will definitely take your advice!
Todd Hughes

How can we validate the services that were provided by Mr. Short? I think the Calendar Committee needs to be called first, then see if they have spoken to Mr. Short.

I think lots of folks have put in some hard work and I would be dissappointed for that credit to go to someone else.

I'm very happy to see the bill moved to the General Calendar.

Best wishes,

Steven

It doesn't matter as much where the credit goes (unless egos need to be assuaged)as long as someone is not trying to overstate their effort for monetary gain. I think everyone is aware of the efforts by folks on/off this forum.

I have performed "X" service and therefore are owed "X" dollars.
That is why I asked Mike to be careful. I have no idea as to what was agreed to or what money is owed.

If Mr. Short takes credit for clearing it out of the Calendar Committee then it is possible to say that we owe him for that.

Take Care,

Steven

Steven,

What was said between myself and the Lobbyist was posted to the forum. Whatever he did was strictly his choosing. There was nothing agreed to by me accept to call him back and let him know what the group decided. I was just relaying what he said and that I called him back like I said I would.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX

Richard said he was a good guy, and there is a chance we will need him in the future. I'm still not crazy about the price tag but the privilege of our hobby is priceless. We need to buy the man dinner or something at the very least and let him know we appreciate anything he may have done on our behalf.

I think we need to stay on his good side. So dinner is in order for sure...

Steven

Jim Short
33515 Fulshear Farms Road
Fulshear, TX 77441-4306
(281) 346-2100 home
(281) 924-3530 cell

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX

I'd be glad to contribute to whatever gratuity the group thinks is appropriate.

Perhaps an expense paid trip to west Texas with a guided road collecting trip.

The same type of thing might be appropriate for our legislative friends.

Mike, I emailed you a message...if you don't get it, please contact me at usaywhat AT houston DOT rr DOT com. Thanks

Smorefun,

You are missing the point. If he was the one that had it moved then what we all did, however hard we tried, was not good enough. I tend to think that it was our hard work but it would be nice to know the effectiveness of our efforts. I was just relaying what I was told and wondering about our effectiveness.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX