As summer comes on, activity centers on some lingering issues.
The Texas Legislature continues to meet in the second Special Session after the first one ended with a crash. In the first Special, they did pass the redistricting bill but funding for transportation died when the session was consumed over the abortion debate. Hopefully, this time they will pass transportation funding legislation which Governor Perry will support and sign into law.
Governor Perry vetoed House Bill 3509, the Endangered Species reform bill, which we supported and Senator Seliger (R-Amarillo) and Chairman Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) worked so hard on.
In his veto statement, the Governor said:
“House Bill 3509 would make substantial changes to a process that has been efficiently overseen since 2009 by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. This process should remain at a single agency rather than a nine-member panel.”
There was some good news last month on the Endangered Species Act front. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted a six-month extension of the decision to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as Threatened. That is good news for all of us and will allow the Service more time to review the science on the chicken and hopefully help them determine not to list the bird.
PBPA continues to work hard analyzing the science as well as supporting state managed conservation efforts. I also want to thank each of the ten U.S. Senators who co-signed a letter to the Service requesting a six-month extension. The letter was signed by Republicans and Democrats alike.
Last month, representatives from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) visited Midland to discuss the proposed BLM hydraulic fracturing rules for federal lands. A number of PBPA members attended and took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions of BLM staff and share their concerns about the rule proposal.
Some key provisions of the proposed rule include establishing baseline environmental safeguards across all public and Indian lands, requiring public disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations, with appropriate protections for trade secrets, and improving assurances on wellbore integrity.
When the BLM first proposed the new rule, 177,000 comments were filed, including ours.