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“2009 Legislative Session News – March 5, 2009
Rick Gammon, Parliamentarian
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The 81st Legislative Session is well under way, and the West Texas JPCA has been well
represented. Judge David Cobos of Midland County has been a continuing force for both
West Texas and the State, as has Charles Hall, also of Midland County. Many members
of WTJPCA have also dug in to fight SB 320 and its House companion, HB 29, regarding
qualifications for JP’s – both have been successfully suppressed to this point, thanks
largely to Judge Cobos and all of you who made telephone calls and/or sent faxes and e-
mails, flooding the offices of Senator Wentworth, Representative Leibowitz, and many
other House and Senate members. Many of us have received the synopses regarding
actions on these bills, so I’ll spare the discussion here.
I have also made two trips to the Capitol so far this session, one for JPCA Day on
February 25th, as well as earlier this week in support of HB 805, a modification of
definitions in the Transportation Code to allow Constables and other law enforcement
agency heads to designate personally-owned vehicles as police vehicles. My appearance
was requested by the author of the bill, Representative Chente Quintanilla of El Paso,
through the JPCA, and I responded. In short, the issue came about last session in 2007;
apparently, modifications made then to the Transportation Code had the unintended effect
of barring the installation of police markings on personally-owned vehicles. This
particularly affected the ability of Constables from smaller counties, where county-owned
vehicles are not provided to Constables, from carrying out all of their lawfully mandated
duties. Thus, Rep. Quintanilla filed the bill on behalf of those affected. After House
Transportation Committee testimony, it appears likely that Rep. Quintanilla will file a
substitute bill to address concerns that traffic stops be made only in marked vehicles and
also regarding toll booths in Harris County, and this bill should then pass. If necessary, I
will again go to Austin to fight for all of us on this bill, so stay tuned.
Also coming before the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee soon is HB
1069, regarding private process servers. This is the bill we warned you about; take a
look at it on the Capitol website, and get ready to fire away at committee members. A
copy of my prepared statement is available HERE ; yours can be short and sweet.
In closing, let me just say that I encourage each and every JP and Constable in West
Texas to join the West Texas JPCA and the statewide JPCA; without strong membership,
we cannot continue to fight so hard in the Capitol. Judge Cobos, Constable Ron Hickman
from Harris County, Constable Larry Gallardo from Hidalgo County, and Constable Bruce
Elfant from Travis County are mainstays at the Capitol—let’s back them up and show
them that we truly appreciate their efforts on our behalf.
Current member or not, if you are not receiving regular e-mail updates regarding JP and
Constable bills in the Legislature, write to the following addresses and get on their mailing
lists:
Kirsha Haverlah, Constable Clerk for Constable Bruce Elfant’s office: kirsha.haverlah@co.
travis.tx.us
Jim Hansen, Justice of the Peace from Lubbock County: jhansen@co.lubbock.tx.us
Melba Crutcher, Justice of the Peace from Yoakum County and current President-Elect of
WTJPCA: MCrutcher@YoakumCounty.org
David Cobos, Justice of the Peace from Midland County: david_cobos@co.midland.tx.us
That’s all for now...will keep you posted here.
Rick”
Rick Gammon, Parliamentarian
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The 81st Legislative Session is well under way, and the West Texas JPCA has been well
represented. Judge David Cobos of Midland County has been a continuing force for both
West Texas and the State, as has Charles Hall, also of Midland County. Many members
of WTJPCA have also dug in to fight SB 320 and its House companion, HB 29, regarding
qualifications for JP’s – both have been successfully suppressed to this point, thanks
largely to Judge Cobos and all of you who made telephone calls and/or sent faxes and e-
mails, flooding the offices of Senator Wentworth, Representative Leibowitz, and many
other House and Senate members. Many of us have received the synopses regarding
actions on these bills, so I’ll spare the discussion here.
I have also made two trips to the Capitol so far this session, one for JPCA Day on
February 25th, as well as earlier this week in support of HB 805, a modification of
definitions in the Transportation Code to allow Constables and other law enforcement
agency heads to designate personally-owned vehicles as police vehicles. My appearance
was requested by the author of the bill, Representative Chente Quintanilla of El Paso,
through the JPCA, and I responded. In short, the issue came about last session in 2007;
apparently, modifications made then to the Transportation Code had the unintended effect
of barring the installation of police markings on personally-owned vehicles. This
particularly affected the ability of Constables from smaller counties, where county-owned
vehicles are not provided to Constables, from carrying out all of their lawfully mandated
duties. Thus, Rep. Quintanilla filed the bill on behalf of those affected. After House
Transportation Committee testimony, it appears likely that Rep. Quintanilla will file a
substitute bill to address concerns that traffic stops be made only in marked vehicles and
also regarding toll booths in Harris County, and this bill should then pass. If necessary, I
will again go to Austin to fight for all of us on this bill, so stay tuned.
Also coming before the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee soon is HB
1069, regarding private process servers. This is the bill we warned you about; take a
look at it on the Capitol website, and get ready to fire away at committee members. A
copy of my prepared statement is available HERE ; yours can be short and sweet.
In closing, let me just say that I encourage each and every JP and Constable in West
Texas to join the West Texas JPCA and the statewide JPCA; without strong membership,
we cannot continue to fight so hard in the Capitol. Judge Cobos, Constable Ron Hickman
from Harris County, Constable Larry Gallardo from Hidalgo County, and Constable Bruce
Elfant from Travis County are mainstays at the Capitol—let’s back them up and show
them that we truly appreciate their efforts on our behalf.
Current member or not, if you are not receiving regular e-mail updates regarding JP and
Constable bills in the Legislature, write to the following addresses and get on their mailing
lists:
Kirsha Haverlah, Constable Clerk for Constable Bruce Elfant’s office: kirsha.haverlah@co.
travis.tx.us
Jim Hansen, Justice of the Peace from Lubbock County: jhansen@co.lubbock.tx.us
Melba Crutcher, Justice of the Peace from Yoakum County and current President-Elect of
WTJPCA: MCrutcher@YoakumCounty.org
David Cobos, Justice of the Peace from Midland County: david_cobos@co.midland.tx.us
That’s all for now...will keep you posted here.
Rick”
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