CENTRAL TEXAS (KXXV) — Waco’s State Representative Pat Curry got a lot of Central Texans talking when he filed a bill to get rid of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
25 News talked to him and he says it was intended to get their attention, which it did, so he has put that bill on hold for now.
House Bill 4938 reads it would abolish TPWD, or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Representative Curry says it wouldn't have abolished it, just directed the duties to other agencies like game wardens, water safety and law enforcement to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
"Nothing would have been eliminated — I’m a parks and wildlife guy, I’m a hunter and a fisherman," Curry said.
"I just don’t like it when they’re making laws with their rules stomping on land owner rights and small business rights.”
He claims the TPWD made rules relating to chronic wasting disease which affects deer and he says those rules infringed upon land owner rights.
"Don’t make rules that stomp on rights of land owners and businesses and I said please many many times, then I filed the bill," Curry said.
The bill got many neighbors in Central Texas talking.
"As a Texas sheriff, I am 100 against this bill — our TPWD is a vital arm of Texas law enforcement," Bosque County Sheriff Trace Hendricks said on Facebook.
The bill prompted the Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller to say his department could take on responsibilities of TPWD if it were dissolved.
25 News reached out to the TPWD, and the agency sent a statement saying in part:
“We are proud of the role our agency plays in serving the people of Texas and managing our state’s land and waters.”
Curry says since filing the bill, he’s had productive talks with the TPWD and he has put the bill on the back burner for now.
"It did get a lot of attention and I don’t intend to work the bill right now," Curry said.
"I think they’re going to work well with me now on these issues. ”
This topic is all part of HB 10, which would work to make sure agencies aren’t overstepping their boundaries when it comes to rules and regulations.
