Action AGAINST eminent domain needed now!

NOW is the time to contact the House and Senate committees where the two best bills with protection against eminent domain are still stuck. HB 1483 by Pitts is left pending in the House Land and Resource Management Committee. SB 18 by Estes is left pending in the Senate State Affairs Committee. Both of these bills are endorsed by the Texas Farm Bureau as the best protection for rural landowners.

Below is information, including contact information, from several groups.

TURF ISSUES BILL ALERT

HELP PROTECT LANDOWNERS FROM EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE
Important eminent domain bills stuck in committee with only a few days left to get them passed and still have time to override a Perry veto. CALL NOW! Forcibly taking OUR private property and handing it to foreign corporations like Cintra or ACS, are the centerpiece of Perry's Trans- Texas Corridor and network of tollways. Landowners need protection and Perry vetoed a good bill last session. We MUST get this passed in time to override him.Tell these committees we want HB 1483 AND SB 18 voted OUT of committee NOW!
Email them here: - Senate State Affairs Committee- House Land & Resource Committee

LINDA CURTIS OF INDEPENDENT TEXANS SAYS ‘HAMMER THE COMMITTEE OFFICES NOW’

What can we do? Help get the eminent domain reform bills out of committee! We need to hammer the Committee offices (don’t be mean, but be firm) now!!

Easy Steps!

1. No matter where you live in Texas, call the Committee offices below and urge them to get House Bill 1483 and Senate Bill 18 out of their respective committees right away!

Senate State Affairs Committee: 512-463-0380 (Senate Bill 18)
House Land & Resource Committee: 512-463-1623 (House Bill 1483)

2. Call the Committee chairs and vice chairs no matter where you live in Texas.

SENATE State Affairs Committee (C 640)
Clerk: Kelsey Erickson Tel: (512) 463-0067 Sam Houston Building - Room 445
Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, Chair (512) 463-0128 & Fax: (512) 463-2424, *call regardless of where you live Robert.Duncan@Senate.State.tx.us
Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, Vice-Chair (512) 463-0102 & Fax: (512) 463-*call regardless of where you live Robert.Deuell@Senate.State.tx.us
HOUSE Land & Resource Management Committee (C360)Clerk: Trey Burke Phone: (512) 463-1623 Room: EXT E2.136
Chair: Rep. Dennis Bonnen #25 (R) Dennis.Bonnen@house.state.tx.us
512-463-0564 & Fax (512) 463-8414, Brazoria County * call regardless of where you live
Vice Chair: Rep. Jessica Farrar 148 (D) Jessica.Farrar@house.state.tx.us 512-463-0620 & Fax (512) 463-0894, Houston, * call regardless of where you live

3. Forward this email to all you know in Texas.

4. Optional, but can be VERY helpful. Write a very brief letter to the editor of your favorite or local newspaper!

Get after it y’all!
Linda CurtisIndependent Texans http://IndyTexans.org

MARTHA ESTES NOTES ‘URGENCY’

ACTION Alert: SUPPORT Eminent Domain BILLS

WHY NOW? The URGENCY grows greater as the days in this session grow shorter… making an effort to OVERRIDE the expected PERRY Veto impossible. PERRY played the stall game and won in 2007 when HB 2006 was PASSED with massive support and KILLED by his Veto.

Info from Independent Texans about March 3 Lobby Day

Here's a good explanation of TURF's Lobby Day from Linda Curtis, Independent Texans. Linda includes brief talking points for people to use in visiting legislators in person, or if you can't get there in person, use these talking points in letters (best), emails, or calls to your legislators.

Dear Friends & Members:
Question: Why is TxDOT in such a rush to obligate all $1.2 billion of the stimulus funds for Texas transportation by THIS THURSDAY?
Answer: $700 million of the package is dedicated to toll roads.
What's more, 1/4 of the transportation stimulus -- if TxDOT has its way -- will be for one project, the Grand Parkway in Houston -- a road to feed a new speculative development!
Note: TxDOT actually has 120 days to commit the first 50% of these funds, then another full 12 months for the remainder.
So what's the big rush? Well, you know...it's that rogue agency again -- TxDOT (and Rick Perry behind them). Need we say more?
IT IS URGENT THAT YOU CALL YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS MONDAY==Texas Independence Day!
IT IS URGENT (if you can) THAT YOU COME TO AUSTIN TO TURF'S LOBBY DAY --
join us on the South Steps of the Capital at 9:30 a.m.
Here's where you can find your legislators: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

TALKING POINTS (or you can make this in to your letter -- but personalize it please)
* FIX IT FIRST! No stimulus funds for toll roads! Stimulus funds for transportation should be used for where people are now, rather than new speculative developments like the Grand Parkway in Houston.
* No Trans-Texas Corridor -- really. Protect the blackland prairie, one of the richest farm soils in the world. Rick Perry changing the name is just more of the same trickery and dishonesty that Texans are fed up with.
* Raise funds for transportation in a fiscally responsible way -- index the gas tax rather than pushing privatized, more expensive and risky toll roads. Allow citizens to vote on toll roads for their area. Protect our pension funds -- do not invest them in risky privatized toll roads.
* Real eminent domain reform to protect Texans' property rights.
* Stop the plan for mandatory tagging of farm animals which favors big AG, rather than independent farms.

Independently yours,
Linda Curtis
Independent Texans
member of Texas Alliance for Reform