Senate Bill 1964

On March 10, 2017 Sen. Creighton, District 4, filed S.B. 1964 which would allow the Texas A&M board to “use or lease land in Jones State Forest for the construction of buildings or improvements for multipurpose uses, including academic, research, and private commercial uses”.

Concerns

  • This bill would allow for the private commercial use of Jones State Forest, which is used by the larger community for both educational and recreational purposes. The park is also home to a large population of the red-cockaded woodpecker, a federally listed endangered species.
  • The bill is broad with no limits to the amount of land that can be used or who may use it. It also clearly opens up the land for for-profit use.​
  • ​​​Ownership of Jones State Forest is not clear. The deed to the property ownership to the State of Texas for the use by the college. The law should not be amended until ownership is established. 
  • Development of the land poses significant risk of environmental damage, flooding, loss of wildlife, loss of community space, increased traffic congestion, and uncontrolled development. This type of action is unprecedented and could potentially open the door to development in other Texas state forests.

Updates

 Sen. Creighton has made a public commitment to add language to "...protect 100% of the of the forest from being used by the University for anything other than its current use" and "prevent any changes to be made without public approval". However, the initial amendment to SB 1964 he has proposed does not include these provisions.

Save Jones State Forest has drafted a proposed amendment that would protect 100% of the forest and limit future use to the original intent of the forest.

Sen. Creighton has introduce new proposed language: "
  • (a) For the purpose of this section, the "Jones State Forest" means the real property owned by the state for the use and benefit of The Texas A&M University System to demonstrate reforestation work under the Texas A&M Forest Service, consisting of approximately 1,733 acres in Montgomery County, and formally dedicated and named the William Goodrich Jones State Forest.
  • (b) The entire territory of the Jones State Forest must remain natural, scenic, undeveloped, and open. No statute, rule, policy, or ordinance may be enforced with respect to the territory of the Jones State Forest, other than a statute, rule, policy, or ordinance that respects and preserves the natural resources, air quality, or water quality of the Jones State Forest."
The community should comment on his Facebook page.

A public hearing for SB 1964 was held on April 26 at 9:00 am at the Texas State Capital in Austin, TX. The amended bill was passed by the Higher Education committee on May 3. Sen. Creighton has agreed to amend the bill with the correct acreage and define the term "open" before it is voted on by the Senate.

On May 17, 2017 SB 1964 was passed by the Texas Senate; however, the final day for public hearing by the House committee on Higher Education was May 18th. The request for public hearing was not submitted until May 19th. SB 1964 will not move forward in this legislature. 

Timeline

3/10/2017    S.B. 1964 is Introduced
3/27/2017    Bill Moves to the Senate Committee on Higher Education
3/27/2017    Sen. Creighton Releases a Statement
  • http://www.senate.texas.gov/members/d04/press/en/p20170327a.pdf
  • Statement indicates that the bill was made at the request of Texas A&M’s request to use 5-10% of the park for educational purposes. However, the text of the bill, which includes “private commercial use” and no limit to the % of land to be used or by whom, does not reflect the request.
  • Use of 10% of the park would open 172 acres up for development by Texas A&M, enough for a campus. In fact, the West Texas A&M campus is 176 acres and currently enrolls 9,641 students.
3/28/2017    Sen. Creighton Suggests Changes to the Bill 3/29/2017 Statement from Texas A&M 4/4/2017 In a public statement Sen. Creighton commits to protects to protecting 100% of the forest. 4/8/2017 Proposed amendment to S.B. 1964 released by Sen. Creighton
  • https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2uebmRxyCpmWG1zVVQyQ2ZLVkE
  • New language does not specify protections for 100% of the forest, nor does it place any specific limitations on development. It only states that "The board shall preserve and protect the natural, scenic, and open-space values of Jones State Forest and shall assure its availability for forest, recreational, or open-space use."
  • Open-space use is not defined and has been previously used as a loophole. 
4/9/2017 Save Jones State Forest Hosts a Community Meeting 4/21/2017 Public Hearing is scheduled for April 26 at 9:00am in Austin. ​4/21/2017 Sen. Creighton Proposes New Language
  • Proposed Amendment
  • The community should comment on his Facebook page.
  • New language proposed protections for "the entire territory of the Jones State Forest" and states that it must remain "natural, scenic, undeveloped, and open".
​​4/26/2017 Public Hearing Held
  • Sen. Creighton formally introduced his amendment to SB 1964
  • Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs was questioned regarding the Texas A&M's intent.
  • Many community members testified in support of protecting the forest.
  • Hearing Archive Video
​​4/28/2017 SJSF Thanks Sen. Creighton and recommends changes to strengthen the language.  ​​5/2/2017 With the bill amended from the original language allowing for commercial development of the forest, the Change.org petition was closed.
  • SJSF does not endorse the amended bill, though individual members may chose to public support or oppose the bill.
  • SJSF continues to support protection of 100% the forest against development beyond its current use and encourages community members to provide feedback to Sen. Creighton.
5/2/2017 Sen. Creighton agreed to amend the bill further by updating the acreage and defining the word "open".
  • He is also considering recommendations to define the use and benefit of the forest as "for all Texans" and replacing the term "reforestation" with "demonstration of conservation-minded, science-based practices"
5/3/2017 Texas Senate Committee on Higher Education voted on and passed the bill as amended on 4/26/2017.
  • Sen. Creighton has committed to updating the bill revised language before the Senate votes.
5/17/2017 SB 1964 passed by the Texas Senate5/19/2017 Referred to House Committee on Higher Education, will not move forward.
  • Deadline for requesting a public hearing in the House Committee on Higher Education was 5/18/2017. The request was submitted on 5/19/2017, effectively killing the bill.
  • Texas A&M University has been entrusted the stewardship of the forest, not the development of its economic potential.

Track S.B. 1964
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