THE GOOD NEWS FROM THE LEGISLATURE

By Ella Tyler and Lauren Barth

A legislative session that would have supplied Molly Ivins with material for several more books finally ended very late last Monday evening. It will be a few more weeks before a complete report can be made, but here are the highlights of the good news.

After five years of work, eventually involving more than 200 organizations, a tightly organized public opinion and lobbying campaign, help from the Governor and Speaker, and persistence by Rep. Hildebrand, Texas state parks will get the money they need. According to lead organizer George Bristol, president of the Texas Coalition for Conservation, it appears that Texas Parks and Wildlife will receive more than 90% of the funds that were recommended by the State Parks Advisory Committee and requested by TPWD’s Commissioners. Parks will receive more than $180 million from a variety of sources, including bond sales. Part of the funding for major repairs will come from a bond package that goes to the voters in November. Of that sum, $36.5 million will go to grants for local parks. Some local park money has been earmarked by Sen. Whitmire to pay off the loan for Houston’s 11th Street Park. The Battleship Texas is scheduled to get $25 million.

Senate Bill 12 passed and is waiting to be signed by the governor. It sets energy efficiency standards in state purchasing and energy consumption, promotes energy conservation in schools and expands programs to offer subsidies to low and moderate income families for replacement of older, polluting vehicles.

House Bill 3693, the omnibus energy efficiency bill supported by many environmental groups, passed.

HB 412 and HB 413 penalize owners of bandit signs — illegal signs placed in public rights of way — instead of people who place them there.

A watered-down version of a moratorium on private toll roads passed, but the governor may veto it. Gov. Rick Perry has until Father’s Day to sign or veto bills sent to him in on the last day of the session.

To see how bills you were interested in fared, see the Legislature’s website. We will have a more complete report on bills that passed and that did not pass next week.