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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Red River Boundary Compact of 2000 set the |
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boundary between Texas and Oklahoma at the vegetation line on the |
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south bank of the Red River, with the exception of the Texoma area, |
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where the boundary is established pursuant to procedures outlined |
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in the agreement; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2013, the United States Bureau of Land Management |
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began developing a resource management plan for the use of land |
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along a 116-mile stretch of the Red River; it claims that as many as |
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90,000 acres in Texas may actually be part of federal lands and |
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would therefore be public land under a 1923 Supreme Court ruling; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Many Texas residents have held title to this land |
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for generations, and they have been paying property taxes on the |
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land while cultivating and maintaining it; the boundary between the |
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states was settled in 2000 for legal jurisdiction, when the U.S. |
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Congress ratified the compact, but now, confusion over the boundary |
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threatens the value of this privately owned land and makes it |
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difficult for property owners to make informed decisions concerning |
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its disposition and their livelihoods; and |
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WHEREAS, Private property rights are the bedrock of a free |
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society, and the actions of the Bureau of Land Management with |
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regard to land covered by the Red River Boundary Compact are an |
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egregious example of federal overreach; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to direct the |
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Bureau of Land Management to affirm the provisions of the Red River |
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Boundary Compact and to acknowledge that the vegetation line on the |
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south bank of the Red River forms the boundary between Oklahoma and |
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Texas; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, to |
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the director of the United States Bureau of Land Management, to the |
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president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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Springer |
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Stucky |
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Gonzales of Williamson |
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______________________________ |
______________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.C.R. No. 30 was adopted by the House on April |
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13, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, 2 present, not |
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voting. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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I certify that H.C.R. No. 30 was adopted by the Senate on May |
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19, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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______________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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APPROVED: __________________ |
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Date |
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__________________ |
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Governor |