Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In addition to calling Governor Rick Perry - RECRUIT TEXAS REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS TO PERSONALLY AND PUBLICLY REQUEST A VETO AND SPECIAL SESSION.

How can you do that?

Explain How Representative Harvey Hilderbran got around committee limitations by authoring, introducing and passing HR 2912 in the House of Representatives and getting State Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) to author, introduce, and pass SR 1195 in the State 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

Per Eby's excellent advice

add to the list if you know someone

Representatives:

Guillen
Gallego
King
Corte
Farias

Senators: (I have only been in contact my Senator since we never got that far) We obviously need more names here

Uresti

Add Mark Strama...his office expressed an interest in writing some legislation to fix this next session.

>>Add Mark Strama...his office expressed an interest in writing some legislation to fix this next session.

Duly noted and thank you. Are you in his district? If so a phone is in order. We have HB 12 on the ropes right now. It's time for the knockout blow.

I think we can get more help, Rep. Farias and I are meeting next week. We are likely going to have to wait for the next session to try and fix this. IT WILL BE HARD AND WE MUST ORGANIZE AND BE MATURE IN OUR EFFORTS. I will also be speaking to Sen. Uresti. We need herpers across the state to politely contact their reps and senators and express concern about what has been done. Explain that the house vote for the amendment was unanimous and one rep managed to override it. Remeber that Rep. Hildebran is fairly powerful so please don't attack him personally. Just expalin that a great Texas pastime has been taken away for no justifiable reason. Explain that there is no bonafide safety issue and that this is a hobby for many families that has been safely done for decades. Additionally it is importatnt to emphasize that TPWD has bag limits etc. No different than fishing. We have to make sure to emphasize also that we are conservation oriented. Also don't attack the falconers . They simply made their case better than we did. This is my two cents.
Richard Strieber

We can still win this right here and now - check your e-mail as soon as you can get to it.

I'm out for tonight. I'll check back in the morning.

Best
Joe

I have added a fact section at the bottom of the page as well as updating the course of action and fixed a few typos.

If ANYONE besides Todd and Harvey have anything to add please look it over and e-mail, I will continually update the page with pertinent information.

www.logojoe.com

Joe
YOUR WEBSITE IS FANTASTIC! I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO FOLLOW JOE'S LEAD
Richard

Joe,

I do not support the "White List". It is one of the most ridiculous regulations I have ever heard of. It allows the commercial harvest of species with high demand and makes it illegal to sell species with little or no demand. This is ass backwards. Further, many of the species NOT on the "White List" are very common and wide spread. The "White List" is a horribly flawed regulation. I would remove the statement of support for the "White List" on your website. The "White List" also outlaws captive propagation of the species not on the "White List" which is anti-conservation. It is a bad, bad regulation.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX

I realize that Mike, but if we refuse to make any concessions at all we have little or no chance. There is no way we can skate by totally unregulated.

the fact the white exists is a plus when fighting the language in HB 12.

secondly if we want to contest or change the white list that is a separate battle with a separate entity.

Right now we all need to be focused on the first things first.

Joe,

We can still be regulated w/o BS regulations that are horrible and serve NO purpose. We can not support the "White List" in ANY way. We need to be acting to get it thrown out right now. I know many turtle breeders that are preparing to litigate. They are being FORCED to sell their collection. That is BS. If all the alterna nuts were being asked to get down to a possesion limit of 6 I am sure you, Troy and everyone else would be raising holy hell. Further, protecting common as dirt species like the Leopard Frog and the Cricket Frog just for the sake of regulation is wrong. The NRA battles EVERY regulation that comes up against them whether it is good or bad. This regulation is bad and horribly wrong. We need to be sending letters to all the commissioners and Matt Wagner and company telling them what a horrible decission they made.

All you have to do is regulate ALL commercial collection and place bag limits on wild caught turtle species of concern. And then they need to show us the data! Their excuse about needing to get studies done to determine impacts will never happen. All this [bleep] is only going to keep snow balling and snow balling until we can't keep a [bleep]en kitty cat.

The "White List" is a bad regulation. If you want me to send around your wonderfully designed webpage then I need that statement of support for the "White List" taken OUT.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX

but did you hear me? That is a separate battle on a separate front. It is already here! Lets unite, fight the pending legislation, then turn our attention to the white list!

We will have to petition the commissioners for that. While we are there we will have other business as well with the commissioners.

If you can't catch any freaking snakes on the road, you won't freaking be worried about selling them, understand that?

And further, I only keep a couple snakes, I have a ranch I can go hunt, and I doin't sell snakes, yet I'm here fighting right along side you for the right to take a SINGLE snake home IF I decide to do it!

So you are dead wrong if you think a bag limit or possession limit on alterna is going to change anything about the way I think of this BS.

So I take you are happier with an across the board ban on hunting then?

Support the white list, but try to fix it if needs adjustment. It is about as good of a foundation as we are ever going to get.

If we do not make efforts to show that commercial trade is regulated then we will get shut down with no support in Austin. Right now we have good support and one point that is liked by the general public is that a measure is in place to control commercial trade.

Lance,

That is a load of BS! If alterna were not on the "White List" you would be screaming like a little girl! What you suggest is a cop out. If we continually accept BS regulations then we will get BS regulations. How about regulating all commercial collection not just handpicked species that appease most of the hobbyists? The "White List" is horribly flawed and it should not be supported in ANY way. There are ways to regulate that are fair, reasonable and are within a conservation vein. This "White List" is NOT in ANY way. By supporting it you are saying it is okay to institute crappy regulations as long as I can keep my alterna. That is a [bleep]en cop out. And if you support the "White List" you are supporting bringing down the hobby, period!

settle down Mike.

Personally I can care less if you can sell snakes or not, read my last post. If you want us to support you pipe down and work with us otherwise forget it.

Joe,

Okay, I will pipe down but this is not about me it is about a regulation that is majorly flawed and is bad for conservation, science and the hobby.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX