The Aransas Pass Progress (Aransas Pass, Tex.), Vol. 107, No. 1, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 6, 2016 Page: 4 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Aransas Pass Progress and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library.
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The Aransas Pass Progress
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Page 4
Texas sues EPA over new ozone standards
AUSTIN — The State of Texas and
the Texas Commission on Environ-
mental Quality on Dec. 23 filed a law-
suit against the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency over its new ozone
standards rule.
Eight other states have filed separate
lawsuits against the new rule: Arizo-
na, Arkansas, Kentucky, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, North Dakota, Utah and
Wisconsin.
On Dec. 28, Texas Attorney Gener-
al Ken Paxton explained his reasoning
for states taking legal action, saying the
EPA “has lowered the ozone standard
placed on states to a level that is inap-
propriate and unrealistic and is based
on flawed science” and the changes to
the National Ambient Air Quality Stan-
dard would impose a serious financial
burden on the Texas economy for dubi-
ous public health benefit.
“Areas of the country that fail to
comply with these impossible standards
will be subject to costly new regula-
tions that will harm our economy and
kill jobs,” Paxton said, adding: “Texas
ed 12 tornadoes were confirmed within
a matter of hours in the North Texas
region in the afternoon and evening of
Dec. 26, and 11 deaths were attribut-
ed to those tornadoes. In calendar year
2015, the NWS reported 76 tornadoes
in North and Central Texas, the most on
record since the agency began keeping
detailed records of tornadoes in 1950.
In other disaster-related news, on
Dec. 24, Abbott announced the Federal
Emergency Management Agency had
granted his request for 16 counties af-
fected by severe weather in October.
Those counties include: Bastrop,
Bosque, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe,
Hays, Hidalgo, Hill, Jasper, Liberty, Na-
varro, Newton, Travis, Walker, Willacy
and Wilson.
will work diligently to protect Texans
from scams perpetrated by those who
look to take advantage of our citizens in
these unfortunate circumstances. The
loss of lives as a result of these deadly
storms is a tragedy for our state, and
our thoughts and prayers are with the
victims and their families,” Paxton said.
Under state law, once the gover-
nor issues a declaration, vendors are
prohibited from charging exorbitant
prices for necessities such as drinking
water, food, batteries, generators, tow-
ing, clothing, medicine, lodging, repair
work and fuel during and after the cri-
sis, Paxton added.
as an engineer aide in the Austin Dis-
trict while earning his bachelor’s degree
in accounting at the University of Texas
at Austin. In November 1999, Bass was
selected as finance division director of
TxDOT before becoming chief finan-
cial officer.
Capital
Highlights
a
by Ed Sterling
?
has proven that we can reduce ambient
ozone concentrations without stifling
growth, and my office will continue to
defend our state from the EPA’s harmful
and overreaching regulations.”
Agency approves projects
The Texas Transportation Com-
mission, at its December meeting, ap-
proved 34 roadway improvement proj-
ects using Proposition 1 funding.
Proposition 1, approved last Novem-
ber by Texas voters, dedicates a portion
of oil and gas tax revenue to the state
highway fund.
Commissioners so far have ap-
proved final contract awards on 165 of
more than 200 planned Proposition 1
projects across the state. The projects,
totaling more than $520 million worth
of roadway construction, rehabilitation
and restoration, will enhance the safety,
mobility and connectivity in our state,
the agency stated in a Dec. 23 news re-
lease.
Disaster is proclaimed
Gov. Greg Abbott on Dec. 27 certi-
fied that the severe winter weather and
tornadoes that began on Dec. 26 caused
a disaster in Collin, Dallas, Ellis and
Rockwall counties.
Abbott declared a disaster in those
counties, and in doing so, authorized
the use of “all available resources of
state government and of political subdi-
visions that are reasonably necessary to
cope with this disaster.”
The National Weather Service report-
New TxDOT chief named
The Texas Transportation Commis-
sion on Dec. 17 announced its selection
of James Bass as the Texas Department
of Transportation’s new executive direc-
tor, effective Jan. 1.
Bass has been serving as the agency’s
chief financial officer since 2005. He be-
gan his TxDOT career in 1985, working
summers in the Fort Worth District and
AG issues scam warning
Attorney General Paxton on Dec. 28
cautioned Texans “to be aware of disas-
ter scams in the wake of a disaster dec-
laration in four North Texas counties.”
“As our communities work to rebuild
and recover from the storms, my office
Released for 2016 interim
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availability of natural resources,
including water, necessary to
operate the industries; and the
mitigation of and preparation
for potential future hazards to
the industries caused by natural
disaster, drought, or disease.
2. Determine the sources
of water used by Texans in the
production of food and fiber,
and examine current water de-
livery methods and water con-
servation goals for agricultural
use. Evaluate whether there
are more efficient and effective
water-usage management prac-
tices that could be employed in
the agricultural industry, and
determine the impact of crop
insurance requirements on pro-
ducers. (Joint charge with the
House Committee on Natural
Resources)
3. Evaluate ways in which
Texas can continue to promote
our domestic agricultural prod-
ucts, across the nation and in-
ternationally, and to strengthen
our state’s international ties for
the purpose of exporting Tex-
as food and fiber. (Joint charge
with the House Committee on
International Trade & Intergov-
ernmental Affairs)
4. Study the impacts of wind-
blown trash on agriculture and
ranching.
5. Study the appraisal of ag-
ricultural land for taxation and
related issues, including the
change-of-use “rollback” pro-
vision. Examine the impact of
the current appraisal system of
agricultural land for taxation on
rural economic development.
the role of tolled roads in pro-
viding congestion relief given
recent transportation funding
measures approved by the Leg-
islature.
3. Review the state’s statutory
and budgetary requirements for
design-build contracts, includ-
ing cost and quantity restric-
tions, and consider the effect of
removing those restrictions.
4. Review the functions of
all departments in the Texas
Department of Transportation
related to alternative modes of
transportation and make rec-
ommendations to improve their
efficiency.
If you would like to follow
the Texas House and learn more
information on news, commit-
tees or other aspects of the leg-
islative body, you can access its
website at http://www.house.
state.tx.us/. The site features
live streaming from committee
hearings as well as access to a
number of other resources. You
can also follow the Texas Senate
at http://www.senate.state.tx.us/
. For important information re-
garding transportation in the
state, feel free to visit the Texas
Department of Transportation’s
website at http://www.txdot.
gov/ . The Texas General Land
Office’s website can be found
at http://www.glo.texas.gov/ ,
while the Texas Railroad Com-
mission’s website is located at
http://www.rrc.state.tx.us.
If you have questions re-
garding any of the information
mentioned in this week’s arti-
cle, please do not hesitate to call
my Capitol or District Office.
Please always feel free to contact
my office if you have any ques-
tions or issues regarding a Texas
state agency, or if you would like
to contact my office regarding
constituent services. As always,
my offices are available at any
time to assist with questions,
concerns or comments (Capitol
Office, 512-463-0672; District
Office, 361-949-4603).
Rep. Hunter represents Nuec-
es County (Part). He can be
contacted at todd.hunter@house.
state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
By Rep. Todd Hunter
Y
I wanted to take this op-
portunity to discuss some of
the recently announced in-
terim charges that have been
announced for the 2016 in-
terim. As you may know, the
Texas Legislature meets during
odd-number years for 140 days.
While the governor may call a
special session or sessions, the
interim is a critical part of the
process that determines some of
the agenda for the next upcom-
ing session. The Speaker of the
House, Joe Straus, has released
a list of interim committee
charges for the standing com-
mittees of the Texas House of
Representatives. These charges
can range from new ideas or
concepts to also examining
some of the measures that were
not fully realized in the previous
session.
In this week’s article, I will
feature some of the committee
charges as well as what agenda
items will be up for discussion.
I will be featuring some of the
topics that will get posted for
discussion moving forward. If
you would like to look at a com-
plete list of the interim agenda
items, please visit: http://www.
house, state. tx.us/_media/pdf/
interim-charges-84th.pdf
Below is some information
about some key aspects relat-
ed to the topics outlined in the
Speaker’s 84th Texas Legislative
Interim Charges. I hope in the
coming weeks to feature some
details about these charges,
as well as the related agendas.
More information will become
available in the future.
Here are some examples
of charges given to the House
committees as well as what will
be discussed during the interim:
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Staff
Live smart, happy,
healthy in 2016
Editor & Publisher
Brittney Hall
editor@aransaspassprogress. com
Advertising
John D. Bowers
advertising@amnsaspasspmgress.com
Reporter
Jesica Parsley
jparsley@aransaspassprogress.net
could be a myriad of hobbies.
Enjoy your life.
Have a plan.
Work toward something.
Have something to look forward
to. Involve your mind in a project
or projects that keep you focused
each day on moving forward to-
ward accomplishing something.
This could be as easy as cleaning
out the garage or making a quilt.
Have something you are doing
today and tomorrow.
Stay bright on the inside.
Don’t be negative or bitter
about life. Allow yourself to
laugh. Enjoy some humor along
the way.
Embrace real relationships.
You need a friend or two.
Close relationships whether
they are family or friends give
us real people to share life with.
You probably aren’t going to
find these on social media. Be
careful of too many because a
person of too many friends will
soon come to ruin.
Always vote.
Sounds out of place in this
column but it’s a major factor in
bringing about community and
society change, which impacts
your life greatly.
There is never one silver bul-
let for making our lives happy.
We can’t depend on the govern-
ment or even people to make us
happy. We have to take respon-
sibility for ourselves and do the
best we can with the lives we
have been handed.
Glenn Mollette is an Ameri-
can Syndicated Columnist and
Author. He is the author of 11
books and read in all 50 states.
This column does not necessarily
reflect the view of any organiza-
tion, institution or this paper or
media source. Like his facebook
page at https:/Zwww.facebook.
com/GlennMollette.
By Glenn Mollette
Hello, 2016.
Each year, we set resolutions.
Many years, we break those res-
olutions. Maybe you haven’t set
any resolutions at all.
Regardless, here are a few
things you might want to con-
sider trying and living by as we
embark on this New Year of
possibilities.
Learn new skills.
Education and training are a
part of life. Do not embrace the
“I am stuck” mentality. You can
teach old dogs new tricks. Edu-
cation does not necessarily mean
college although it may. There
are many trades you can learn
today via self-study. Community
college and vocational schools
also offer a lot of learning oppor-
tunities you can complete in less
than a year. Keep learning.
Live healthy.
A long life is never guaran-
teed no matter what we do. We
can at least do our part by not
being stupid. Daily activity and
cutting back on food portions
are important. Eliminate smok-
ing and drink only in modera-
tion. Halloween through New
Year’s is a big health mess up
period for many. So now is the
time to beware.
Save money.
This is very difficult to do if
you are living on a meager in-
come. Even putting a few dol-
lars away each week or month
might save you when an emer-
gency arises. Having a little
money on hand to pay cash
for something instead of using
credit will be a relief.
Live enjoyably.
Allow yourself to do some-
thing every day that you can re-
ally get into. This maybe simply
reading, listening to music or
Bookkeeping
Melissa Welborn
bookkeeping@aransaspassprogress.com
Circulation
Michael Hembree
Contributors
Richard Gonzales
Annita West
The Aransas Pass Progress
(USPS 028-900) is published
weekly by Granite Pub-
lishing Partners Inc., 346 S.
Houston St., Aransas Pass,
Texas 78336. Second Class
postage paid at Aransas
Pass, TX. Postmaster: Send
address changes to The
Aransas Pass Progress, P.O.
Box 2100 Aransas Pass, TX
78335.
House Committee on
Transportation
1. Study the Texas Depart-
ment of Transportation’s role
in responding to natural di-
sasters, specifically reviewing
contraflow lane plans for major
routes and technology that can
minimize evacuation and travel
times.
House Committee on
Agriculture & Livestock
1. Evaluate policy challeng-
es to the state’s agriculture and
livestock industry, including
long-term impacts of price de-
clines in oil and natural gas; the
2. Examine the current
framework for designating a
project as a tolled road. Consid-
er ways to reduce or eliminate
Subscription
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of Commerce.
Aransas Pass Progress
346 S. Houston • PO Box 2100
Aransas Pass,TX 78336
rates:
2016 big for political campaigns
By Rep. J. M. Lozano
Republicans alike will cast their
ballots for whom they think
should represent their parties in
the November Elections. Histor-
ically, candidates that gain mo-
mentum early, go on to win the
nomination.
Closer to home, Texas will
have its primary on March 1,
which is also called “Super Tues-
day.” It is so named because on
that day 13 states will hold their
primaries. Texas, however, is
important because we have the
most delegates up for grabs that
day. We are also the diverse state
and the first of the most-pop-
ulous states to hold a primary.
Moreover, if no candidate wins
a majority of the votes, a runoff
will be held between the top two
candidates on May 24.
And it’s not just the Presi-
dential election that’s important
on Super Tuesday. Many state,
county and local offices will be
on your primary ballot, meaning
that your vote will impact how
your state and local government
is served. For more information
on the upcoming elections, you
should visit www.votetexas.gov.
This upcoming year, 2016, is
sure to be a big year for politi-
cal campaigns. We are about a
month away from the country’s
first political race, the Iowa Cau-
cuses.
Shortly after that follows the
New Hampshire Primary. Po-
litical observers note these races
because they are the first time
voters get to weigh in on the
Presidential race.
With no incumbent at the
top of the ticket, Democrats and
Phone: 361-758-5391
Fax: 361-758-5393
www.aransaspassprogress.com
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Hall, Brittney. The Aransas Pass Progress (Aransas Pass, Tex.), Vol. 107, No. 1, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 6, 2016, newspaper, January 6, 2016; Aransas Pass, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1143082/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library.