STPRA Meeting Draws a Crowd and the Attention of State Officials and Candidates
Saturday, May 1st 2010
The April 29th annual meeting of the South Texans’ Property Rights Association attracted its largest-ever crowd to hear leading state officials, candidates, and the chief lobbyists for major allies. Well over 120 people gathered at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Center in Kingsville for the meeting and fundraising event which followed. The speakers echoed a common theme throughout the entire meeting—the importance of the work STPRA is doing to unite the region to have a stronger voice at the state level.
After the initial business meeting, attendees heard from keynote speaker Susan Combs, State Comptroller, who gave a comprehensive overview of the financial outlook for state government and the Texas economy. She said that while the state faces an enormous deficit for the next biennium, we are faring better than just about any state in the union, largely because of lessons we learned as a result of the economic bust we suffered in the late 80’s. She said that banks and consumers learned not to extend credit lines beyond what could be reasonably repaid, particularly in the real estate sector, which is what caused the initial shock to the national economy in 2007 and 2008.
Ms. Combs was followed by J.M. Lozano, the likely state representative-elect from the 43rd district, who introduced Bill White, Democratic nominee for Governor. Mr. White touted his experience in the private sector, as an official in the U.S. Department of Energy, and as mayor of Houston, in asserting his qualifications to be elected Governor. Mr. White was followed by State Representative Frank Corte, who appeared on behalf of Governor Perry in his bid for re-election to a fourth term. Rep. Corte, who authored the recently passed constitutional amendment providing certain private property rights related to eminent domain proceedings, gave Governor Perry credit for being a staunch advocate for eminent domain protection. He also credited the Governor for his leadership in making the Texas economy the strongest in the country.
After hearing from the candidates, attendees heard a discussion of pending state and federal legislation by Regan Beck with the Texas Farm Bureau and Kirby Brown with the Texas Wildlife Association (TWA). Mr. Brown emphasized the importance of looming water regulation issues that could have a critical impact on property owners. He explained the legal actions TWA has taken in asserting a property owner’s right to the water underneath his land, thanking members of STPRA for contributing to the legal fees for an amicus brief in a recent Texas Supreme Court case. He also cautioned attendees to stay vigilant in opposing a pending bill that would expand federal control over virtually every type of surface water, no matter how small the collection might be.
Mr. Beck focused his comments on remaining work that needs to be done in furthering property owner protections in eminent domain proceedings. He also said that the Trans-Texas Corridor is not officially dead. He stated that the Farm Bureau will be working to kill it once and for all during the next legislative session and also ensure rural representation on TxDOT throughout the sunset review process that will be completed in the next session. During the panel discussion, STPRA consultant Robert Howard said that another top priority for STPRA in the next session would be expanding liability protection for property owners, while pursuing similar protection at the federal level.
The panel discussion was followed by a presentation by James McAllen, Jr., who had just attended a House committee hearing in the Valley on border violence. He emphasized the urgency of the situation and said that state and local officials are taking some actions to protect the local population, but that they must continue to increase their efforts, particularly in the absence of adequate support from the federal government.
The next presentation was from Dr. Dee Ellis, Executive Director of the Texas Animal Health Commission. Dr. Ellis assured the audience that he believed that a piroplasmosis outbreak was coming under control and that he does not foresee any great danger for horses throughout the state. He then focused on the fever tick epidemic and said that continued advocacy is needed to secure adequate state and federal resources to fight the disease. He pointed out that increasing border violence was affecting the tick riders’ ability to access remote areas.
Dr. Ellis was followed by state veterinarian Dr. Kevin Varner, who credited STPRA with being a strong advocate for additional funding for research and implementation of fever eradication methods. Dr. Varner was followed by Dr. Greta Schuster, of Texas A &M University, Kingsville, who gave a brief, but informative presentation of the status of the fever tick outbreak and strategies for alleviating it.
Upon adjournment of the meeting, the gathering transitioned into a social fundraising event complete with live music, food, drink, and a silent auction. The fundraiser was a big success, yielding a net profit of over $23,000.
The board and staff of STPRA would like to thank all the sponsors and attendees who made this event possible.