The Voice of Land Stewards

WILDLIFE

THE VOICE OF LAND STEWARDS

STORY BY LORIE A. WOODWARD

As Texas grows and changes, it is imperative that the voice of Texas’ landowners and land managers be heard over the deafening roar of urban expansion.

“Since 1985, the Texas Wildlife Association has been the strong, clear voice of private landowners, land managers and hunters in the legislative and regulatory arenas,” said TWA CEO Justin Dreibelbis. “Well-managed working lands provide food, fiber, water, clean air, carbon sequestration and a myriad of other life-giving services whether the public realizes it or not.”

With a current population of 30 million that is growing at a rate of 1,400 people a day, Texas’ working lands are under siege from development pressure including residential, commercial, industrial and energy expansion. Texas is losing 650 acres of working lands each day, the fastest conversion rate in the nation. And simultaneously, demand for food, water and all other ecosystem services is increasing at an exponential rate, requiring each acre of remaining working land to become more productive.

“Private landowners are tasked with the increasingly difficult responsibility of delivering these essential ecosystem services,” Dreibelbis said. “Voluntary land stewards deserve strong representation and a seat at the table where decisions are being made, so that the laws, rules and regulations of this state allow them to stay on the land.”

While there was a myriad of beneficial bills that TWA supported and an equal number of detrimental bills the organization helped stop during Texas' most recent legislative session, two notable joint resolutions, HJR 126 “Right to Farm” and HJR 154 “Centennial Parks Conservation Fund,” passed. These two resolutions not only reflect TWA’s mission but the changing nature of Texas.

At the time of this writing, the fate of the legislation is unknown. Their date with destiny is November 7, when Texans will go to the polls and decide which of the 14 proffered constitutional amendments, including Proposition 1 “Right to Farming, Ranching, Timber Production,

Horticulture, and Wildlife Management” and Proposition 14 “Creation of the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund” will become state law.

A Civics Refresher

Any member in the Texas House of Representatives or the Texas Senate may introduce a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment. Two-thirds of the members of both houses, which translates to 100 members in the Texas House and 21 members in the Texas Senate, must then approve the joint resolution for it to be placed on the ballot.

“By design, joint resolutions must clear a higher hurdle than a regular bill, which requires just a simple majority in each house to pass,” said Joey Park, who lobbies on behalf of TWA. “Unlike a regular bill, joint resolutions are not presented to the governor for approval or veto but go directly to the Texas secretary of state.”

While it may seem as if there are a lot of amendments on the odd-year ballots, the number is relative. During this past session, members filed 11,807 pieces of legislation. Of those, 299 were joint resolutions. When the dust settled, only 14 of those joint resolutions made it through the process and onto the ballot.

According to Park, generally eight to 10 joint resolutions pass each session, but 14 is not uncommon. When more than one constitutional amendment passes the Legislature in any given year, the Texas secretary of state conducts a random drawing to ascertain the ballot order for the proposed amendments.

Traditional wisdom holds that propositions placed higher on the ballot are more likely to pass than those lower on the ballot. This is attributed to a civic malady known as “ballot fatigue” that prompts voters to lose interest in or vote "no" on every proposed amendment after the first few. According to a July 2022 Report by the Texas Legislative Council, ballot fatigue may have been misdiagnosed when it comes to state constitutional amendments.

Since 1876 in Texas, 700 constitutional amendments have been proposed. Of those, 517 have been approved by the electorate. That’s a 73.8 percent ratification rate.

“Nothing is ever guaranteed,” Park said. “Through the years, we’ve seen joint resolutions sail through the Legislature and go down in flames on election day.”

At TWA, our ultimate goal is helping all Texans connect with the land—JUSTIN DREIBELBIS TWA CEO

Farms, Ranches and State Parks

When legislation is filed as a joint resolution, it is done for one of two reasons. First, any dedicated fund established outside the normal budgeting process requires a constitutional amendment. Proposition 14 “Creation of the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund,” is an example of this.

“By law, all tax revenue that comes into the state goes into the General Revenue Fund, which can be allocated according to the needs and whims of the Legislature,” Park said. “Special funds such as the Rainy Day Fund require a constitutional amendment to prevent the proliferation of dedicated funds and to send a message that the fund’s purposes are important enough to go outside normal channels.”

In the case of Proposition 14, its original sponsors wanted to stake a claim on a portion of the state’s recent $50 billion dollar budget surplus and dedicate it to purchasing land for new state parks.

“As proposed, the Centennial Parks Fund sets aside $1 billion to enable the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to purchase special properties from willing sellers to create new state parks,” Dreibelbis said. “A dedicated fund will allow TPWD to act quickly and decisively in a competitive land market and acquire those special properties worthy of becoming state treasures.

“Let me be clear, this is not a government land grab, but a dedicated fund that will allow free market transactions between willing sellers and a willing buyer, TPWD, that benefit the citizens of Texas.”

Currently, TPWD maintains 89 state parks, historic sites and natural areas on 640,000 acres it owns or leases. In a growing Texas, demand far outstrips supply. TPWD reports its parks attract nearly 10 million visitors annually.

“At TWA, our ultimate goal is helping all Texans connect with the land,” Dreibelbis said. “The more connected Texans are to the natural world, the more they will value our natural resources and the role that private land stewards play in keeping the land productive for us all.”

Besides going outside the normal budgeting process, legislators file joint resolutions to “raise the profile of an issue and raise the bar against change.” The “Right to Farm” proposition falls into this category.

“When legislators file a joint resolution, they not only want to change the law, but want to make it much more difficult to change it back or do away with it,” Park said. “For instance, the joint resolution’s sponsors could have chosen to simply modify Texas’ existing Right to Farm Law, but they wanted to go the extra step to ensure that it couldn’t simply be revised or revoked when the 89th Legislature came to town.”

Like the other 49 states, Texas has a Right to Farm Law. The original has been on the books since 1981. Over the 40-plus years, Texas’ population has grown from 14.75 million to more than 30 million.

Most of the growth has taken place in cities. As cities and suburbs have grown outward and

surrounded historic agricultural operations, the weaknesses in the existing law began to show as some municipalities began aggressively levying fines to force farmers and ranchers to abandon their operations.

“Constituents reported egregious fines of thousands of dollars a day for things such as parking their tractors in the ‘wrong’ place or allowing their hay meadows to exceed the height prescribed for grass within a suburb,” Dreibelbis said. “We need farmers, ranchers and open space because they are not only essential to our lives, but the state’s economy and culture.”

The constitutional amendment not only strengthens existing law but reinforces the idea that working lands are just as important and valuable as urban and suburban development.

“It’s a good thing to raise the profile of Texas’ land stewards, working lands and wild places in our rapidly urbanizing environment because concrete and asphalt can’t sustain our lives nor our spirits,” Dreibelbis said. “And TWA will always stand on the side of productive open spaces and those people who care for them.”