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HB 78 Makes State Parks Funding Permanent
The Texas Sporting Goods Sales Tax was created to fund Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD)– not to be used for other purposes at the whim of the legislature. But both House and Senate appropriations committees are poised to carve out $92 million from the sporting good sales tax to do just that. This can be fixed now! The Budget Conference Committee can correct this error before the budget is ultimately finalized. If your Senator or Rep is on the Conference Committee, ask him or her to fully fund state parks. Additionally, House Bill 78 by Representative Ryan Gullien has been filed to fix this glitch so that the $92 million can be recovered and bring TWPD funding up to its full level. HB 78 will be heard by the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday, May 4. Please contact your reps immediately and tell them you support Texas State Parks. In addition to developing and maintaining our priceless State Parks, TPWD provides Recreational Trails funding for trails all over the state, including rail-to-trail corridors such as Caprock Canyons, Mineral Wells, and the proposed 130-mile long Northeast Texas Trail from near McKinney though Paris to near Texarkana. This valuable work should be supported by our legislature, not curtailed through choking off funding. Here’s what you can do to support Texas State Parks:
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We’ve found the following format to be useful when contacting elected officials:
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Thank you for speaking up for state parks funding in Texas! One more way to help–please share this with any bike, trail, or park groups you may be part of, plus all of your friends who love Texas State Parks. Let’s let the lege know Texans want great parks!
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