Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...a herper nonetheless...

Can out of state herpers do anything here? I WAS planning on moving to Tx in a couple of years, but if this legislation becomes law then I guarantee that that will not happen.

It sounds like the politicians will only listen to Tx residents...will my phone call or email make a difference?

-AzAtrox

>>will my phone call or email make a difference?

Yes it will, every voice to the Governor helps our cause.
>>
>>-AzAtrox

Here is a letter I drafted with help from many others from the FieldHerp Forum. The only problem is that it is > 200 words. How can we get this to the governor? What do people think?

To the honorable Governor Rick Perry:

I wish to voice my extreme dissatisfaction and outrage at the status of HB 12 - in particular the rider regarding "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."

This particular rider was placed covertly by representatives Hildebran and Estes. The bill that it was originally part of was HB 2414, which was defeated in the House and Senate earlier this year. Furthermore, herpetologists and other individuals worked with Representative Islett for two months to create an exemption for reptile, amphibian, and invertebrate collection, but this exemption was omitted from the current rider. This addition essentially equates to legislative abuse.

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 House then passed the amended version of HB 2414 unanimously. 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 Legislative 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 reptile or amphibian observation or collecting" 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. Representatives Hilderbran and Estes ignored the public and their House colleague and got this bill approved. Since this bill did not follow proper rules, this bill deserves to be ignored and may be ignored by the thousands of Texas and non-native hobbyists and sportsmen who visit the state each year.

I understand that while HB 12 is a popular bill, however, we as voters (within Texas and outside) deserve to be heard and we are sending a message to the governor saying that he needs to veto it in order to send a message to the legislature that attaching riders that were originally bills that were defeated is "dirty politics" and will not be tolerated.

If this example of legislative abuse is allowed to stand, it will soon spread within and outside of the state. I fear that my state will be next in line to regulate our natural rights to enjoy our environment and wildlife.

Other related issues to consider are as follows:

Many people use reptiles, amphibians and insects as teaching aides, engaging lesson starters, and as classroom pets. In many classrooms, teachers use only Texas native creatures, most which are legally and carefully collected and housed in safe environments. Each year, herpetologists and other recreational naturalists purchase hunting licenses and spend many hours cruising secondary roads in search of reptiles and amphibians, for photographic and population voucher documentation.

One of the only places to collect native specimens is on Texas roadways, as most of Texas land is privately owned and off-limits to naturalists. Many scientists and graduate students use this technique for official documentation of range and population densities, and accept amateur vouchers as well. Herpetologists harm nothing and cause no safety risks.

In short, I believe that the bill in its present wording is unacceptable. Please either do not sign the bill or veto it.

At this point, I had plans to visit Texas for vacation. If this bill passes, my plans will change, as will thousands of other hobbyists and Texas will lose millions of dollars in tourist revenue. Please keep this in mind as well.

I hope that this letter finds sympathetic ears.

Thank you.

Professionally,

Joseph Bouvier, MD, FAAP
Gilbert, AZ

Yes your call will help even if you are not a resident. When this started as HB2414 one of the effective points was the loss of tourist money.

For th most part it is an excellent letter. Due to its length I think you are probably going to have to mail it in order to get it delivered to him. Perhaps overnight it.

There is one area of your letter that I would suggest you revise. You encourage Governor Perry to either "not sign" or "veto" HB 12 when it hits his desk. Unfortunately, if he just does not sign it, under Texas law the bill will still become law even though he does not sign it. For him to stop it from becoming law he is going to have to "veto" it. Personally, I think there is a very slim chance of getting him to "veto" it. But it is worth a shot to try.

Unlike in the Federal system and prehaps unlike some other states, in Texas the Governor does not have 'pocket veto' power whereby it can kill a bill by just not signing it. If he does not 'veto' it within a 20 day period it will become law with or without his signature on it. If we only ask him to "not sign" it he may agree to do that, but it will have no effect on stopping this piece of bs from becoming law. He must 'veto" it for his action to have any effect. He also can not use a "line-item veto" to carve out the riders on the bill. It is all or nothing. He can only use a line-item veto on budget items.
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Gerald Keown
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research
www.southwesternherp.com

I am a former Texas resident who has been out-of-state for almost six years. I am planning on moving back soon. While I don't really think the Governor's office much cares about my non-resident opinion, I went ahead and made the call anyway. While it likely won't help any, I don't see how it could hurt anything either. So, bottom line...go ahead and make the call...just register your opposition but keep it polite and business-like.
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Gerald Keown
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research
www.southwesternherp.com