Gov. Perry's re-discovered reluctance to fully fund Texas state parks is drawing a reaction, wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram yesterday:
Charles Harkless, president of the Texas BASS Federation Nation, said most anglers would rather have their money go to parks improvements than rebates. Of greater concern to anglers is the neglected parks system and a state government that has taken money originally meant for parks and used it for other purposes, he said.
"There is concern that boat ramps need repairs, the bathrooms need repairs. ... Fishermen don't mind paying money for the parks service," said Harkless, contacted during a fishing tournament in Louisiana.
Meanwhile, Perry's aides try to "clarify" what he said last week:
"What the governor was saying was ... that the money that a tax brings in should not drive budget decisions," [Perry spokesman Robert] Black said. "Budget decisions should be driven by how much a state agency needs. ... We're going to have a debate during the legislative process, and the parks department needs to justify" its needs.
Where has Mr. Black been for the last few months? The needs of the parks system have been laid out in detail by Perry's own appointees to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, and their appointees to the State Parks Advisory Board, whose report came out last summer.
[Director of the Texas Coalition for Conservation, George] Bristol, who is also a member of the State Parks Advisory Board, said that panel heard testimony on numerous occasions from department officials who outlined where the extra money would go. "We felt comfortable that not only did they need the money, but that they could spend it wisely and in a fiscally prudent fashion," Bristol said.
Meanwhile, the number of co-authors of state Rep. Hilderbran's bill to fully fund Texas Parks (HB6) is up to 74. Counting Hilderbran himself, that is now exactly one-half of the Texas House. According to the Houston Chronicle's outdoors columnist, two years ago, a very similar bill from Hilderbran received the support of a mere 10 Texas House members.
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