Perhaps the greatest act of the Texas Legislature in recent yearss was the walkout in 2003 of House Democrats who fled to Oklahoma to stop a quorum and Republican-favored redistricting. It was only too bad the Republicans only tried to track down the Dems and did not follow them across the state line. Oklahomans — instead of Texans — could have then had the worst legislature that money can buy.
So am I trying to say the Texas Legislature is for sale? I don’t have to. All you need to do is read this latest report from my friends at Texans for Public Justice. The latest in their “Watch Your Assets” report chronicles how a gusher of political contributions from oil tycoon and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens found their way to state lawmakers. This time, however, the booty isn’t being spread around because of oil. No, the contributions are for water. And who said water and oil don’t mix?
Pickens has for several years now set his sights on mining water from the Olagalla Aquifer — which is a huge underground water source in the Great Plains extending all the way from South Dakota down to the Texas Panhandle — and shipping it some 320 miles via pipeline to Dallas. So what’s wrong with that, you might ask, especially if you live in the D-FW Metroplex? Well, Pickens has taken advantage of recent legislation passed by those he so generously showered with moolah which would allow him and several people who bought land from him and make their living off Pickens to form a water district over the 8-square-mile area Pickens and these people own. The district, according to TPJ, would have the power to raise cheap money using tax-free bonds as well as have land condemned through eminent domain along the pipeline’s right-of-way many miles beyond the water district’s boundaries.
The TPJ report is very illuminating. It spells out just how valuable an asset water has become (and will become) as well as the implications facing millions of Texans who could one day have their home taken away by some small, greedy entity hundreds of miles away. If you are a Texan and don’t think that such an issue matters, just ask some of the people in Arlington, Texas, whose homes were grabbed to make way for a new Dallas Cowboys stadium. And lest we not forget, there were the people whose land was taken so the George W. Bush-run Texas Rangers baseball team would have a new home which is now called the Ballpark in Arlington.
Folks better start paying attention to these things before the sheriff comes dragging you out of your house in the name of progress. That is, if you care about such matters.