Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Our focus should remain on lobbying our politicians and spreading our story. However, not many politicians are answering phones or reading emails today. So, I'm spending some time looking for technical errors, rules violations, grounds for appeal, etc on legislative abuse by Hilderbran and Estes.

Pages 84-93 of the Rules and Procedures of the Texas House deal with conference committees. We've already documented how Hilderbran an Estes manipulated the rules (and their fellow legislators). What I'd like to document are any clear cut rule violations or procedural errors.

It would be great if several of us could review these "rules and procedures" for any violations, error, or grounds for appeal. In the meantime, I'm still digging for other sources and angles. I'm particularly interested in finding precedent for overturning law based on legislative abuse.

In the short term, any additional violations, abuse, or grounds for appeal that we can document will help in our lobbying efforts. In the long term, we can continue to hammer on these abuses and violations to challenge our political enemies. Or if this crap bill becomes law, we can use whatever we find to try to overturn it in the courts or other means.

Hmmm...is there something, anything, that can be filed in a court to DELAY implementation of this bill at least until the next hunting year starting Sept 1, to let the current annual licenses expire? That is the fair thing to do with changes that affect the rights and privileges of existing license holders?

Robert

I was under the impression that if this bill was signed into law it would not go into effect before Sept 1. Clark

I just copied this from one of my prior posts. This is by no means gospel, it's just my understanding based on reading the bill. There could certainly be some other provision that would delay the effective date of the law or its enforcement.

My reading of this crap bill is that the 2414 language will take effect immediately.

From HB 12 Text regarding HB 2414 language:
>>SECTION 43. Section 62.001, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
>> amended by adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
>> (3) "Public road or right-of-way" means a public
>> street, alley, road, right-of-way, or other public way, including a
>> berm, ditch, or shoulder.
>> 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.

I think you are right, by the reading of your post. Any feedback on how we are doing in the fight against this? I have called all the people i spoke to in the fight against 2414, what els can be done by us non residents? Thanks Clark

There is still cause for lots of hope. Many herpers and our supporters are doing a lot of behind the scenes work. As with 2414, some things are best kept off public forums. We are exposing lots of dirty secrets and hidden agendas.

Keep calling and writing ALL Texas politicians (be civil and professional). Post links and updates everywhere you can. Joe's webpage should be linked or copied all over the web. Make people aware of what HH is trying to do.

Unfortunately, HB 12 is a popular bill (with the obvious exception of the 2414 and 1309 riders). My gut impression is that he wants to veto it, call a special session, and send it back for correction. However, such a bold move will cost him lots of political capital and require lots of support from the public and politicians.

Lobbying our representatives and senators to personally and publicly request that the governer veto HB 12 and call a special session to correct this legislative abuse is our best play at this point.

As we do this, we also need to continue gathering info, exposing dirty tricks, and looking for loop holes and grounds for legal challenges.

I was told personally on the phone by Todd Kercheval that it would not go into effect until Sept. 1st. After I hung up I read the bill and to me it looks like it goes into effect immediatly upon signature. I wouldn't trust Todd, unfortunatly.

The immediate closure of public roads and rights-of-way is one of the most scurrilus aspects of HB12. There's NO RESPECT for the current license holders. It is really quite remarkable.

R

I understand this is a stretch...I found this about house resolutions.

3. CANNOT AUTHORIZE BY RESOLUTION AN ACT IN VIOLATION
OF AN EXISTING STATUTE. — H.C.R. 122, authorizing the Game, Fish
and Oyster Department to issue complimentary hunting licenses to outof-state sportsmen, was before the house.Rule 10 Sec. 7
10- 153 - 1-12-07 HR 310Mr. Alsup raised a point of order against the resolution on the ground that such authorization would be in violation of existing statute, and that the legislature had no authority to change a statute except by bill.

The resolution Hilderbran and Estes created had an enormous amount of crap in it. Perhaps something in there is in violation of an existing statute?

>>The resolution Hilderbran and Estes created had an enormous amount of crap in it. Perhaps something in there is in violation of an existing statute?

Got me excited there for a minute! Unfortunately, the resolution (HR 2912) was just a set of instructions and permission directed at the Conference Committee on HB 12.

However, MAYBE we can find an instance of the conference committee not following the instructions or exceeding the authority laid out for them in HR 2912.

Interesting…
The House appointed five members to the Conference Committee on for HB 12 on 5/25. One of those members was Warren Chisum. Later that same day, Hilderbran had Chisum removed from the committee and replaced by Kino Flores of Hidalgo county.
I wonder why HH had Chisum removed. There could be a story there. MAYBE Chisum wouldn’t play along.
1,000 points to however solves this mystery.

BELOW TEXT COPIED FROM HOUSE JOURNAL

HB 12 - HOUSE REFUSES TO CONCUR
IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPOINTED
Representative Hilderbran called up with senate amendments for consideration at this time,
HB 12, A bill to be entitled An Act relating to the funding, powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission.
Representative Hilderbran moved that the house not concur in the senate amendments and that a conference committee be requested to adjust the differences between the two houses on HB 12.
The motion prevailed.
The chair announced the appointment of the following conference committee, on the part of the house, on HB 12: Hilderbran, chair; Chisum, Gattis, D. Howard, and O'Day.
Friday, May 25, 2007 HOUSE JOURNAL — 84th Day 6317
______________________________________________________________________________
HB 12 - HOUSE DISCHARGES CONFEREES
HOUSE APPOINTS NEW CONFEREES
On motion of Representative Hilderbran, the house discharged the conferees on HB 12.
The chair announced the appointment of the following conference committee, on the part of the house, on HB 12: Hilderbran, chair; Flores, Gattis, D. Howard, and O'Day.
6370 80th LEGISLATURE — REGULAR SESSION

digdeepertexas.com/?p=417

Sounds like there could be some bad blood bewteen Chisum and Hilderbran.

Anyone here in Chisum's district? It'd be great if we could recruit his public support.

well definitely bad blood between Hilderbran and Craddick. I'm surprised we didn't more support from Craddick previously when contacted.

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You might want to double count them.

For some reason, two of the five senators on the conference committee DID NOT sign the committee report.

The abstaining senators were Brimer and Hinojosa. MAYBE they were too smart to play along with Hilderbran and Estes.

Anyone have any idea why they didn't sign?

Anyone located in their districts?

and I don't anyone in Brimer's district but I put in a call to him

Hinojosa that is.

"it was really late at night" ???? I have to call back and clarify that - he was probably absent and already in bed.