Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HR1955 Compare Versions

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1	1	82R28027 BPG-D
2	2	By: Chisum, Craddick, Lewis, Gallego, Perry H.R. No. 1955
3	3
4	4
5	5	R E S O L U T I O N
6	6	WHEREAS, The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has
7	7	proposed granting endangered species status to the dunes sagebrush
8	8	lizard, a measure that would have a significant negative impact on
9	9	the Lone Star State; and
10	10	WHEREAS, The business climate in Texas has been consistently
11	11	ranked as the nation's best, and the oil and gas sector is crucial
12	12	to its continued vitality; Texas is the nation's leading producer
13	13	of oil and natural gas, and it holds 30 percent of the nation's
14	14	natural gas reserves and almost a quarter of its oil reserves; the
15	15	oil and gas industry contributes $30 billion annually to the Texas
16	16	economy and employs more than 315,000 Texans at some of the highest
17	17	salaries in the state; and
18	18	WHEREAS, Despite its resilience, the Texas economy has not
19	19	been immune to the global economic recession; there have been
20	20	significant job losses over the past two years, and recently high
21	21	gas prices have posed new challenges; the Fish and Wildlife Service
22	22	failed to take these factors into account in its proposal to grant
23	23	endangered species status to the dunes sagebrush lizard in
24	24	southeastern New Mexico and adjacent oil-producing areas of West
25	25	Texas; and
26	26	WHEREAS, In addition, the service has failed to consider that
27	27	approximately 75,000 acres identified as habitat for the lizard are
28	28	owned and managed by The University of Texas for the benefit of
29	29	higher education; university officials have estimated that the
30	30	listing could stop the drilling of approximately 1,000 oil and gas
31	31	wells and eliminate the production of seven million barrels of oil
32	32	equivalent annually; and
33	33	WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature and the Texas Parks and
34	34	Wildlife Department have traditionally recognized the private
35	35	landowner as the primary steward of our state's natural resources,
36	36	but the Fish and Wildlife Service has not adequately consulted with
37	37	the State of Texas, Texas landowners, or other stakeholders;
38	38	moreover, the service has failed to fully consider issues unique to
39	39	species protection and habitat conservation in Texas; and
40	40	WHEREAS, Listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered
41	41	species would inflict severe economic damage, harm property owners,
42	42	and undermine higher education in the Lone Star State; now,
43	43	therefore, be it
44	44	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
45	45	Legislature hereby respectfully urge the United States Fish and
46	46	Wildlife Service to withdraw its proposal to list the dunes
47	47	sagebrush lizard under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and, be
48	48	it further
49	49	RESOLVED, That the house of representatives direct the
50	50	agencies of the State of Texas to cooperate with the efforts of the
51	51	Texas Endangered Species Task Force to investigate the scientific
52	52	basis of the proposed listing and the potential burdens on private
53	53	property rights and economic development in the state; and, be it
54	54	further
55	55	RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the Texas House of
56	56	Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the
57	57	president of the United States, the acting director of the U.S. Fish
58	58	and Wildlife Service, the president of the Senate and the speaker of
59	59	the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and all
60	60	the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request
61	61	that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
62	62	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.