Legislative Update

MRF E-MAIL NEWS
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002-4980
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
http://www.mrf.org (website)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Hennie, MRF Vice-President of Government Relations
jeff@mrf.org (e-mail)

July 29, 2005

#05NR19 - 109th United States Congress Passes Highway Bill, Landmark Victory for Motorcyclists

The US Congress voted today to enact HR 3, the highway bill. The final version that was passed out of conference committee and eventually out of both bodies of Congress contains all of the motorcycle provisions the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), State Motorcycle Rights Organizations (SMRO) and many individuals have lobbied for over the past two years. The MRF thanks every SMRO, and individual motorcyclist who came to DC to lobby, made phone calls and sent comments to advocate for this important legislation. This milestone would not have been reached without your support.

The powerful Alaskan Congressional delegation deserves credit for the inclusion of the motorcycle language. The MRF thanks Representative Don Young (R-AK) for his promise to keep the motorcycle language in the final version of the bill, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for her dedication to the motorcycling community and Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) for his tireless defense of motorcyclists. The MRF would also like to thank ABATE of Alaska for maintaining positive relationships with their federal elected officials. Without the first name basis relationships that ABATE of AK has with their elected officials, this victory might not have been.

"Motorcyclists are an important part of the traveling public and it's about time Congress helped out." stated Senator Lisa Murkowski, "I'm convinced education is the best way to increase safety and decrease accidents. I think this turned out to be a great bill for bikers; we both defeated universal helmet laws, and did something that will really be productive. I was glad to be a part of it, and I want to thank MRF, and especially Boyd McFail and my friends at ABATE of Alaska, for the support that made it happen."

The multi-year surface transportation legislation will infuse much-needed funds into the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges and at the same time address traffic congestion, mass transit systems, and highway safety. The reauthorization language marks several highlights for motorcycle safety. Title II, section 2010 implements a grant program for motorcycle safety training and awareness programs making available $25 million dollars through 2009. The grants, none less than $100,000 per year, per state, will be available to individual states.

Another monumental victory for motorcyclists can be found under Title I of the bill. Where section 1914 calls for the formation of an advisory council to advise the Federal Highway Administrator on how the small signature of motorcycles must be considered when designing roads, bridges and barriers.


The 1,681-page bill makes no mention of helmet requirements of any kind.

In the 108th Congress, transportation reauthorization bills passed in both houses of Congress by overwhelming margins, only to stall in conference over funding issues. This year, a similar deadlock caused difficulties in conference talks that began after the House passed its version of the bill in March and the Senate followed suit in May.


A breakthrough came earlier this month when conference leaders hammered out a framework for distributing funds to states while keeping the total cost of the bill down to a range the White House would accept.

Under the final bill, by fiscal 2008 every state would receive at least 92 cents for highway projects from each dollar the state contributes to the Highway Trust Fund. Under current law, states receive a minimum of 90.5 cents. The donor states, which contribute more in taxes than they get back in highway funds, originally demanded a minimum of 95 cents on the dollar.

Speaker of the House, J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who seldom votes and rarely addresses the House chamber, came to the House floor to express his desire to see work come to an end and to recognize the bi-partisan efforts that made this legislation possible. Hastert: “This bill is a result of people working together”

The Congress also passed the eleventh extension, funding current programs until August 14th. The extension is needed to give the White House time to review the sweeping measure before signing it into public law.

"Motorcyclists have been contributing to the federal trust fund that finances the highway bill as long as motorists have and until now, have been largely neglected." said Jeff Hennie MRF Vice President of Government Relations. "Motorcyclists have once again proved well organized grassroots activism works. This bill not only aids the efforts of the individual states but will ultimately save lives of motorcyclists across the country."



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HR 3045 CAFTA

It would appear that Tom DeLay’s effort got the desired results last night. He said he wanted Republican in office who would support the goals of president Bush and all of them from Texas jumped onboard CAFTA immediately.
For those who may not have watched the proceedings last night it was typical Washington politics.
First off they voted to change the rules and allow only one hour of debate on each side. Normally a Trade Agreement gets ten hours on each side. Texas Congressmen were given an extraordinary number of speakers on both sides of the issue. One Democrat stated that a Republican leader had said “We are going to twist arms until they are broken into a thousand pieces.”
The president made a rare appearance to the House Chambers yesterday to push for Aye votes. Vice President Cheney and Whip Tom DeLay spent the entire day twisting arms in one on one conversations with Republicans.
Some of the points touted by proponents were that CAFTA would create thousands of jobs in the United States as our exports to these five Central American Countries would increase drastically. The opposition reported that the GNP of each of these countries was about $80 million, about the same as Tampa Florida and surrounding areas. The average worker makes about $800 per year. How many American products can they afford.
Another point was that the environment would have protections not now in effect in these countries. The rebuttal was that International Corporations in these countries could sue if new environmental rules cut into their profits. The usual Pros and Cons were bantered back and forth and what it finally boiled down to was that these countries are impoverished and it is the responsibility of the United States to improve their economy by sharing technology and funding the necessary improvements to make them self sustaining. However opponents called it a handout to the wealthy for the wealthy as it has no improvement for workers income or working conditions.
There are rules but if a country does nor enforce these very minimal rules they can be fined but that fine goes to the GOVERNMENT THAT DOES NOT ENFORCE THE RULES. That should teach them a lesson.
The vote was a real nail biter especially for the Republican leadership. The 15 minute vote was extended to 1 hour and 32 minutes as undecided Republicans were squeezed to vote yes. Finally with 8 Republicans not yet voting it came down to their votes would decide the fate of the Bill. With two still remaining to vote the Chair quickly gaveled the vote to an end as they realized those two votes would probably result in a tie, killing the Bill. HR 3045 has gone to the president for his signature. Of course it will be signed and we can expect FTAA to follow. IT will take a while to determine the full extent of good or damage this 3000 page Bill will bring.
The final vote was 217 – 215, 26 Republicans crossed Party lines to vote no, 15 Democrats crossed Party lines to vote yes. Two Republicans did not vote as the Chair gaveled the vote to an end.

The School Finance Bill HB 2 and the Tax Bill HB 3 were both defeated on the House Floor on Tuesday and they adjourned until Thursday.
We spent the day Wednesday, after our Lab work, watching C-Span as the Leaders set the stage for passage of CAFTA. The trade actions of China that cause the large trade deficit with the United States is of grave importance to the country. Many said we should be working on that rather than CAFTA.
Congressman Thomas came up with HR 3283 to supposedly help with the US-China Trade Policies in an effort to gain votes for CAFTA. The Resolution was voted on and failed. It was brought back up again with rules put into place forbidding any Amendments in an attempt to guarantee passage on the second time around without any changes.
The problem with HR 3283 is that it does not cover anything that is not already covered by law thus it makes no changes in US-China Trade Policies. Terri said that is just smoke and mirrors. I disagree if there is any honesty or humanity in those who voted for this Resolution they couold not stand to look into a mirror while they vote.

Next issue up was to pass a Resolution encouraging the provisional govt. of Iraq to give Iraqi women Equal Rights. What a waste of time. There is no way that is going to happen and they full well know it.

With that little wasted time we get down to the nitty gritty. The CAFTA Bill will be heard on the House Floor tonight. A few of the Pork Barrel projects to gain votes were discussed this evening. You can watch the discussion and vote tonight on C-Span. We are not certain of the time. If you wish to sopend some time reading the Bill go to www.c-span.org We will probably learn tonight whether the phone calls did any good.
I know Tom DeLay will vote in favor. He has done everything possible to ruin Texas.

Do phone calls work? Yesterday when the vote on HB 3 came up Jim Pitts had to admit that he had made a mistake. He didn’t say that in so many words. He surprised everyone by saying he had received 1000 calls from his constituents opposing HR 3 so he was voting with his constituents. That should remind us to make the calls before the damage is done. Thankfully we get another shot at another Tax Bill.

Brothers and sisters we have a major problem now. Taking immediate action on this issue and having everyone you know do the same is the most important thing you will ever do in your life.
The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will be voted on in Congress next Wednesday or Thursday.
This agreement if accepted will create an organization much the same as the European Union. It will take away our standing as a sovereign nation and we will be governed by a Sovereign Americas Government.
Get off your ass, read the damned thing and then act !!

The Bush Administration has told Republican leaders to offer whatever it takes to senators to get a yes vote. We must let our congressman hear from everyone we can possibly contact in Texas.
.These Congressmen have already agreed to vote YES
Gather a bunch of riders and go by their local offices and raise Hell. Then call them in Washington
Joe Barton R Ennis 202-225-2002
Henry Bonilla R San Antonio 202-225-4511
Kevin Brady R The Woodlands 202-225-4901
John Carter R Georgetown 202-225-3864
Michael Conaway R Midland 202-225-3605
Tom DeLay R Sugar Land 202-225-5951
Jeb Hensarling R Dallas 202-225-3484
Sam Johnson R Plano
Randy Neugebauer R Lubbock 202-225-4005
Pete Sessions R Dallas 202-225-2231
Lamar Smith R San Antonio 202-225-4236
Leaning YES

John Culberson R Houston 202-225-2571
Louis Gohmert R Tyler 202-225-3035
Kay Granger R Ft. Worth 202-225-5071

Note nearly all the new congressmen have signed on quickly. Remember the goal was to send Republicans to DC that would support the goals of president bush. Looks like we’ll all pay for not working to stop it.

NO VOTE
RON PAUL R CLUTE 202-225-2831

Contact these other congressmen and urge them to vote no. If you have a cell phone the calls will cost you nothing. If you don’t have a cell phone call all 32 congressmen and contact this office. I will gladly send you the $1 it may cost.

Michael Burgess R Flower Mound 202-225-7772
Henry Cuellar D Laredo 202-225-1640
Lloyd Doggett D Austin 202-225-4865
Chet Edwards D Waco 202-225-6105
Charles Gonzales D San Antonio 202-225-3236
Al Green D Houston 202-225-2947
Gene Green D Houston 202-225-1688
Ralph Hall R Rockwall 202-225-6673
Ruben Hinojosa D Mercedes 202-225-2531
Sheila Jackson-Lee D Houston 202-225-3816
Eddie Bernice Johnson D Dallas 202-225-8885
Ken Marchant R Coppell 202-225-6605
Michael McCall R Austin 202-225-2401
Solomon Ortiz Jr. D Corpus Christi 202-225-7742
Ted Poe R Humble 202-225-6565
Silvestre Reyes D El Paso 202-225-4831
William Thornberry R Clarendon 202-225-3706

Tell these people not to sell out our country to foreign powers. A road, bridge or them getting invited to ride on Air Force One or dine in the Whitehouse is worth the cost. DO THIS IMMEDIATELY!!! IF WE FAIL ON THIS WE LOSE IT ALL!!!

House Speaker Craddick has decided there is no possibility of losing the vote on HB 2 and HB 3 this time. Both Bills were brought up and sent to the appropriate committees on Thursday. Speaker Craddick then changed them to go to Select Committees after they had been assigned. That means that he gets to hand pick the members of the House to hear the Bills. In each case he chose the same five Republicans who sat on the Conference Committees during the 1st special called session. With Reps. Grusendorf and Jim Keffer chairing the committees they quickly passed out each Bill the same way they passed out of conference earlier this month without any public hearing.
Don’ t it make you wonder why it takes so long to move something the public wants and yet they can move quickly when big law firms, utility and insurance companies have something on the table. This says a lot about who our Reps are representing.

Not so for the senate. Despite the fact that they moved House Bill 2 out of committee in just a few minutes after adjournment on Thursday with no public input they did at least move their Bill from last go around and didn’t bother with HB 3. I guess we will see how many of them listened to the impassioned plea from Senator Whitmire Wednesday night to stand fast for the educators and for education. It didn’t appear that many were listening as they stood around in groups laughing at whatever was attracting their attention. They paid even less attention when Senator Barrientos drew their attention to all the six figure salary lobbyist sitting there representing big business and asked who is lobbying for the working man. He then pointed out that they were supposed to be watching out for us. Apparently some listened but unfortunately Lt. Governor Dewhurst wasn’t among them.

On the Federal level things didn’t go much better yesterday. The Congress voted 257-171 to reauthorize most of the Patriot Act. All but two provisions were mad permanent and the two most controversial parts were given a ten year Sunset Provision. Hell that sounds permanent enough to permanently destroy a lot of our Liberty. Only six Texas Congressmen, Cuellar, Doggett, Jackson-Lee, E.B. Johnson, Ron Paul and Al Green voted against the Reauthorization and Congressman Hinojosa did not vote. They all know that if terrorist want to hit Texas they will have no problem at all coming across the Mexico border, planting timed or remote controlled bombs and be back in Mexico before they detonate. If a man would trade one RIGHT for IMAGINED SAFETY that man deserves neither liberty or safety.. You are all familiar with that saying and who said it. To bad most of those Texans in Congress did not study American History or the Constitution.
Hopefully Texans in the Senate will pay more attention to both. That of course will be up to us to bring them to their attention. Get busy now.
Brothers and Sisters we are in for a long bumpy political ride at least until the next election. If we are still stuck with a lot of those Texans from both Parties currently holding State & Federal offices then I guess we get what we deserve But of course that is just my personal opinion.
Footnote: I guess Governor Rick Perry feels confident as well. It has been reported that he is back on his overseas junket being paid for by someone who wants to get his attention.
Sputnik

The final day of the 1st special called session was scheduled to begin in the senate at 11:00am. It actually began at almost noon. After consideration of CSHB1the senate recessed until 2:30pm.
We dropped by Senator Seliger’s office to chat a bit and were told that they would go back on the Floor at 2:30pm and the Lt. Governor would arrive about 3:15pm and recess until 6 at which time they would have the votes to move csHB 2. Asked about a filibuster Senator Seliger said he had heard rumors about a filibuster but he didn’t think it would happen. We left there prepared to sit through the upcoming filibuster until midnight. They finally reconvened and had a one vote majority to bring csHB3 to the Floor.
Senator Shapiro laid out the Bill and then the questions began. Sprinkled with Parliamentary Inquiries. Senator Barrientos, Austin Dist. 14, began serious opposition by making a Point of Order. After several minutes the Point of Order was denied. Senator Shapleigh, El Paso Dist 29 resumed the questioning of the Bill. Senator West, Dist 23 Dallas and Senator Gallegos Houston Dist. 6 both made Parliamentary Inquiries. At 8:15pm Senator Gallegos offered a six prong Point of Order at which time the Senate recessed until 8:30 pm to give the Parliamentarian time to research each prong. They didn’t come back to order until nearly 9:30pm.
Senator Shapiro, Plano dist.8, made a motion to pass csHB 2 and at which point Senator Whitmire, Dist 15 Houston, was recognized to speak against the Bill. The die was cast and Senator Whitmire would have to stand at his desk mike in hand and talk continuously against the Bill for the next 2 ½ hours stopping only to answer questions. The aforementioned senators joined by Senator Lucio, Dist 27 Brownsville and Senator Van De Putte, San Antonio Dist 26, aided Senator Whitmire by asking questions. Senator Fraser, Dist 24 Horseshoe Bay, tried once to break the filibuster and failed.
Later Senator Brimermade a Parliamentary Inquiry concerning the proper composure of a senator during a filibuster. When told the rules he draped himself across his desk and ask the President “then what do you call this?” He did not even receive an answer as the President gave the Floor back to Senator Whitmire.
During his filibuster Senator Whitmire very eloquently laid out points of csHB3 that were good and points that were bad. He gave the very most thorough explanation of the Bill we have heard during this past six months. He said quite simply that the Senate started a good Bill and could do even better but must stand fast for what is right and give educators an opportunity to express their concerns rather than pass an 800 page committee report out at 3:00am one morning and expect it to be passed the next day without being read.
Finally Senator Gallegos asked a Parliamentary Inquiry into the correct time and was told it was Midnight. Senator Whitmire then asked that the senate adjourn Sine Die and at 12:04am it was over.

The governor knowing the Bills were not going to pass had already announced to the press that he was calling another special session starting in ten hours. Nearly $2,000,000 and thirty days and not one Bill was signed. This process is a very difficult task and one that requires total concentration to the job at hand. Some very good legislators were put on the spot by the leadership this session. The personal failures may well be the fault of over zealous men at the top on ego trips with no reason to have any ego at all.
We spoke with severl legislators from both sides of the aisle This special session just may well return the legislators to the job at hand and have them join together to push those leaders aside and do what is right as we know them capable of doing.
A note of interest: Lt. Governor Dewhurst started the session then turned the gavel over to Senator Armbrister and left the room. He returned in time to gavel the meeting into adjourning Sine Die. I have ideas about someone who would abdicate his role as leader at such a crucial time but the are my own personal opinions.
Going to grab a bite to eat, take a bath and shave, grab a nap and head back that way in a few hours for another 30 days.

Ride Free,
Sputnik

Quick rundown on HB 3:

Of course you can go to www.capitol.state.tx.us and type in hb3 or hb2 to read all versions of the Bills. To give you a rundown on what was in the tax bill, HB3.
The House passed a Bill that included:

(1) A one cent increase in Sales Tax and spread it to several more issues including mechanic work, bottled water, computer programming etc….
(2) Include more small businesses in the Franchise Tax.
(3) A cut in the property tax cap to $1.30.
(4) A $1 a pack tax on cigarettes and smaller tax increases on other tobacco products.

The Legislative Budget Board issued a financial summary stating that based on income there would be an incremental increased financial loss to those earning less than $100,000 with a small gain to them and a larger savings to those earning $140,000 or more. In other words the middle income and low wage earner would pay increased taxes while upper income earners would realize a tax savings.

The Senate Finance Committee offered CSHB3 containing:

(1) A ½ cent Sales Tax increase covering the same items.
(2) Included major partnerships in the Business Tax.
(3) A cut in the property tax to $1.25 the first year and $1.11 the second year if approved by the districts voters.
(4) A $.50 tax on cigarettes the first year increasing to $1.00 the second year plus a 20% increase in alcohol tax.
Both the Governor and the House Speaker said they would not accept making large partnerships pay the business tax.
When the Substitute Bill came to the Senate Floor Senators Janek and Brimer were chosen to be the hatchet men for the governor to remove #2 from the Bill. While arguing the Amendment to remove the section (2) Senator Brimer said in his opinion anyone who pays a business franchise tax is a fool. Senator Shapiro let him know that her business pays the franchise tax because she feels everyone should pay their fair share. Senator Ogden stated that removing that section would gut the entire Bill. Lt. Governor Dewhurst said big partnerships should pay a business tax.
When it came to a vote the vote was 14-14. Mr., Dewhurst broke the tie by voting yes to remove big partnerships from paying a share of the taxes throwing it back to legislators to find another way to make up the lost revenue.
Senator Barrientos offered an amendment to increase the Homestead exemption to $30,000 from $15,000 arguing this would give a better break to low income families. The amendment passed. The Bill was passed and sent back to the House. The senate said they would not accept more than a ½ cent sales tax increase.

The House refused to concur and the Bill was sent to conference Committee. It came out with a ¾ cent sales tax increase and decreased the homestead exemption to $22,500 to make up for the lost revenue from cutting the partnership business tax. It included the full $1 per pack tax on cigarettes and dropped the alcohol tax. The property tax cap for operation and maintenance would be $1.30. Now we had gone from aiming to cut the property tax cap to $0.75 to ending up at a $1.30 cap.
Senator Barrientos once again explained how adding 4 cents to the property tax cap and increasing the homestead exemption to $30,000 would mean a bigger savings to the average home owner and remain tax neutral. It was refused. WE will get this fact sheet up on the websites and you can see them for yourself.
Monday the leadership did not have enough votes to bring either HB 2 or HB 3 to the Floor. After twisting arms all day the senate adjourned until 11:00am Tuesday. Tuesday after a full day of standing at Ease and Recessing they finally adjourned until 10:00am today which is the final day of the Special Session. The 30 days and $1,700,000 was a total loss. Unless something unforeseen happens nothing will have been accomplished but spending money that could have been used elsewhere. We did this same thing last session.
There is a quick rundown on what is happening. Governor Perry has said he will call them back into another Special Session on Thursday and do it over again.
For now your chairman has to answer all the Emails and catch a very short nap before getting ready to head back to the capitol for the final day of this round.
Read the Bills and if you disagree with this summation let me know.
Later,

Sputnik

We have come down to the wire and everyone at the top of the pecking order are selling out the average Texan to allow big businesses to not pay the franchise tax. This whole bullshit Bill is the brainchild of Rick Perry and Speaker Craddick.
Our own Senator Gonzalo Barrientos is standing firm with his back to the wall. If all else fails I believe he is prepared to Filibuster against the BIll in an attempt to kill HB 3 and make them start over again. Will he win? Probably not in the long run but they will know they have been through a fight.
The senate will reconvene at 11:00am this morning and the clock will be ticking. Your chairman will stand proudly with Gonzalo through midnight Wednesday to force another session. If you believe a man deserves support for standing up for right you might call or Fax his office this morning to let him know you support hisv stand.
512-463-0114 Fax 512-463-5949
If you are able to drop by the capitol at any time this afternoon come to the Senate Gallery and let him know he has support.
Pass this on.

--
Sputnik
State Chair

Saturday, August 13, 2005

District Advisors Meeting @ State Office

The Advisor Meeting will be on Saturday August 13th at the State Office.

Agenda

CALL TO ORDER 1:00pm

iNVOCATION
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE
REPORTS
SPECIAL SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
CAMPAIGNS (possible targets)give this some thought between now & then
PARTY CONVENTIONS FOR 2006
OPEN FLOOR as time permits
ADJOURN
--
Sputnik
State Chair

HB 3, the House Tax Bill has passed third reading and is ready to be sent to the Senate. Proponents claim this as the biggest property tax decrease in history. Opponents point out that it will be a tax decrease for those making over $100,000 per year and a large tax increase for the middle class. The opponents are correct. It is of course a long Bill with two very noticeable tax increases for the common man. The tax on a pack of cigarettes will be raised by about 350% to $1.41 per pack. The state will also set a Value Base on used vehicles. If you pay more than the value base you will be charged sales taxes on that amount. If you pay less than the Value Base you will be charged sales tax on the State Value Base unless you can show through a dealer or a certified appraiser that the true value is less than the Value Base.
The sales tax would be raised by one cent and would include several items not currently covered such as mechanic work, bottled water etc…
There was a lot of arm twisting by the Republican bosses to make sure this Bill passed on third reading as there was only one vote margin of victory on second reading. We are hopeful that we can get the recorded votes on second and third readings to show just what took place.
There were many impassioned speeches asking the powers that be to kill this Bill and pass one that would be fair to the middle class worker and small business to no avail. There was a very disheartening action took place during this vote. Rep. Jim Pitts of Waco had signed an agreement with Rep Dawnna Dukes who was going on vacation. If the vote came up while Rep Dukes was out of town Rep Pitts would not vote thereby canceling out her missed vote. The agreement was notarized and filed with the House clerk but is not binding. Jim went back on his word and voted yes. Immediately following the vote Jim told the press a man has to do what he has to do. Whether that was his intention all along or not, whether it was a binding agreement or not a man is only as good as his word. Despite the support we have received since 1995 I feel he can no longer be trusted.
This issue is not settled as the Senate has said they will not accept HB 2 or HB 3 as passed. It would be fitting that Jim’s treachery go for naught.

Signed agreement between Rep. Jim Pitts and Rep. Dawnna Dukes

The House Tax Bill passed 2nd reading today by a vote of 73 Ayes to 72 Nays. Four Democrats were absent for the vote. If they return for third reading tomorrow and vote against the Bill the Special Session will end with nothing done on Education and tax again. For the third time.
Sput

Yesterday HJR 19 passed out of committee by unanimous vote. Today HJR 9, HJR 10 and a substitute for SB 62 also passed out of committee in the senate by unanimous vote.
While I believe this issue should be addressed by a constitutional amendment I also think that given the time limitation HB 62 as substituted is the best way at the present time.HB 62 can take effect in the next two weeks whereas a constitutional amendment could not even be settled until the November election.The Substitute for HB 62 should be up on line in a couple of days. We will send it out as soon as we can get a copy of it.
These past two days have been the best two days we have seen during the past three sessions. Everyone felt the need of doing something about this issue and want to get the best protection for the citizens of Texas as soon as possible.
Sputnik

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WARRIORS
This weekend we celebrated our 14th birthday. Thanks to the Martin’s for the use of their facilities for this party. Thanks also for the use of the Magic Bus during our stay and coffee delivered to our door each morning. These fine folks are extremely helpful and go out of their way to make you feel at home. Beautiful Lake Boudreaux gave those in attendance a fine place to cool off during the heat of the day.
Thanks to the Tri-County Chapter for providing a great party for this important day. Those folks went all out to make everything come out just right. Plenty of food and refreshments for everyone.
This was also the time for those whose renewal is due in July to renew. We received 29 renewals (12 of which came from the Lubbock BoozeFighters) and five new members. For those who haven’t renewed their July membership it is time to get it done. We need these renewals as soon as possible to try to figure a budget for 2006. Sold a few shirts and the Revvv won the 50/50 and donated his half of $159 back to the association. Thanks my Brother. We are sending Jan $ 1227 from the weekend.

Now down to some serious politics:
IN response to the recent Supreme Court Ruling HJR 19 has been introduced to stop cities from taking private property for Economical Development. This resolution is to be heard today, July 5th, at 1:00pm.
SJR 9 and SJR 10 are senate versions of the same issue and they will both be heard tomorrow in the Senate State Affairs Committee. What we need immediately are lots of calls to the governor’s office telling him that this is a very important issue and should be added to the Special Session immediately.
Call 512-463-2000 to make your request and pass this message on to everyone you have an address for. Don’t delay!! This is too important an issue to allow it to slip through our fingers. Your chairman will attend both these hearings and report the outcome immediately. It doesn’t matter whether it passes unless the governor puts it on the agenda for this Special Session.