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By Lana Robinson
Field Editor
The Texas Farm Bureau legislative team reported an impressive record of victories for agriculture and the farm organization at the conclusion of the 79th Legislature. According to State Legislative Director Billy Howe, Texas Farm Bureau realized about 90 percent in terms of the organization's top 10 legislative priorities this session.
"That was largely due to the fact that we had many legislators in urban areas who have constituents with their roots in agriculture, their roots in rural Texas, or they have bought retirement properties or recreational properties in rural Texas, and they care about our issues. So we have someone we can go and talk to," said Howe.
Legislation addressing concerns with respect to retention of ag exemptions, property rights, the Trans Texas Corridor, water, feral hogs, animal premises identification, and biomass/renewable energy were among the successes. Public school funding, however, once again hit a snag.
"Unfortunately, we were not able to get to a conclusion that changed the current status of how we fund education in Texas," said Warren Mayberry, TFB associate legislative director. "We rely heavily on property taxes to fund our educational system right now. The legislature came together to try to address two real issues, one being the policy of education, and two, the funding. We looked at several different proposals, including gross receipts taxes, payroll taxes, as well as reforming our current franchise tax. When it was all said and done, the legislature just wasn't able to come to a conclusion that met all of those criteria they set out, including reducing the property tax rate, but we look forward to perhaps addressing this again in a special session."
A bill placing certain limitations on the Trans Texas Corridor (HB 2702, by Mike Krusee, R-Taylor) passed in the last hours of the session. Although Texas Farm Bureau remains opposed to the massive transportation project, Mayberry said the bill was the vehicle used to address many concerns of rural Texans regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor Plan. Issues addressed included a limitation of ancillary facilities as well as a two-year moratorium on building such facilities, with the exception of Travis and Williamson counties. Any groundwater used for the production for the TTC must adhere to local groundwater specifications. Additionally, the Department of Transportation is prohibited from marketing water on the corridor.
"We worked this session to really try and make sure we had proper access to the corridor, that in those areas where the corridor would take large swaths of land, the landowner was adequately and appropriately compensated," said Mayberry. "We are still in the infancy of this program, and we think the legislation that we worked on this session will ensure that our private property rights are protected."
Moreover, the bill addresses access in relation to emergency needs, connectivity with significant FM and FR roads, as well as connectivity at state highways.
As always, water dominated a big portion of the legislature's time and attention. Billy Howe said Texas, like many other states, has become more urban, resulting in a need for water resources to move from rural areas and agriculture into the urban areas for economic growth to continue.
"In Texas, we've been fighting these wars, I guess you could say, since 1997, when we created a state water planning process," said Howe. "This session—what we dealt with—was the environmental flow issue, water conservation, and also groundwater management. From a groundwater management standpoint, we have local entities in Texas that are created largely on a county basis that regulate groundwater. The issue is not really so much whether or not they are doing a good job managing the groundwater, as much as how they are allocating property rights to landowners to pump groundwater. These districts have the authority to basically decide who gets to pump and who doesn't get to pump—without any direction from state statute. So it's created some legal problems, and the legislature (via HB 1763 by Rep. Robby Cook, (D- Eagle Lake) went in and tried to address some of those problems by creating more consistency between these local entities—as far as the management goals that they set and the science that they use—to make decisions on management within these areas. Our role in all of this is basically to protect the rights of all landowners that have access to the groundwater."
Also passed was a bill setting up a pilot program, and earmarking $500,000, to abate property damage caused by feral hogs. The Legislature also budgeted for brush control, and transferred the Food and Fiber Commission (FFC), and all staff, to the Texas Department of Agriculture. The FFC mission remains intact.
A bill was passed that exempts agricultural operations from having to use a licensed electrician. The agricultural exemption was retained in the Legislature's Workers' Compensation Reform package.
In the area of property rights, TFB passed a law allowing discharge of firearms inside the city limits. This legislation, S.B. 734 by Senator Tommy Williams, guarantees the right of agricultural landowners to hunt on their property when they are annexed.
HB 505 by Representative Harvey Hilderbran makes discharging a firearm with the projectile crossing a property line a Class C Misdemeanor, with certain exemptions. Another bill by the same author prohibits hunting or taking wildlife on private land that is submerged by water, other than fishing.
A bill that needs revisiting to include more landowner protections, TFB lobbyists said, is HB 1772, amended to include the offer of a nondevelopment agreement to agricultural landowners to prevent annexation of the land by a municipality.
Bills by Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) changed the process for claiming land vacancies and addressed the land vacancy claim in Upshur and Smith Counties by relinquishing the state's interest in the property.
HB 809 by Rep. Harvey Hilderbran (R-Kerrville) exempts one passenger or light truck owned by an individual and used to generate income from being required to render the vehicle for tax purposes.
HB 3, a tax bill that would have reduced property taxes, reformed the franchise tax, increased the sales tax rate, and raised the tax on cigarettes, failed. Also failing was the appraisal and tax rate cap bills proposed by various legislators (policy development issue to clarify TFB position).
Three transportation bills opposed by TFB failed: HB 372, which would have required agricultural trailers to have a safety chain; HB 1822, which attempted to address illegally avoiding weigh stations; and SB 950, which would have increased fees for overweight truck permits (an issue which may be taken up during TFB policy development).
SB 533, encouraging the production of electricity from renewable sources for the state, failed. However, HB 2201 by Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Marshall), was amended to include favorable consideration for plants and technologies utilizing agriculture biomass energy production. The bill passed the House and Senate and has been sent to the Governor. TFB Associate Legislative Director Ken Hodges said biomass energy is important to agriculture in two ways.
"One, we're a major user of energy, and the second is we'd like to be part of the solution providing it," said Hodges. "This legislation provides some seed money for research on certain biomass energy production processes as well as providing special tax considerations for those programs that are built. Hopefully, biomass will become at least one option, or a viable source of energy, for our country."
A voluntary animal premises identification, to be overseen by the Texas Animal Health Commission, was established in response to the upcoming national livestock ID program. HB 326, an amendment to the animal cruelty statute opposed by TFB because it would have put ag exemptions in jeopardy, failed.
The TFB legislative staff will provide a more complete update following the Governor's 20-day Veto Period.
