TO GOVERNOR PERRY
PLEASE VETO HB12
REQUEST A SPECIAL SESSION
REMOVE SECTION 44
This is Section 44 of HB12
(A product of Harvey Hildebran)
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 was H.B. No. 2414, as it passed the House unanimously (no action taken in the Senate)
(A product of representative government)
SECTION 1. 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 2. 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:
(1) the trapping of a raptor for educational or sporting purposes as provided by Chapter 49; or
(2) the capture, trapping, or hunting of a reptile, amphibian, or insect.
SUMMARY
This would result in a ban on collecting reptiles and amphibians from public roads and right of ways. It was SNUCK into another bill via riders and will pass into law if you do not veto HB12 and request a special session. The same language was defeated in the House and killed in the Senate by committee delays. The actions by Hilderbran (House) and Estes (Senate) to waive normal committee procedure have thwarted the intent the Texas House, ignored the inaction of the Senate, and blind-sided thousands of Texas hobbyist and sportsmen to push through the agenda of Representative Harvey Hilderbran. This is a clear and blatant abuse of the legislative process in Texas and it illustrates how an unethical Legislator can push through an unfavorable agenda. You may not care about this section, but you MUST care about the Legislative process and we must hold our Legislators accountable for unethical behavior. What has happened to ethics and representative government in Texas? WHAT IS MR. HILDEBRAN’S AGENDA? ALL ANIMAL SPECIES IN TEXAS will be affected by this bill, IN SPITE OF ANY NEED for protection or limits placed on their wild populations by qualified wildlife professionals (the House and Senate lack the qualifications to limit hunting in Texas – this should come from the Commission). In addition, the only public lands made available to hunt reptiles and amphibians in the vast Big Bend area between El Paso and Del Rio are public roads and rights of way. Not only is this limitation unnecessary and Draconian, Texas would become THE ONLY STATE in the US that prohibits the hunting of ALL ANIMAL SPECIES from a public road or right-of-way when the animals can be hunted under the authority of a license; THE ONLY STATE in the United States! Wouldn’t a better strategy be to seek out compromises that preserve as many personal liberties and freedoms as possible, but still provide for REASONABLE and responsible conservation? Wouldn’t a better strategy be to develop laws that target specific wildlife species that are under some demonstrable or proven threat?
Governor, this is not Vermont, nor Massachusetts. THIS IS TEXAS!
PLEASE VETO HB12
REQUEST A SPECIAL SESSION TO REMOVE SECTION 44
I hope I didn't kill it for you guys! 
RP
