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December 7, 2001

Texas House Speaker Pete Laney recently released the interim study charges for standing House committees. The committees will conduct hearings and collect information for the next year in preparation for the 2003 session of the Texas Legislature.

The House Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, chaired by Rep. David Swinford of Dumas, will study the following interim charges:

1) Study the effects of exotic pests on Texas agriculture. Consider risk pathways, control strategies and potential impacts on the agricultural economy. Identify partnerships involving the private sector along with state and local governments.

2) Evaluate the ability of the Texas agricultural community to gain access to capital markets throughout the state. Identify barriers to financing viable agricultural and value-added enterprises. Review and evaluate the finance programs administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture (Joint Study with House Committee on Financial Institutions).

3) Identify potential benefits associated with no-till farming. Discuss conditions under which no-till practices are beneficial, as well as those where practices may not be effective.

4) Gather information about the production, distribution and use of ag chemicals and fertilizers, including aerial applications. Review government regulations and business practices to determine whether legislation is needed to protect life and property and to detect, interdict and respond to acts of terrorism.

5) Actively monitor the agencies and programs, including university programs under the committee's oversight jurisdiction. Monitor the progress of federal farm legislation and evaluate its effects on Texas producers.

Other interim study charges of interest to Texas Farm Bureau include the following:

House Committee on Land and Resource Management: 1) Conduct a comprehensive examination of issues associated with the expansion of metropolitan areas into formerly rural areas ("urban sprawl"), including impacts on infrastructure, alteration of the rural or small town character, and the loss of open spaces including farm land and wildlife habitat. Consider the range of state, local and private measures (including the purchase of development rights) that might mitigate the negative aspects of such growth. 2) Consider issues associated with the ownership and maintenance of rural roads. Assess the benefits of legislation that would clarify ownership and county responsibility for maintenance of those roads.

House Committee on Natural Resources: 1) Gather information about the security of the waters in Texas, including groundwater, lakes and streams. Review government regulations and business practices to determine whether legislation is needed to protect our water resources, including the human and wildlife populations that depend on them, and to detect, interdict and respond to acts of terrorism. 2) Actively monitor the implementation of the SB 2 (77^th Legislature), relating to the development and management of the water resources of the state.

House Committee on State Affairs: Review the laws and procedures governing the siting of electric transmission lines. Consider how the need for transmission lines is determined, how routes are selected, the technology selected for a given route, the interests of landowners on whose property the lines are sited, and the interests of consumers and the public in siting decisions.

For a complete listing of all of the House and Senate interim study charges, go to our web page at www.txfb.org.

Texas Farm Bureau will work closely with each committee and its members as hearings and meetings are conducted on the various study charges of interest to our organization.