Join our conference call tomorrow at 9 am before you have to hide your water, your wives and your children. Seriously…contact us for details.
Sometimes even those with perhaps a little too much power unwittingly expose themselves in the wee hours of the morning. We were there Wednesday night, until 1:15 am, at the House Natural Resources Committee hearing.
Representatives Jim Keffer (R-Granbury), Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin) and Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio) led the charge. Vice-Chair Ashby found it necessary to interogate Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Hays & Blanco counties), and even tried (unsuccessfully) to cross-examine a Hays County citizen like a witness on the witness stand. (More below.)
Watch my testimony and you’ll see why I was simply ignored…then keep reading. The unmasking escalated about 11 pm, with House Bill 200 — Chairman Keffer’s bill. That’s when Lyle Larson used anti-lawyer remarks against a respected attorney who represents groundwater districts. This provided cover for lawyers in the room representing water marketers who went unchallenged. We left when — for about the 4th time — Chairman Keffer called the Groundwater Conservation Districts, “Groundwater Municipal Districts.” Was that a Freudian slip? Or is HB 200 going to be the ambush we’ve all been dreading? Watch for an update at the top of our water bills webpage here, as the battle lines are getting drawn. Stand ready to volunteer — we’ll explain on tomorrow’s call.
Some other things we’ll touch on tomorrow:
Yesterday, Caldwell County citizens had a successful first hearing on the dump.
San Antonians keep fighting to stop the Vista Ridge…but just how will they go at it?
What about good water bills, including Rep. Cyrier’s HB 3163 and Rep. Simpson’s HB 632?
Quick updates on attacks on home rule and eminent domain reform bills.
ALERT! The most important thing you can do is to volunteer from home…though..we may really need you on Wednesday at 2 pm (keep in touch on the time) in the Natural Resources Committee.
Read these updates:
This Texas Tribune piece is a good recap on the water battle in Hays County, including this week’s hearing.
Did you catch that TESPA lawsuit to eliminate rule of capture? The Natural Resources Committee surely did!
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