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We REALLY need your help to torpedo a SAWS Vista Ridge/San Antone Hose — Amendment #6 to Senate Bill 533 — at the last minute, just like we did in 2015. Remember, we warned you about last minute shenanigans! Today, SAWS (San Antonio Water System) was in a court of law in San Antonio AND at the Legislature with another trumped up “emergency” to build the SAWS hooks up to the Vista Ridge Project (their $3.4 billion, 142-mile mass conveyance water pipeline) at the expense of their ratepayers and despite opposition by landowners over the “donor” aquifer. This affects all central Texas, especially those in the cross-hairs in Hays County where the water will be used to build out at your expense. Explanation:  SAWS wants to amend the Government Code to benefit SAWS and Vista Ridge. That’s what Floor Amendment #6 does — it makes it easy for SAWS to arbitrarily cut off a bid process for the Vista Ridge infrastructure SAWS plans to build at the expense of its ratepayers. That’s right – THINK BID RIGGING that, with Amendment #6, will help establish for SAWS and others across the state who want to rig the process. What to say:  I have no problem with Senate Bill 533, except House Floor Amendment #6, which really must be stripped out of the bill. San Antonio Water System is already in court seeking the same result. We don’t need to invite this abuse of the bidding process — let the court decide and please strip Amendment #6 from SB 533 by the Conference Committee. Here are the Committee members. Below this is more details:  Calls are very important now, as emails will likely get missed this late in the session. House Members of the Conference Committee: Chair:  Rep. Charlie Geren, R-River Oaks: (512) 463-0610 Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Keller:  (512) 463-0690 Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo:  (512) 463-0470 Rep. Oscar Longoria, D-Penitas: (512) 463-0645 Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin:  (512) 463-0631 Senate Members of the Conference Committee: Chair:  Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound:  (512) 463-0112 Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston: (512) 463-0117 Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen: (512) 463-0120 Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville: (512) 463-0103 Sen. Charles Schwertner. R-Bryan: (512) 463-0105 Additional Information : The Government Code says the bid period  for so-called “design-build” projects should be 180 days. Instead S AWS wants it to be only as long as SAWS wants to keep it open — do they have a crony contractor waiting in the wings to swoop in with the preferred bid? Does a bear you know what in the woods? There is no emergency for Vista Ridge that justifies this change! If anything, SAWS continues to bend over backwards to fend off defaults by their private partner in Vista Ridge. To boot, the amendment would apply to all governmental entities with populations or service areas of more than 100,000 people. This invites unnecessary, widespread abuse of bidding for usually high-dollar projects! What should SAWS be required to do instead, if indeed it has an “emergency” in need of a fix? They already have a lawsuit pending in San Antonio –a one-sided, petitioner-friendly (SAWS) “Expedited Declaratory Judgment Act” action to have a court essentially say they don’t need to amend the statute — that it is perfectly “reasonable” for the Judge to “interpret” the Government Code the way SAWS urges, just for SAWS alone, and enter a Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction against any third-party challenges to a shorter bid process — or any challenge to the issuance of debt obligations that SAWS wants its ratepayers to repay with higher water rates. That ruling would bar any disgruntled bidder or any ratepayer from getting in SAWS’ way on those issues, now and forever. They conveniently didn’t tell the Court in their Petition for this ruling that they were already in the Legislature, second-guessing their own “interpretation” of existing law. But now let’s hold them to going forward with the Judge — they apparently don’t really need to change the law, now do they!? And the rest of us don’t need this change either — the Government Code ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Get to it, Texans! Torpedo SAWS handouts! PS Please, please share this widely! #DonnaHoward #SanAntonioWaterSystem #FourPrice #GiovanniCapriglione #JuanHinojosa #SAWS #OscarLongoria #JoanHuffman #JaneNelson #CharlesSchwertner #RobertNIchols #CharlieGeren

Time is flying in the Texas Legislature! We do not know if this alert will reach you in time to make a difference so… please do what you can right away. We also have some updates at the end of this message. Last minute changes to the Water Code are expected to come to the floor of the Senate TODAY by way of Rep. Lyle Larson’s (R-San Antonio) HB 31 . Truthfully, Larson has already secured a big hand off for water marketers, especially Vista Ridge, with the passage of HB 2378 .   HB 2378 sets automatic renewals for export groundwater permits, enabling the water lobby to further maximize profits from  mass movement of groundwater. This was unstoppable. However, what we can do to promote conservation of critical groundwater (aquifer) resources is try to amend a bad water bill —HB 31—if and when it comes to the Senate floor sometime today, this evening or even tomorrow. (The bill would go back to the House for final approval if it manages to get out of the Senate.) Read the remainder of this alert and call your State Representative and State Senator to urge them to support the amendment the League is now calling the “Protection of Water Resources Amendment”. Find your legislator here . We have sent this amendment to HB 31 to both Sen. Lois Kolkhorst in the Senate, and Rep. John Cyrier in the House: (g)  A [groundwater] district may not grant or amend a permit for export of groundwater outside of the district’s boundaries for use in whole or in part by a political subdivision of the state if the state water plan identifies equivalent water supplies from other sources in the applicant’s planning region capable of meeting the production amount sought in the permit application.  This section does not apply to an export permit for the sole benefit of a non-public entity.  Background: State water policy has to impose some burden on the receiving end as well as on the donor side of groundwater — we must all pull together to conserve our natural resources. The proposed amendment is one way of doing that. Far-away municipalities should first do the responsible thing by using the available water supply in their own region, before stripping distant communities of water and burdening their ratepayers unnecessarily with higher utility bills. Another way of doing it is to require them to “prove up” that their residents’ per capita usage will be within state conservation guidelines, both now and 50 years in the future. If they come within state guidelines, we assume they are doing all they can to conserve our precious resource through usage reductions. This in turn produces additional “supply” for their residents and reduces the demand on our aquifers. The point is — the receiving side has to have skin in the game! We think both of these concepts could be woven into the Water Code in the next legislative session, and we are asking that HB 31 not be passed in its current form. It is time for our rural communities to throw down! Otherwise, we are green-lighting mass transfers of groundwater as our priority source of water for the foreseeable future, no matter what other improvements in technology come forward — the private marketers of water won’t politely cancel their perpetual –and profitable— contracts and permits as a show of good citizenship. Again, call your Senator and Representative to ask that they support an amendment to HB 31 – call it an amendment to “Protect Our Groundwater Resources”. We don’t yet have a commitment from Sen. Kolkhorst, but you can watch the Senate by clicking on the video link on this page. Update on the “bad seed bill”, SB 1172 : We know that we likely managed to confuse many of you yesterday with a rushed email alert about Amendment 1 to the already “bad seed” bill (SB 1172). The worst language in “Amendment 1” was, in fact, stripped out. But caution : the amendment that stands now still gives businesses involving seeds the right to sue local governments to remove their regulations, with the burden of proof now shifted onto the municipality. This is potentially breaking the back of local towns and counties in rural Texas. Another thanks to Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance for their efforts to keep us informed. Another bill we suggest you help defeat is HB 1643, thanks to this information from FARFA – this bill would ban drones at Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), defining CAFOS as “critical infrastructure,” in the same “homeland security” category as power plants and petroleum refineries. More here . Mass transfers of water is a core issue of the League of Independent Voters, and protection of land and small “d” democratic process. These are the meat and potato issues that affect every Texan but have so clearly been lost on a legislature run by two parties at war with each other. On that note, please enjoy this discussion of the bathroom bill by a Christian conservative mom who gets it! Thank you for paying attention and asking us to explain ourselves! 🙂 #LoisKolkhorst #VistaRidge #SanAntoneHose #LyleLarson #JohnCyrier

Gutting local control — this is what they were they doing after all the hubbub on bathrooms last night. You heard it here first, thanks to Judith McGeary of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. An amendment ( Amendment 1 ) came late last night to the already bad seed bill SB 1172, hand out to Monsanto. This nasty “little” amendment is a far reaching attack on local control. The bill is likely to come back for a 3rd reading in a few hours. Though it’s very hard to change outcome on a third reading, we ask you to try. Why? It’s a notice to all House members that the independent movement, currently nipping at their heels, is getting ready now for the next two years to build with their bad seedy deeds. Do this now please! Call your Texas House Representative (or email, if you can’t call) and ask them to “strip Amendment 1 out of SB 1172!” Find your representative here. Background: State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-River Oaks) called the amendment a “citizen suit” provision, but it’s not.  A citizen suit provision gives anyone the right to sue to enforce the law – empowering everyday Texans to make sure government stays in line.  In fact, Geren’s amendment only gives power to those who hold state licenses, permits, or registrations to sue a local government that seeks to regulate them in ANY way. Therefore, instead of the normal law, which requires a plaintiff to prove its case, the burden will be on the local government to prove “by clear and convincing evidence” that its regulation doesn’t “conflict” with state law. Note that farmers aren’t licensed by the state.  So while the Monsanto seed bill has been pushed as a measure to protect farmers (which it’s not), they wouldn’t even have standing under this provision! So really what’s going on? The amendment is NOT limited to the issue of seeds or even the agriculture code – it’s wide open.  It seems to empower any state-licensed business of any kind to sue local governments for any kind of regulation.  This guts local control on almost every issue. If this gets passed, get ready for the real work ahead. That’s right, the parties will have opened the door for an up-from-the-bottom independent voter revolt. They will have brought it on themselves! #badseedbill #CharlieGeren #Monsanto #SB1172

This was taken from an action alert by the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance: We were successful in stalling the bad seed & sprays bill for almost a month — but Monsanto and its allies succeeded in moving it forward yesterday. And just in case we are able to block them on the “traditional” way to pass a bill (i.e. getting it approved by both chambers), they have found a parallel, alternative path. So we have to block them in BOTH chambers now. SB 1172, which would deprive local governments of the ability to regulate seeds or anything involved in the cultivation of plants, will come to the House floor on Sunday for a vote by the full House. If we are able to stop SB 1172, Big Ag’s backup plan is to use the amendment process to essentially bypass the House floor. Yesterday, Senators Perry and Buckingham amended HB 3582, an uncontroversial little bill, to add language that blocks local control of seeds & the cultivation of plants. In effect, they simply copied the language of SB 1172 and pasted it into HB 3582. Since HB 3582 has already passed the House, all they have to do is get the Senate to approve it and convince just one Rep – the House author — to agree to the changes. It’s the sort of ugly political maneuvering that happens at the end of the Texas legislative session. We need your help and FAST! (More information on the bill is after the Take Action sections) TAKE ACTION #1 It is urgent that you call your State Representative as soon as possible and urge him or her to vote NO on SB 1172. Yes, the Reps will be at the Capitol on Saturday because they’re working all through the weekend. You can find out who represents you at http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx and either call or email them (as always, calls are better). Remember, you want to call your State Representative, not U.S., so scroll down the list to State Rep. At this stage in the session, shorter is better. Just give your name, the town you live in, and say that you’re calling to urge your Representative to vote NO on SB 1172. TAKE ACTION #2 After you call your State Representative, please also call your State Senator and urge him or her to vote NO on HB 3582. Again, just give your name, the town you live in, and say that you’re calling to urge your Representative to vote NO on HB 3582. We know it’s confusing. At this stage in session, the House is voting on Senate bills, and the Senate is voting on House bills, so the bill numbers are correct! MORE INFORMATION SB 1172 would prevent cities and counties from regulating any seed “in any manner, including planting seed or cultivating plants grown from seed,” even though no county or city in Texas has attempted to ban any seeds. SB 1172 would prevent cities and counties from regulating any seed “in any manner, including planting seed or cultivating plants grown from seed,” even though no county or city in Texas has attempted to ban any seeds. Wondering why we are calling it the Monsanto bill for the first time?  Publicly, the bill has been pushed by Farm Bureau, Dow Chemical, and DuPont, who we’ve mentioned before.  But we bumped into a Monsanto lobbyist at the Capitol last week, as he made rounds to try to push the bill forward, confirming our suspicions that they’re also key players behind this bill. We’re up against some of the most powerful companies and lobbies in the country — please help us to fight them! What does blocking local control of seeds mean? No local ban or even restrictions such as buffer zones to limit genetically engineered crops. Even if farmers lose markets because their non-GMO crops become contaminated, local governments would be powerless. Consider that Texas rice farmers were among those who lost hundreds of millions of dollars when their crops were contaminated in 2006. No regulation of bee-killing seed coatings. The bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides are not only used as sprays, but even more often as seed treatments. And this bill removes local control over not only seeds, but a very broad scope of activities. “Cultivating” means “fostering the growth” of the plants, which would include everything people use to grow plants, including fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and even water. The way statutes are interpreted, no words can be redundant — so “cultivate” must mean something besides seeds or their planting. So what does blocking local control of “cultivation” mean? We can think of several things: It would prevent any local regulation of when or where herbicides are sprayed, even to protect neighboring farmers from overspray or to address health issues. The state legislature already took away some of the local governments’ powers a few years ago (in another sneaky move), but at this point, local governments can still adopt special restrictions, as well as enforce the federal and state laws. SB 1172 would take away that remaining local control. It would prevent any local regulation of land applications of manure. Manure is wonderful in moderate quantities, such as when it’s deposited by grazing animals or used as part of an overall sustainable program. But feedlots and CAFOs need someplace to put the mountain of manures and the slurry from the manure lagoons that they create, and that can threaten both human health and our water supplies when they use farm and ranch land essentially as a dumping grounds. As currently written, it would take away the ability for local governments to impose outdoor watering restrictions even in drought. We’ve been told they plan to amend it to address that – but this simply highlights the bizarrely broad scope of this bill … a bill that is supposed to be about seeds extends even to water regulations and drought measures?! And even now, they’re not excluding the topic of water from the bill, just carving out specific areas that will remain local … and pre-empting the rest. Ultimately, the bill blocks local governments from responding to the many situations that we haven’t identified or that come up in the future.  Agriculture is changing constantly, and new problems arise – but local governments’ hands will be tied. The proponents keep claiming that the bill is just about seeds. But they keep refusing to take out the “cultivation” provision. And we’ve seen versions of this bill in other states, and they include fertilizers, herbicides, and more – so it’s pretty clear that they want more than seeds. These issues are best addressed on a local level because the conditions are not uniform across the state.   They depend on what is being grown, the land uses (how much and where is farmland compared to residential) and physical issues such as the topography and climate. Texans need to be able to seek help from their local governments for local concerns! #badseedbill #JudithMcGeary #Monsanto

This legislative water alert is of urgent importance. These bills affect all Texans — in urban, suburban and rural communities. Please act on this information and also ask others to call for Sen. Lois Kolkhorst’s help on four bills. As the chair of the Senate Administration Committee, Sen. Kolkhorst is uniquely positioned to impact legislation that is nearing approval by both the House and Senate. Her committee’s action on bills at this stage can determine their fate — do they go to the Senate floor for final passage, back to the House for further work or nowhere? Sen. Kolkhorst of course represents several of our central Texas counties but she also has state-wide impact in her role as Chairman. She also serves on the Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs Committee, which still has a role to play in groundwater legislation this session. Please reach Sen. Kolkhorst’s office at 512.463.0118 . Call anytime and leave a message if no one picks up the phone. Again, please convey your concerns about these four pieces of legislation. Please ask Senator Kolkhorst to: 1.    Prevent HB 2378 from being amended to make it any easier for the water marketers to have perpetual export permits for our groundwater. HB 2378 does make groundwater export permits automatically renewable, in sync with the permit to produce the water, but it also preserves existing law that at least allows our groundwater districts some ability to scrutinize the permits periodically. Amending the bill to take away that power or other authority over exports, would further pave the way for draining our aquifers for mass conveyance to distant growth areas — it’s the Gridzilla of pipelines we can’t afford in Texas. HB 2378 is not an ideal bill by any means, and we are still opposed to it; however, even groundwater districts failed to oppose it, and it seems inevitable to pass if it gets to the Senate floor.  Tell Senator Kolkhorst you oppose the bill but at least, don’t let it be further amended by the water marketing lobbies. 2.    Support the passage of HB 3735 with no amendments. The bill requires TCEQ (Texas Commission for Environmental Quality) to continue to issue surface water permits that are consistent with the state and regional water plans. Bad surface water bills have a way of producing bad groundwater bills in future sessions. Our District 17 State Rep. John Cyrier went to bat when the League asked him to help restore the good parts of this bill in the House. Now it’s in the Senate, where Senator Kolkhorst must help in her committee to preserve it again, as is, on its way to final passage. 3.   Do all she can to get a hearing this Thursday in Senator Perry’s Ag, Water and Rural Affairs Committee for Rep. Eddie Lucio’s critically important HB 3166, and to vote it out of Committee and on to the Senate floor. His bill requires “modeled sustainable groundwater pumping” to be considered in the adoption of desired future conditions in groundwater conservation districts. We need this bill to counter the race to drain our aquifers! 4. Hold up SB 1198 in her committee, to wait for next session. There is no reason, now, to turn the Hays-Caldwell Public Utility Agency into a regional water authority. A regional authority with eminent domain and the power to finance mass conveyance projects is too big a move at this time, lacks support from local and regional citizens, and hands the power to condemn private property over to yet another entity that does not have landowner and ratepayer interests at heart. Got questions? Call us anytime between 8 am to 10 pm. Thank you, independent Texans! #SenCharlesPerry #TexasCommissionforEnvironmentalQuality #Gridzilla #TCEQ #RepJohnCyrier

THIS FRIDAY! The greatest bill since sliced bread for the 42% plurality of Texans who are independent (we salute no party) is going to hit the floor of the Texas House. House Bill 25 — ending straight ticket “one punch” voting in Texas is a must do to bring about competitive elections. Call your State Rep to ask him or her to reach out to independent voters by voting FOR this bill.  Find your legislators here . TOMORROW! Cronyism run amok on toll roads (HB 2861) hits the House Floor. Make y our calls folks! More here . Apologies for such late notice — do what you can right away! QUICK ADD ONS OF BAD WATER BILLS TO KILL: Read this just in from Save Our Springs Alliance in Austin. THANK YOU FOR YOUR calls a few days ago to Sen. Lois Kolkhorst to stop a bad water bill (to limit your participation in contests involving surface water), Senate Bill 225 , appears to have helped. SB 225 has not yet come out of committee. However, the House version — House Bill 3742 — is now in the House Calendars Committee. Calendars is the last stop before it’s sent to the House Floor. Take a look at the House Calendar’s Committee here . If you see your State Rep there, call their office to ask them to “tag” this bill — that will slow it down. If you can get to the Capitol, you can visit all the Calendar’s Committee offices and fill out a card against the bill. Note: HB 3742/SB 225 isn’t the only bill attacking the public’s right to proper notice to contest something industry plans to do with your property or water. They keep coming, like this one in a hearing today in Natural Resources — Rep. Frank’s HB 3114 . Tell your legislators you are sick of having your rights violated by these kinds of bills and that you expect them to vote NO on any and all such sorry bills that may hit the House floor. Tell them the independents are watching them and plan to do this to them if they pass this kind of junk. YESTERDAY! A virogorous effort to win eminent domain reform this session was deformed by the pipeline and oil and gas lobby. We are not surprised, but we are disgusted. Read this letter after you take action as we have suggested above. Seriously, remember this! We prefer that the tactics of Tyrannosaurus Rex be left to legend. Now, let’s get a GREAT Bill — House Bill 25 — passed on Friday! P.S. We appreciate some of you stepping up to the plate to be our representatives at the Capitol. Keep it up and more of you are invited to do so.

The Post Oak Groundwater Cons ervation District has scheduled an important public hearing on its rules this Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at 5:30 pm to discuss two rule amendments: The good one—Changes Rule 16 so the District will respond more quickly and decisively when our groundwater levels drop. The bad one—Rule 4.1 Eliminates public notice, hearings, and even spacing requirements when permit holders want to change the locations of planned wells (when the new locations are inside the permitted boundaries).  Bad rule! Spacing is critical, not just to protect neighboring wells, but also to protect the aquifer! Come to Post Oak headquarters at 310 E. Avenue C, Milano Texas at 5:30 May 3, 2017 and speak out! If you show up a few minutes early, we’ll also tell you more or reply to this message for details. Got questions? Call Dave at 512.763.0853 or reply to this message. Thank you for caring about our most precious resource!

Would you please make a call today or this weekend into Senator Lois Kolkhorst’s office to OPPOSE Committee Substitute Senate Bill 225. (Click on the info button for more details). The bill is up for a vote as early as Monday at 2 pm in the Agriculture, Rural and Water Affairs Committee. Sen. Kolkhorst could be THE swing vote that kills the bill. Please call her Austin office at 512.463.0118. Simply ask that she “vote against Senate Bill 225 — as it has been substituted”. Here’s why we are urging your help to defeat this bill: The bill deals with protests by the public and landowners of surface water rights (rivers and streams) applications by the public and landowners; however, it involves fundamental issues of proper notice and meaningful opportunity for landowners to protest applications. This bill, basically, erodes the public’s right to know about applications timely and to be told what they must do to formally protest an application that adversely affects them. Hearings on applications may occur without affected public and landowners even knowing the application was filed or a hearing was scheduled. Even if they do get a hearing, the bill would restrict the issues they would be allowed to raise in protest of the application. This is unacceptable not only for surface water applications, but we are also convinced  these changes would spill over into groundwater permitting law as well. If the bill makes it out of Committee, it will be difficult to kill on the Senate floor. Again, make the call to Sen. Kolkhorst’s office right away — leave a message this weekend if you can’t call today or Monday morning — before the Monday hearing scheduled for 2 pm. Agenda Notice Here. If you plan to attend the hearing, please let us know. Thank you so much! P.S. You might know that it is already difficult for landowners to file contests to challenge water developers. Let’s not make it worse! #SenLoisKolkhorst #SenateBill225 #surfacewater

Staying in the game to protect our most treasured resources, and democracy itself, takes a lot of tough love. It also demands we throw a few punches and not at our own shadow! Join the fight and land a few punches! Punch #1: Call House Speaker Joe Straus (512.463.1000) The California Water Model of mass movement of rural water to growth corridors is a proven disaster. So why are Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio) and Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) pushing it so hard with their water bills, House Bill 2378 , House Bill 31 and Senate Bill 1392 ? Because there is so much money to be made pumping and moving our groundwater for private, for-profit interests! Call Speaker Straus, the one man in Texas with the power to stop the profiteering water lobby efforts that put our aquifers, and children’s water future, at risk . Politely ask Joe to dam up the flood of bad water bills this session. Then thank Speaker Straus for supporting HB 25/SB 2175 – to end straight ticket voting — also widely supported by independent voters! Punch #2 : Call your State Representative and State Senator Find your State Legislators at www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us or call us! Tell them you are from rural, urban or suburban Texas – whatever applies – and that you understand that all regions depend on one another to protect our wealth – land and water – not to transfer it, squander it and otherwise spoil it, at alarming rates. Ask them what they are doing to protect Texas groundwater, end the abuse of eminent domain for private gain and open up Texas for electoral competition. Finish by telling them you strongly support HB 25/SB 2175 to end straight ticket voting and House Bill 3028 — the Voter Choice Act to open up the ballot for independents and more than two parties. Let the people vote, not the party machines. Punch #3: Become a member of or donate to LIV, an all-volunteer outfit that’s fighting for you, our precious land and water resources, and to win competitive elections! Keep checking our news section – bills are a flyin’! #JoeStraus

We apologize for frequent and lengthy emails. We are doing our best to inform you during an extraordinary Texas legislative session. Do what you can with any and all of this! Looking to be an active independent? Join us this THURSDAY ( not Wednesday! ) on a statewide conference call at 8 pm. Reply for conference instructions. After you read this, do the deed! Contact your legislators – Texas House and Senate – find them right here . Tomorrow Hearings! Wednesday, April 12, 8 am ( sorry for the late notice ) hearing of the House Ag & Livestock Committee. OPPOSE SB 1172/HB 2758 and kill this truly insane bill that would prevent cities and counties from regulating any seed “in any manner, including planting seed or cultivating plants grown from seed.” More here . Also, on Wednesday — fresh from Texans for Accountable Government —  you can also sign in against Rep. Larry Phillips’ bill HB 2861 , up for hearing in the Transportation Committee ( notice here ), which would hand 14 Texas highways from Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio (including I-35 through those cities), down to the valley (including one bridge to South Padre, FM 1925 in Hidalgo County, Hwy 77 in Cameron County) to a private, foreign corporation, plus re-authorize all 10 grandfathered toll projects until 2023! No eminent domain for private gain! Tomorrow, 10:30 am, House Natural Resources Committee Hearing , SUPPORT HB 3417, Rep. Tracy King (D-Uvalde). The bill would require groundwater districts to consider impacts to exempt wells when issuing permits and would encourage monitoring. Tomorrow, 2 pm , our own LIV Board Member, Calvin Tillman, testifies to the Texas House Land & Resources Management Committee SUPPORT HB 2684 . Calvin’s study explains why awarding attorney fees to landowners facing lowball offers when their land is seized, is a no-brainer. Thursday Hearing! Watch Out Hays County! OPPOSE HB 2540, Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Hays County) will be heard by the Special Purpose Districts Committee on Thursday, April 13 at 8 am . Hays Caldwell Public Utility Agency will be changed to the Alliance Regional Water Authority (AWRA); providing authority to issue bonds; granting the power of eminent domain; providing authority to impose fees. LIV has no desire to add to the 9,000 entities in Texas that have eminent domain authority. The bill has lots of other problems, including giving ARWA overly broad geographic reach, too many types of water projects it could do and overly broad service areas. There is some hope the bill could be trimmed back to restrict ARWA to its current geographic reach, with the possibility it could be used for regional conjunctive use projects that might make sense and also reduce the feeding frenzy on the Simsboro aquifer east of the IH-35 corridor. For now, oppose this puppy! Good Bills/Bad Bills and…more! Add these to your calls to your legislators, found here . The Very Best Bill for Independent Voters this Session! Ending Straight Ticket Voting – Support HB 25/SB 2175 Do you know that the largest impediment to independent candidates in Texas is straight ticket voting? Texas is one of only 10 states left that allow voters to, with one punch, vote for one party’s candidates. The results can be devastating to the better candidates who might just so happen to be on the other ticket or are running independent or third party. Let’s ensure that voters think before they vote!  This is at the top of House Speaker Joe Straus’s agenda. More Good Bills! Water: LIV also supports Sen. Jose Menendez’ (D-San Antonio) SB 1796 , to protect the Edwards Aquifer and recharge zone from sewage effluent and HB 3166 , by Rep. Eddie Lucio III relating to the consideration of modeled sustainable groundwater pumping in the adoption of desired future conditions in groundwater conservation districts. Both are currently pending n committee. Rep. Cyrier’s HB 3996 for a Sunset Review of San Antonio Water System has a new co-sponsor, Rep. Leighton Schubert (R-Brenham – district map here )! So far, no takers in San Antonio will get in the way of the SAWS buzz saw and sign on to sponsor…even on the heels of 100s of pages of amendments to Vista Ridge recently unveiled by SAWS and flagrant abuse of SAWS ratepayers to pay for the failing Vista Ridge $3.4B project. What’s it gonna take to get San Antonians to take care of their rogue water utility, hmmm? More Bad Bills! Water: The hearing last night on SB 1392 (this year’s Gridzilla – a full water grid for Texas to move masses of groundwater for developers to build out in dry areas) scored a big one for landowners and local groundwater management! Watch the video here (SB 1392 starts at about 2:45) – thank you for calling-in, showing up and talking to your reps and senators!  The testimony was rich, the opposition was clear, a committee substitute was rolled out…but will Sen. Charles Perry listen to reason? The bill will likely be back again likely next week. Read LIV’s comments here . Petition Rights: We are monitoring a bill by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), SB 1296 that could do harm to Texans’ petition rights by calling for judicial review in ballot language disputes but allowing for the delay if the judges don’t get to it. Many thanks to Texas Municipal League for catching this one and opposing it. Still, it could come back sometime after Easter for another hearing before the Local & Uncontested Calendar. Keep up the good work, independent Texas! PS Don’t forget the very important meeting for Milam and Burleson countians on April 18th. Visit the calendar on our website! #JoeStraus #straightticketvoting

Today is urban-rural water call-in day marking a united Texas effort to get the water hogs out Get the public (SAWS) and private hogs (water profiteers) out of the water trough, Texas! of the trough. If you miss this message, do this anytime this week (though watch for updates) and get set for a long haul until the end of session, May 29th. We have repeatedly warned you that THIS is the largest, most egregious transfer of wealth planned for this session. During the day, you can use the Capitol Switchboard ( 512-463-4630)  to ask for your State Senator’s office. (Otherwise, find your reps here ) Again, here’s your mission today (or this week, if you miss this) – with suggested messages below:  Call YOUR Senator with the message below— call the Switchboard at  512-463-4630 (or use this link to find direct numbers & emails).  Call Speaker of the House, Joe Straus at 512-463-1000, with the message below. If you can make it, come to the hearing, scheduled for 2 pm today. Details here . Sign in against SB 1392, regardless of whether you choose to testify. Text or call us at 512-657-2089 if you need anything. We will be there! Message to your Senator – what to say: Please oppose any and all legislation coming this session, including Senate Bill 1392, that threaten aquifers, kill local management of groundwater, and fuel out-of-control real estate development and urban unaffordability. I ask you to call for a full Sunset Review of the rogue municipal water utility, San Antonio Water System ( HB 3996 by John Cyrier ). I also urge that you support ending straight ticket voting – no longer used in 40 states, ( HB 25/SB 2175 ), to open up electoral competition in Texas. Please note that while Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has had everyone fighting over bathrooms, his appointee on water, Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs, has been working in tandem with water profiteers to raid our aquifers and use groundwater as the primary fuel for unfettered urban growth. This is why we are urging you to reach the Speaker of the House, Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) who has the power to counter-balance Patrick. Joe already supports ending straight ticket voting. Will he stand up for rural Texas and counter the urban “growth machine”? Say a little prayer and call Joe Straus! Message to House Speaker Joe Straus: Thank you for supporting ending straight ticket voting. I’m calling to ask the Speaker to help stop any and all bad water bills this session. Please ask your appointee, Rep. Lyle Larson to hold a hearing on John Cyrier’s HB 3996 and to stop Larson’s attacks on local management of groundwater districts. For lots more on the “water front”, view  this slide show  by our own LIV Board Member, Michele Gangnes. Urging that you remain alert to protect Texans’ most precious resource, #HouseSpeakerJoeStraus #SenCharlesPerry #straightticketvoting #RepLyleLarson #JoeStraus #RepJohnCyrier

Senate Bill 1392 by Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) is up for hearing in the Senate’s Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs Committee THIS MONDAY (April 10) at 2 p.m.  The Bill is Gridzilla’s flagship this session. URGENT ACTION BEFORE THE 2 P.M. HEARING IS REQUIRED –— SB 1392 needs to die in Committee NOW before it gets loaded up with equally bad amendments. Please get this out to your networks in rural, urban and suburban Texas right away: Call your Senator’s office anytime to say or leave a message like this —  “I want my Senator to OPPOSE SB 1392”, and give a brief personal message about why you oppose it. Find your Senator here or just call the Texas Capitol Switchboard (not open on weekends) at 512-463-4630. Then, call the Ag Committee office at 512-463-0340 to lodge your complaint about this horrible legislation — politely, please. Here’s a sample longer message: I oppose SB 1392 because it will take away the ability of groundwater districts to balance pumping of aquifers with the need to conserve and protect them for future generations. It also takes away any opportunity to consider the economic impact of drawing down aquifers on the rural communities that lie over them. Please ask your friends to do the same. (Use the share buttons on this message from here on our website blog or use the good ol’ telephone to call ’em!) If you are able, go to the Capitol Monday before 2 p.m. and sign in to OPPOSE the bill. If you can stay for the hearing, make 2-3 minutes of comments to OPPOSE it and hand in 15 copies of your comments (hand-written is fine). Go to the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance alert for more details, here . You should continue calling House Speaker Joe Straus at 512-463-1000. Politely ask him to put a stop to the water profiteers working our legislators this session. Please add a thanks for his support for HB25 , to end straight ticket “one-punch” voting — a great idea to open up electoral competition in Texas. More soon on this one. Got questions? Reach us at info@independentleaguetx.org or call 512-213-4511. Want to help more? We can use your donation to reach more people — $100 reaches nearly 7,000 people with our automated phone alerts. Give on our website or send us a check. Thanking you Texans ahead of time. We will have a statewide conference call at 7 pm this Wednesday night to discuss strategy on the water, wallet & elections front. Contact us for details. #HouseSpeakerJoeStraus #SenCharlesPerry