Legislative Update

We have a brother and his lady who were stopped in Mission, TX and given tickets for no helmet or helmet exemption sticker.. They are putting together a lawsuit since they were wrongly ticketed and they were informed that around 40 other bikers were also given similar tickets in Mission recently. If you are one of these riders, please contact Terry Lynch (cell: 956-735-3459) or call the Attorney handling the lawsuit - Rodney Sipes : 956-631-8080.

Remember - if you would rather just pay an illegally issued ticket, you not only hand over your own rights - but the outcome of what you choose to do will effect all riders.

The governor has vetoed 19 Bills thus far. Among them was our Bill SB 1195 concerning Consent Searches. Today is his last day to do anything else with any Bills. I expect another Fathers Day Massacre from him today.On a better note I attended the East Texas Chopper Guys Rally in Old Sawmill Town. We signed up 132 members this weekend. I didn't sleep Friday or Saturday night and just got back into the office in the wee hours of this morning. Put this out, grab a quick shower and hit the hay. I have to speak at a Libertarian function at 4:00pm this afternoon.

Perry considering veto on budget itemMove, to be decided Saturday, would force lawmakers to fix school financeBy Mike Ward, Laylan CopelinAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFFFriday, June 17, 2005 Gov. Rick Perry is threatening to veto the budget for public schools in Texas as a way to force lawmakers to agree on reforms to the beleaguered school finance system, as a prelude to calling the Legislature into a special session beginning Tuesday.
Five sources with knowledge of the ongoing negotiations between Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick confirmed today that the governor by Saturday will decide whether to use his veto power to jump-start the inability of the Legislature so far to agree on a compromise reform plan.

MORE ON THIS STORY

Complete Legislature coverage Perry is to announce his line-item vetoes of the budget bill on Saturday. Presumably, he might also issue a proclamation for the special session about the same time.
Without an approved budget, public schools across Texas would be unable to open in August.
"The courts aren't the only ones with a gun here to get school finance reform done," said one source. "This way, the Legislature will have to come up with a budget for the schools. School finance reform should be a natural byproduct."
Perry advised Dewhurst and Craddick earlier this week of his plans to veto the public schools budget and to call lawmakers back into a special session
According to other sources familiar with ongoing negotiations, House and Senate leaders have moderated their positions somewhat during the past two weeks - the Senate on upping the sales tax, the House on changes to existing business taxes and exemptions.
Dewhurst and Craddick reacted coolly to the veto threat. A House source said House leaders are more willing to await a state Supreme Court decision on school finance, but two sources said Dewhurst believes legislative leaders are close to a deal on school finance.
However, a Senate source said, "for three months, we've been telling you we're close. It's embarrassing."
A lobbyist familiar with the negotiations said Craddick is willing to wait.
"It's like two people living in a house. One wants to build a new house and the other is happy to continue living there until the place is condemned and they have to move," the lobbyist said.
Politically, Perry's veto of school funding and call for a special session would at least partially eclipse Saturday's scheduled announcement by Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn of her political plans - presumably to challenge Perry in the GOP primary in 2006.

The Governor has signed HB 823. It becomes effective September 1st, 2005.

HB823 - Text

Subject: Current Texas law provides a "defense to prosecution" for an offense under Texas' Unlawful Carrying of Weapons statute if you are "traveling." However, "traveling" is not defined anywhere in law, and a "defense" means that it could be up to a judge and/or jury to decide what "traveling" means - after an arrest has been made. This is problematic for both law-enforcement and law-abiding citizens. HB 823 would take important steps toward clarifying that you can carry a handgun in your vehicle for protection without a Concealed Handgun License.

Click this link for its current Status

STATE ISSUES
Comptroller Strayhorn has put together a party in the 15-1600 block of Congress to make a political announcement this coming Saturday. Expectations are she will announce for governor or if Lt. Governor Dewhurst makes a run for US Senate then she may be seeking that position next year.
A lot of ifs but very interesting.

FEDERAL ISSUES
Congressman Ron Paul of Texas introduced an amendment to prevent the U.N. from placing a direct tax on American citizens in order to fund its sovereignty-busting agenda. Today this Amendment was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Blocking the U.N. push for a global tax is a crippling blow to the world-government agenda. Congressman Ron Paul will offer his H.R. 1146 – The American Sovereignty Restoration Act as an amendment to the Science, State, Justice, Commerce Appropriations Act of 2006. H.R. 1146 ends membership of the United States in the United Nations.

Congressman Hoyer has offered HJR 24 along with Congressmen Berman, Sensenbrenner, Sabo and Pallone to Repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. For your information Amendment 22 is listed below.

Amendment XXII - Presidential term limits. Ratified 2/27/1951. History1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Has the Republican Party decided that George W. Bush should be their candidate for a third term as President?

THE HIPAA CORRECTION ISSUE HAS RECEIVED AN UNEXPECTED BOOST IN CONGRESS

US Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Ted Strikland (D-OH) jointly introduced the legislative fix (HR 2793) late last week. This legislation is nothing new when it comes to motorcyclists, in fact the only difference this Congress is the bills main Republican sponsor. Burgess, a medical doctor from Lewisville, Texas, is in his second term and has the exact committee assignments that will be necessary to move this legislation through the process. HR 2793 is nearly identical to the legislation that was good enough to gather 177 co-sponsors last Congress. As of press time only two sponsors and one additional member of congress had signed on in support of the legislation. That needs to change, please call your Member of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor HR 2793. To learn more about the legislation use the Library of Congress website, http://thomas.loc.gov, and enter the bill number. We need another large showing of support for the legislation this Congress in order to guarantee movement. On the Senate side the companion legislation (S 577) has six co-sponsors. No hearings or markups have taken place on either side of Capitol Hill.

PATRIOT ACT

The US House has voted to remove the ability of officials to confiscate records from libraries and book stores under the US Patriot Act. A very small change but a beginning none the less. President Bush says he will veto any Bill that removes any part of the Patriot Act.

HB 2337
Author Rep Corte Sponsor Senator Staples

HB 2337 establishes the Biometric drivers license which becomes our Federal ID. This information can be used to break the code of your internet account. Digimark, one of the two companies that have bid for implementation of the program has already had the same type information stolen in Nevada. Several Bills have been sent to the governor also allowing different agencies to have access to this information including HB 178 by Rep Denny and Senator Averitt to allow election officials access.. Doesn’t it seem that the outcome of this Bill was a forgone conclusion long before it’s introduction. Plans are under way to utilize this document with cameras to enable Texas government to locate citizens anywhere.

Based on past performance it is no surprise that these two legislators would be involved in this type legislation one would expect to encounter in Nazi Germany or Communist China. The big question would be what happened to those thousands of Republican Delegates who met at the 2004 State Convention. They promised smaller government and less intrusion in our private life including the following:

“The Party directs that legislation be introduced in both the United States Congress and the Texas Legislature to repeal existing statutory requirements to end the ever increasing, incessant, recurring, and calculated gathering, accumulation, and dissemination of fingerprints, Social Security numbers, financial and personal information of law-abiding citizens by business and governments, the use of which are contrary to and destructive of our individual and collective freedom. Such legislation shall provide remedy and redress to any individual denied service for refusing to provide the above-mentioned information.”
Didn’t anyone bother to tell the legislators about the Party Platform?


HR 1528 Congressman Sensenbrenner
FAILURE TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM DRUG TRAFFICKING ACTIVITIES
SEC. 425. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person who witnesses or learns of a violation of sections 416(b)(2), 417, 418, 419, 420, 424, or 426 to fail to report the offense to law enforcement officials within 24 hours of witnessing or learning of the violation and thereafter provide full assistance in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of the person violating paragraph (a).
(b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced to not less than two years or more than 10 years. If the person who witnesses or learns of the violation is the parent or guardian, or otherwise responsible for the care or supervision of the person under the age of 18 or the incompetent person, such person shall be sentenced to not less than three years or more than 20 years.

More details . . .
This proposed new law also requires you to provide full assistance in investigating, apprehending, and prosecuting drug law offenders who are personally known to you. This could involve working undercover and wearing a wire to entrap and convict friends, family members, and neighbors.
This law, as with so many others, is constructed in such a way that it can be justified as a measure to protect children, which includes anyone under the age of majority, including many college students. It also ensnares the private activities of parents related to substances like marijuana. The government considers parents who smoke pot in the privacy of their bedroom after hours a serious threat, whereas Senators and Congresspersons who drink large amounts of alcohol in front of their children in the light of day, are not.
Examples of activities that could force you to inform orface the risk of prison time:
You see a joint passed to a college student. Call the police immediately.
Your child has a substance-abuse problem and begs someone else to acquire drugs. You cannot deal with this as a family matter, or in a drug-treatment setting. You must inform on both of them.
Your hear someone say they bought Ecstasy to share with College age friends. Report this within 24 hours or risk prosecution.
Your sister, who has kids, mentions that she bought some pot to share with her husband. Inform on your sister or risk prison time.Is this the kind of America you want to live in? If not, please ask your elected representatives to oppose this Bill before it's too late.