I previously emailed Rep. Farrar about House Bill 1062. She pushed for similar legislation two years ago, and got stomped by the distributers lobby. She left a comment hinting she was going to introduce a more feasible bill, but didn’t offer the details.
I ran into Brock Wagner soon thereafter. He had just met with Rep. Farrar in Austin and gave me the details. There are particulars that the the enormous distributers lobby complain about. Those pieces needed to be minimized if the legislation is to have a chance. She was going to introduce different legislation that had a better chance of surviving.
I’ve been so busy working on a new job that I missed the introduction of the new bill, HB2094. Charles Kuffner had mention of it on his blog, but I missed that too.
It seems it was scheduled for a public hearing the day after St. Patrick’s Day. I haven’t yet heard how that went. I don’t think that newspapers pay attention to government anymore.
I have heard through the grapevine that the hearing for HB 2094 went well. The bill is now pending in committee, so it’s up to the committee chair to bring it up for a vote there, after which it will hopefully make it to the House floor.
Bill – You can watch the testimony beginning at the 54 minute mark at this link (you need Real Player):
http://www.house.state.tx.us/fx/av/committee81/90318a22.ram