HB 2856 Would Eliminate TWRA

[Paula Begley]

I just got an email from my lobbyist friend (who is a hunter and fisherman himself...so of the good ilk of lobbyists ) and he told me that "twra added a $16 million fiscal note in loss of federal funds that would result from the change." He doesn't think it stands a chance of passage. He'll continue to watch and keep us informed.

Paula

[Byron Begley]

Joe McCord is our State Representative and a friend of Paula and I. She and I were the first two people to sign his petition when he decided to run for office. Joe is a fly fisherman, hunter and TU member of our chapter. He is chairman of the committee and a supporter of TWRA. However, Borchert is the Vice-Chairman of the Committee and a supporter of this bill. Paula sent Joe an e-mail and I can't wait to hear what he has to say.

Byron

[ijsouth]

Byron:

If you get a chance, ask your representative to ask the sponsor of this bill to show him some proof of this sudden demand for "oversight". Chances are, she won't be able to provide any. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this Nashville representative wasn't really the impetus behind this bill. Follow the money - I wouldn't be shocked if it was written by an attorney for another state agency, one that can see the potential windfall of license money.

A long, LONG time ago, I worked for the state of Louisiana. Our agency had an attorney who drafted legislation for us. The one instance in which I was familiar, a representative was found from another area of the state to sponsor one of our bills. When he argued for the merits of the bill in committee, he had no idea what he was talking about, and neither did any of the opponents of the bill. How could they - they didn't write it!

[Paula Begley]

If the bill was drafted by an attorney, that attorney needs to be fired. Evidently, there are some problems with the drafting that need to be addressed.

Paula

[Byron Begley]

ijsouth,

Recently our legislature voted on a "Private Act" dealing with bear hunting in the Cherokee National Forest. A representative from West Tennessee voted in favor of the act. After the vote she was interviewed by the press. She said she didn't even know you could hunt bears in Tennessee. She didn't know what she voted for. That's one reason we need an agency and not leave it up to the legislature to enact hunting and fishing regulations. We need experts, not politicians making those decisions. Again, this will take us back into the early 20th century. Not good! I think you and the girls need to move to Tennessee. We could use you up here.

Byron

[ijsouth]

Byron...believe me, at times I wish I could. I will say this, though - it does look like Louisiana has a chance to clean up its act...let's hope so - it's the last chance, I think.

[Paula Begley]

Rep Bill Dunn gets high marks for responding to an email from a member of this board!

Good job, Rep Dunn!

Paula

[Gerry Romer]

Don't know if anyone else saw this, but....

Near the end of the text of this "bill", there's a little gem hidden that doesn't appear to have anything to do with hunting or fishing. It may, however, have something to do with the wildlife of the youth of the great state of Tennessee.Anybody got any ideas on this one??


"SECTION 7. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon the effective
date of this act all duties, responsibilities, and functions of the state board of education are

hereby transferred to the department of education."

Gerry

[Paula Begley]

Gerry

That was explained away by the bill sponsor as a mistake in the wording that would be "cleared up later."

Paula

[kytroutman]

I sent an email yesterday to Rep. Jones and the co-sponsors of the HB. I received an email back from Rep. Eddie Yokley that he had his name removed as one of the sponsors. Let's hope more realize the mistakes with this piece of legislation.