CAA BLOG

US SENATE

March 1, 2011: Commerce, Science and Transportation
Full committee hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2012 budget requests.

TEXAS SENATE

March 1, 2011: Senate Finance
SB 1 General Appropriations Bill, to consider Article VII, Business and Economic Development – including appropriations for Department of Transportation.

March 3, 2011: Senate Finance
SB 1 General Appropriations Bill, to consider Article VI, Natural Resources – appropriations for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality including Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP) and Low-Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Retirement Program (LIRAP).

TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 28, 2011: Business and Industry Committee
HB 362 (regulation of solar devices)

March 2, 2011: Transportation Committee
HB 630 (expedite environmental review related to transportation projects)
HB 442 (overweight permits by TxDOT)
HB 441 (commercial vehicle fees)

SB 19 — Relating to the development, financing, construction, and operation of toll projects. The link to the full bill is attached.

SB 814 — Relating to the deposit and use of certain revenue received by TxDOT and MPOs from certain transportation projects or systems. Changes the use of surplus revenue to pay the costs of a transportation project from “within a district” to “in the region which the toll project or system is located”. Also considers CDA revenue local funds. And certain MPOs (with two adjacent counties of 1 million or more in population) shall determine the distribution of funds within the region in which a project is located.

HB 1577— Requires a regional tollway authority is subject to review under the Texas Sunset Act by September 1, 2013 as if it were a state agency but may not be abolished under that chapter.

HB 1636 — Relating to certain financial requirements of regional tollway authorities. They will now be subject to an annual audit and be required to keep electronic checking account transaction records among other items.

HB 1669 — Relating to the establishment of an electric motor vehicle mileage fee pilot program by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. The department by rule shall establish and implement a statewide pilot program to assess owners of electric motor vehicles a vehicle mileage fee that is based on the number of miles traveled on public roads in this state by those motor vehicles.  The pilot program must require all electric motor vehicles registered in this state to be subject to the mileage fee.

HB 1724 — Relating to economically driven mobility projects. Creates an account consisting of revenue received from projects financed under this section. TxDOT will develop a process and criteria for project selection as well as a project application process for local transportation planning entities, including municipalities, counties, MPOs and toll project entities. Revenue from projects financed under this section must be deposited to the credit of the economically driven mobility project account. 

HB 1742/SB 888 — Relating to the authority of a regional transportation authority to create a local government corporation. Adds “a regional transportation authority” to the definition of local government.

Rep. Larry Phillips of Sherman, TX is named  Chair of House Transportation Committee

Other North Texas area members of the transportation committee include, Irving's Linda Harper-Brown and Dallas's Yvonne Davis.

Never before has a conference been offered to Texas real estate appraisers where they can coordinate their lobbying efforts for the good of the profession, network with each other, and gain valuable education experiences and credits. Everyone can contribute…and benefit…from the experience.

GOALS/PURPOSE:

• To lobby legislators regarding appraisal issues.

• To promote the Appraisal Institute, FACT and its members.

• To raise funds for FACTPAC.

• To be offered every other year during the Texas Legislative session, so that real estate appraisers become a “presence” in Austin.

DATES:

Tuesday, April 5 and Wednesday, April 6, 2011

LOCATION:

Embassy Suites Hotel Austin Central, 5901 North IH 35, Austin, TX, 78723

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE:

• Tuesday, April 5

o Education Programs (8:00am – 12:00pm)

o Lunch (12:00 – 1:00pm)

o Lobbying Training (1:00 – 5:00pm)

• Wednesday, April 6

o Lobby Legislators (8:00am – 12:30pm).

o Lunch (12:30-1:30pm)

o Education Programs (1:30-5:30pm)

Attention Fuzzy's Fans - Fuzzy's Taco Shop is now open in Rowlett!

The new location is at 3801 Lakeview Parkway (SH 66) adjacent to the northeast corner of Rowlett Parkway and SH 66.

For those new to Fuzzy's here is a link to the menu

http://www.fuzzystacoshop.com/FuzzysTacoShopMenu.htm

Enjoy!

WASHINGTON, D.C.  - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that a general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will continue through August 27, 2010. During the sign-up period, farmers and ranchers may offer eligible land for CRP's competitive general sign-up at their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office.

The 2008 Farm Bill authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 32 million acres. Jim Miller, Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services, made the announcement on behalf of Secretary Vilsack during a conference call with reporters.

"America's farmers and ranchers play an important role in improving our environment, and for nearly 25 years, CRP has helped this nation build sound conservation practices that preserve the soil, clean our water, and restore habitat for wildlife," said Miller. "Today’s announcement will help us create a greener and healthier America, and I encourage all interested farmers and ranchers to contact their local FSA office to learn more how to take advantage of this opportunity.”

To help ensure that interested farmers and ranchers are aware of the sign-up period, USDA has signed partnership agreements with several conservation and wildlife organizations, which will play an active role in USDA’s 2010 CRP outreach efforts. Additionally, Secretary Vilsack has recorded two public service announcements, which are available to the press and public at www.fsa.usda.gov/psa.

CRP is a voluntary program that assists farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers to use their environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. Producers enrolling in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers in exchange for rental payments, cost-share, and technical assistance. CRP protects millions of acres of America's topsoil from erosion and is designed to improve the nation's natural resources base. Participants voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production by entering into long-term contracts for 10 to 15 years. In exchange, participants receive annual rental payments and a payment of up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing conservation practices. 

By reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP also protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, making the program a major contributor to wildlife population increases in many parts of the country. As a result, CRP has provided significant opportunities for hunting and fishing on private lands. 

Land currently not enrolled in CRP may be offered in this sign-up provided all eligibility requirements are met. Additionally, current CRP participants with contracts expiring this fall covering about 4.5 million acres may make new contract offers. Contracts awarded under this sign-up are scheduled to become effective Oct. 1, 2010. 

FSA implements CRP on behalf of Commodity Credit Corporation. FSA will evaluate and rank eligible CRP offers using an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) for environmental benefits to be gained from enrolling the land in CRP. The EBI consists of five environmental factors (wildlife, water, soil, air and enduring benefits) and cost. Decisions on the EBI cutoff will be made after the sign-up ends and after analyzing the EBI data of all the offers.

Those who would have met previous sign-up EBI thresholds are not guaranteed a contract under this sign-up. In addition to the general sign-up, CRP's continuous sign-up program will be ongoing. Continuous acres represent the most environmentally desirable and sensitive land. For more information, visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/crp.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).