Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HB 12, the sweeping Parks Reform Bill was amended on the House Floor to include the Pre-Amendment wording of HB 2414.

"SECTION 44. Subchapter A, Chapter 62, Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended by adding Section 62.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 62.0031. HUNTING FROM PUBLIC ROAD OR RIGHT-OF-WAY PROHIBITED. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person may not hunt a wild animal or bird when the person is on a public road or right-of-way.
(b) This section does not apply to the trapping of a raptor for educational or sporting purposes as provided by Chapter 49."

HB 12 has already passed both the House and the Senate. It will surely be signed by the Governor. I'm pretty sure from my reading of HB 12 that it will pass effective immediately.

I have yet to determine who added the amendment to the bill.

So, if TPWD wants to enforce it, we'll be illegal this year.

Troy

Dirty politics at it's finest.... time to get dirty right back at them... Tomorrow we have to BOMBARD THE GOVERNER

Ok...now I'm lost. I thought that legislation was BEAT to bloody pulp. Did they pull some back-door stuff on us? Please explain.

i.e. you attach your unsavory legislation onto a bill that is well recieved and then it passes despite what the public or anyone else thinks about it. One of the worst legislative abuses of power built into our political system.

Troy

I spoke to Representative Joe Farias a few minutes ago. He had no idea that the rider had been attached. He is going to look into it. I don't know what we can do now. If we find out who attached the rider we will need to think about the next election.
If there is a special session Rep. Farias will attempt to correct this situation.
Richard Strieber

HB 2414 is alive in limbo in the Senate... If we can kick start it and get it through then it could override the rider on HB 12.

Lots of assumption in this plan, but I think it would be worth the effort.

Push hard to get HB 2414 on the Senate floor as a consent item.

Lance

time do we have to do that before HB2414 dies?

and this is my best short notice idea

kill it with the same bill....

Lance

One, don't we pay them to know what they are voting for?

Two, if they don't know about the rider, we need to let them know. Contact them (politely) and let them know about it. Hopefully, at least some of them will think this is dirty politics, too. It may not win us anything this round, but may open some doors for us in the future.

Troy

I called Governor Perry's office immediately when I got home at 5:30 p.m. today. I left a message regarding this SCREW JOB! I am sure I will hear from one of his cronies tomorrow.

Wayne

He's got to go....

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OK...so three or four weeks ago, I bought hunting permits with the intent on using them on snakes (whic WAS legal when I bought them) in June. Is the TPWD going to reimburse me if the governor signs this shady bill?

but you can put that in your email/phone call to the governor.

Troy

Despite the successful lobbying efforts against HB 2414 (a bill pertaining to hunting from public right of ways), lobbying to successfully amend the bill to exclude the collection of reptiles and amphibians, etc, and the death of HB 2414 in Senate Committee, the House and Senate passed HB 12 with riders attached that include the original language of CSHB 2414.

Even though HB 12 is a sweeping Parks Reform Bill, it has been substationally amended to include riders - bills that were otherwise amended or defeated on the House Floor. Consequently, HB 12 should be vetoed. To not veto HB 12 sends the message that such dirty politics (the attachment of riders of otherwise defeated legislation) is "ok". Let me assure you that such dirty politics is why America continues to feel disenfranchised . . . and why America no longer trusts our political "leaders".

Therefore, a veto of HB 12 represents a "vote" to restore some small part of the trust of the American public for our elected leaders.

Sincerely,
Troy Hibbitts
Camp Wood, TX

Welcome to texas politics at its best. As someone (probably Mark Twain) once said: "two things that no civilized human should have to see are the inside of a sausage factory and Texas politics at work."

I have always felt that TPWD, despite protestations, was behind this as a way to shut down herping. Now I'm even more certain about it.

I guess the only thing now is for a few hundred herpers to get tickets and go class action.

Rick Perry will sign pretty much anything that TPWD puts in front of him.

JH

Troy,

I went to the state leg. website and I can't find where the amendment was added. Have they not posted the final version?

Thanks,
Melissa

I couldn't find it either, even in the amendment history, so you can bet Hilderbran was behind it.

We have to find a way to get him voted out of office, even if we have to play dirty.

Yeppers, time to take the gloves off.......they are letting Bayou Bob kill 15,000 pounds of Texas herps a week for sales
in Hong Kong, but we can't drive the roads for a few herps.
Something is rotten in Austin!

Tremp........

I heard good news about that but I can't verify it, or haven't tried to verify it yet. Supposedly the only Turtles legal for commercial take are now red ears, snappers and soft-shells. But that is just a rumor I recently heard.

I'll know all the details of how the turtles faired tomorrow.
The lawyer that we've been behind is supposed to call me.
We wanted all turtles banned from such a slaughter.....
Hopefully good news for a change.

Tremp......

www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20070529a

Well, this is about the best things could have turned out for
this effort to protect against the turtle harvest. Now enforcement needs to do their job enforcing it instead of bothering roadway herpers......

Thanks Joe for the link.....Tremp

I did find it. It's in the text for the enrolled version of HB 12. Section 43-44.

Looking at the text where it came out of the senate committee and then the enrolled language, I assume that the amendment was made on the legislative floor at the last minute.

Coming off the Senate committee, there were only 33 Sections of HB 12 - now there are 44-45. The "new sections" represent other bills that stalled or died elsewhere (other consituent groups that are also getting screwed?). For example, HB 1309 is also on there.

Troy
HB 12 Text

This was a dirty trick and this bill needs to be shut down somehow.... We worked hard to fix the wording on that bill, and then they voted it on to the senate with the fixed language. Now they put the old language on a rider....

He should be kicked out of office for that kind of betrayal of public trust.

Lance

>>This was a dirty trick and this bill needs to be shut down somehow.... We worked hard to fix the wording on that bill, and then they voted it on to the senate with the fixed language. Now they put the old language on a rider....
>>
>>He should be kicked out of office for that kind of betrayal of public trust.
>>
>>Lance

to Hilderbran's district just so I can vote for the other guy... He is either not very bright or not very honest... either way he needs to not be in office.

I am tempted to send a donation to his next opponent, whoever that may be.

If I lived 5 miles away (in Real County) instead of Edwards, I'd already live in Hildebran's district.

Troy

When will the governer sign this into effect? What kind of grace period would LE have? Since there will be no way to get this new law into print very quickly, how long of a grace period will there be. I guess there will be no point in buying a hunting license next week, just gonna have to be snaeky.

Even if the Governor fails to sign it and just lets it lay there it can still become law unless he opts to veto the bill. Considering the fact that the rest of HB 12 is so favorable, I think that it is highly unlikely that he will actually veto the bill.

This is the way the Texas Legislature works unfortunately. Texas politics at its best.

Troy, this is exactly what I was talking about in my email to you a few weeks back.
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Gerald Keown
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research
www.southwesternherp.com