This week features analysis of Rep. Ellen Troxclair’s activity in the 88th Texas Legislative Session
Rep. Ellen Troxclair
- Primary Author of 36 bills
- Joint Authored 24 bills
I have been looking at every bill Ellen Troxclair has Authored or Joint Authored most of the bills are harmless and fall in line with the principles of liberty. Some bills I have questions and concerns, several that I think are really bad news and then there are bills that I do not fully understand YET. “Hats Off’ bills are those we should thank our representative to being on board with!
Hats Off Bills – Thank You Representative Troxclair.
- HB 3883 – Relating to general definitions for and collection of governmental information regarding biological sex.
- HB 3538 – Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds for lobbying activities.
- HB 5137 – Relating to requirements for the use on the state’s international border of motion detection cameras and for camera data storage from those cameras.
- HB 552 – Relating to repealing the affirmative defense to prosecution for the criminal offense of sale, distribution, or display of harmful material to a minor.
Bills that I believe have small pieces that make the generally good bill a bad bill. These bills can be amended, and substitutes introduced:
- HB 1155 – Relating to parental rights in public education and prohibiting instruction regarding sexual orientation or gender identity for certain public school students.
- HB 4055 – Relating to requiring school districts to adopt procedures to ensure parents are informed regarding a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.
The two bills above, 1155 and 4055 are both very strong parental rights bills. HOWEVER the bill ASSUMES the continuing practice of school involvement in Social Emotional Learning (SEL). We must get rid of the school’s role in the monitoring our kids Social and Emotional issues. Until then… is this a good bill?
- HB 4217 – Relating to the powers of certain public utility agencies; granting the power of eminent domain.
4217 applies to counties with fewer than one million utility connections. It grants eminent domain to water utilities for transporting, potable, wastewater, and storm/flood drainage. This bill looks great UNTILL I get to the following line:
(5) establish and enforce reasonable customer water conservation practices and prohibit excessive or wasteful customer uses of potable water;
This is government control of the use of the water you pay for. Wise use of and the conservation of water is an individual responsibility and the individual recognition that we are all drinking from the same straw! A law like this MAY be misused in the future to turn off your water.
- HB 4994 – Relating to creation of hike and bike corridors and authorizing acquisition of right-of-way.
I had a long conversation with the Chief of Staff for Ellen Troxclair over this bill. Apparently there is an organization that has been attempting to create a Hill Country Hike and Bike Trail, along Hwy 290 between Fredericksburg and Johnson City. They have been in talks with The Texas Ranger Heritage Center to use their facility for parking and the beginning of this Trail on the west end. No tax money will be used. SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
The bill says – “…to plan and construct a hike and bike corridor along U.S. 290 in Blanco and Gillespie counties.”
This simple sentence opens the door for a bike trail through Fredericksburg on Main Street! You will be told that is NOT the plan. However, the language opens the door. This bill needs to be amended to address the exact location of the proposed trail and NOT a carte-blanche for the entire county.
There are bills that I consider to be so narrow as to be ridiculous! Bills that carve out one tiny piece of one county or area for either a privilege OR a restriction. Here is a couple of them:
- HB 4090 – Relating to the use of revenue attributable to the imposition of a hotel occupancy tax by certain municipalities and counties for venue projects and the period for which certain of those taxes may be imposed.
Is the governments job to finance a “venue”? This bill only applies to municipalities with a population of between 750,000 and 1.5 million. If you believe that government should finance “venues” then do it for EVERY government! MY stand – “venues” need to be privately funded.
- HB 3235 – Relating to the authority of certain counties to impose a county hotel occupancy tax.
I have NO serious problem with this bill. It adds 4 words to existing statutes. This addition to the code, Section 352.002(a), Tax Code, is unobjectionable! So what is my issue? Here are some examples of the “carve outs” in Texas Code – You tell me if this is silly:
| “(5) a county that has a population of 30,000 or less, | ||
| that has no more than one municipality with a population of less | ||
| than 2,500, and that borders two counties located wholly in the | ||
| Edwards Aquifer Authority established by Chapter 626, Acts of the | ||
| 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993; | ||
| (6) a county that borders the Gulf of Mexico; | ||
| (7) a county that has a population of less than 5,000, | ||
| that borders the United Mexican States, and in which there is | ||
| located a major observatory; | ||
| (8) a county that has a population of 12,000 or less | ||
| and borders the Toledo Bend Reservoir; | ||
| (9) a county that has a population of less than 12,500 | ||
| and an area of less than 275 square miles; | ||
| (10) a county that has a population of 30,000 or less | ||
| and borders Possum Kingdom Lake; | ||
| (11) a county that borders the United Mexican States | ||
| and has a population of more than 300,000 and less than 800,000; | ||
| (12) a county that has a population of 35,000 or more | ||
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and borders or contains a portion of Lake Fork Reservoir;…” The eight “carve outs” for allowing Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) dollars are just samples of the 29 “carveouts”! My solution – ALLOW all counties the option to bring to their residents a vote on whether to allow the County to impose Hotel Occupancy Taxes. |
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- HB 3539 – Relating to the establishment and administration of a state ammunition manufacturing facility; granting rulemaking authority.
This bill MAY sound good to those concerned with the price and/or availability of ammunition, HOWEVER, no government, even TEXAS, should be manufacturing anything in competition with the free market.
CAVEATS – These are the personal opinions of Matt Long and may or may not reflect the official position of The Fredericksburg Tea Party. I may have missed a good bill or a bad bill. If you have a bill that needs to be commented on please let me know and I will dig into it deeper.