Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A little history on this legislative abuse:

HB 2414 was introduced in the House with language that would have banned collection of reptiles and amphibians on public roads and right of ways in Texas. Numerous objections and concerns were raised about this ban. As a result, the House amended HB 2414 to remove this ban. The amended version of HB 2414 was then passed unanimously by the House. Due to time constraints at the end of the session, HB 2414 then died in the Senate without a vote.

HB 12 passed the House and Senate but had to go to a conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate version. Neither version had any of the HB 2414 text.

According to the Guide to Texas Legilative Information:
>>A conference committee’s charge is limited to reconciling
>>differences between the two chambers, and the committee,
>>unless so directed, may not alter, amend, or omit text that
>>is not in disagreement. Nor may the committee add text on any
>>matter that is not in disagreement or that is not included in
>>either version of the bill in question.

Hilderbran got around this limitation by authoring, introducing and passing HR 2912 (History) (Text) in the House and getting Senator Estes to author, introduce, and pass SR 1195 (History)(Text not yet published, presumably the same as HR 2912) in the Senate.

HR 2912 and SR 1195 gave the Conference Committee on HB 12 permission to add the pre-amendment version of HB 2414 (despite the fact that this text was defeated via amendment in the House and was never voted on in the Senate) by stating the following:
>>(9) House Rule 13, Section 9, is suspended to permit the
>>committee to amend Subchapter A, Chapter 62, Parks and Wildlife
>>Code, 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.
>>Explanation: The change is necessary to prohibit certain
>>persons from hunting a wild animal or bird when the person is on a
>>public road or right-of-way.[/list]

The Conference Committee on HB 12, chaired by Hilderbran and Estes then drafted the Conference Committee Report that drastically changed HB 12. The revised bill was then pushed through the House and Senate in the end of session rush.

The end result is that a ban on roadway herping that was defeated in the House and killed in the Senate (by committee delays) was snuck into another bill and passed into law (assuming signature by the Governor). These actions by Hilderbran and Estes thwarted the intent the Texas House, ignored the inaction of the Senate, and blindsided thousands of Texas hobbyist and sportsmen.
__________
I’m not sure what can be done to correct this outrageous legislative abuse. However, I strongly recommend civil disobedience by flatly ignoring this ban. I will not change my hunting practices and will challenge any arrest, citation, fine, or penalty. Hilderbran ignored us and his House colleagues. His bill deserves to be ignored by us.

One of the best ways to get our legislature's attention is through the media. Does anyone have some contacts with the news media?
Just a thought.

Steve

Let's take it right to Hilderbran's Backyard

write a letter to the editor of the Kerville Daily Times
dailytimes.com/

Eby's letter detailes the abuses, hit every newspaper in the state, let's get it published....

with extensive help from Daryl LOL

Can we ever trust the legislative process in Texas?

I'm afraid that the answer is "no". This legislative session, the House Committee on Parks, Recreation, and Tourism introduced or had introduced a variety of bills aimed at changing the way that Texas Parks and Wildlife operates. Among them were two very different bills - HB 12, a much needed Parks Reform bill, and HB 2414, an unnecessary bill pertaining to Hunting from a public right-of-way.

HB 2414 was a bad piece of legislation aimed at prohibiting NOT traditional "hunting" for game animals from public right-of-ways (which is already illegal) but collecting reptiles and amphibians BY HAND from public right-of-ways. HB 2414 met with many objections from the thousands of Texans who are interested in collecting such reptiles and amphibians. As a result, Representative Tracy King (Eagle Pass) proposed an amendment to HB 2414 that exempted the collection of reptiles and amphibians from HB 2414. The amended version of HB 2414 was then passed unanimously by the House. Due to time constraints at the end of the session, HB 2414 then died in the Senate without a vote.

HB 12, the sweeping and needed Parks Reform Bill, passed the House and Senate but had to go to a conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate version. Neither version had any of the HB 2414 text.

According to the Guide to Texas Legilative Information:

“A conference committee’s charge is limited to reconciling differences between the two chambers, and the committee, unless so directed, may not alter, amend, or omit text that is not in disagreement. Nor may the committee add text on any matter that is not in disagreement or that is not included in either version of the bill in question.”

Chairman of the House Committee of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Harvey Hilderbran (Kerrville) got around this limitation by authoring, introducing and passing HR 2912 in the House and getting Senator Estes (Witchita Falls) to author, introduce, and pass SR 1195 in the Senate.

HR 2912 and SR 1195 gave the Conference Committee on HB 12 permission to add the pre-amendment version of HB 2414 (despite the fact that this text was defeated via amendment in the House and was never voted on in the Senate) by stating the following:

“(9) House Rule 13, Section 9, is suspended to permit the committee to amend Subchapter A, Chapter 62, Parks and Wildlife Code, 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.”

With the following explanation:

“Explanation: The change is necessary to prohibit certain persons from hunting a wild animal or bird when the person is on a public road or right-of-way.”

The Conference Committee on HB 12, chaired by Hilderbran and Estes then drafted the Conference Committee Report that drastically changed HB 12. The revised bill was then pushed through the House and Senate in the end of session rush.

The end result is that a ban on the safe, nonlethal collecting of reptiles and amphibians along public right of ways that was defeated in the House by the amending HB 2414 (which the House passed unanimously!) and killed in the Senate (by committee delays) was attached as a rider onto another bill and passed into law (assuming signature by the Governor). These actions by Hilderbran and Estes thwarted the intent the Texas House, ignored the inaction of the Senate, and blindsided thousands of Texas hobbyists and sportsmen who are interested in Texas reptiles and amphibians.

A New York judge said, in 1866, "No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session." I guess no one really believes these word until their own rights are on the line.

Sincerely,
Troy Hibbitts
Camp Wood, Texas

Austin American Statesman
Dallas Morning News
Kerrville Times
Uvalde Leader News

Fort Worth Star Telegram
and the other big towns:
San Antonio
Houston
El Paso
San Angelo
Corpus Christi
etc and so on...

And you can put my name on that as supporter anywhere it is sent.

BTW, is this being sent From you, or from THS? Each herp society should draft a good letter and send it everywhere..

Not that we have wide readership (other than former Governor Dolf Briscoe), but they just called and said they'd run my letter on Sunday.

Troy

We need to compile any publications on this in one place so that we can reference people to it. If we direct another media outlet or a Legislator to look at the issue it will carry more weight.

Troy, can you make a page with links to any articles and the state links on it at your web site? You can just update the page of links as things pan out. Then it is a one stop shop for relevent info.

When we have enough, we should also remember to let anybody running against hilderbran (and no I did not forget to capitalize his name) see the links. They can toss this dirty politics at him as he seeks re-election... We should support somebody, almost anybody who opposes him as well as the others who turned HB 12 into a cancer of dirty riders.

So I may not be able to do as you ask, at least not right away.

Troy

Troy, I hope you don't mind, but I sent your letter to the editor of the San Angelo Standard Times. Tim Archuleta is the editor. He just replied via e-mail Stating he was submitting it to the editorial page editor for review for publication. I hope this helps!

Scott

Upon reading several of the Newspaper's Letters policies, I noted that they don't publish "form letters" and that they want their letters to be in original content. So use my letter as a template to write your own, else we're unlikely to get more than a few published.

Troy

The original text of 2414 was not objectionable to herpers, since it only banned road hunting with firearms for "game birds and animals"...The major change in wording took place in Hildebrandt's committee, of course (and not coincidentally, I'm now sure) without opposition from those of us whom would vbe affected.

The unmitigated dishonesty and cynicism of this action is breathtaking.

Brad Chambers

Please educate an outofstater who does not know the players.

What is this guy's motivation??
-----
Lloyd Heilbrunn

Palm Beach Gardens, Fl.

>>Please educate an outofstater who does not know the players.
>>
>>What is this guy's motivation??
>>-----
>>Lloyd Heilbrunn
>>
>>Palm Beach Gardens, Fl.

We have not pinned that yet other than the fact that he is obviously in Texas parks and Wildlife's pocket.

More Information
Some Facts
And what you can do about it:

www.logojoe.com