First Call to Action for the '09 Texas Legislative Session

I know that the 2009 Texas legislative session has just started, but there is one bill that needs to be stopped in its tracks, right now. This particular bill is so bad that we do not want it to even receive a hearing in committee.

The bill is HB 736 (.pdf). HB 736 is a bill "Relating to authorizing county regulation of nuisances and disorderly conduct".

This verbiage from the bill should be enough to get pretty much anyone on board with opposing it:

Sec.A236.002. NUISANCE.

The commissioners court of a county by order may:

(1)abate and remove a nuisance and punish by fine the person responsible for the nuisance;

(2)define and declare what constitutes a nuisance and authorize and direct the summary abatement of the nuisance; and...

It gets even worse:

(b)The commissioners court of a county by order may:

(1)suppress or prevent any riot, affray, noise, disturbance, or disorderly assembly in any public or private place in the county;

(2)restrain or prohibit any amusement or practice tending to annoy persons passing on a street or sidewalk...

The entire bill is written like that. It can not be "fixed", it must be stopped.

The passage of this bill will result in the closure of firing ranges. Do you like to fly RC airplanes on your country property? This bill will allow your neighbors to shut you down. Anything that you do that your neighbors may consider a "nuisance" can become a crime.

This bill puts way too much power and authority into the hands of the commissioners court.

This bill was introduced by Representative Chente Quintanilla of El Paso.

Please contact Rep. Quintanilla and ask him to reconsider his sponsorship of this bill, then contact your representative and ask that they oppose it.

Go here to keep track of HB 736.