Most of the parks are self sustaining,it is called the Texas PARKS and wildlife dept.for a reason. When you buy a license it's known in advance what you are paying for. The problem is the diversion of monies to the General fund which has NOTHING to do with state parks or hunting and fishing. I can't be any more clear than that.

Originally Posted By: rifleman
Or quit funding dumb projects,

Tell us more about these dumb projects their funding and the diversion of funds from TPWD?

Most of the parks are self sustaining,it is called the Texas PARKS and wildlife dept.for a reason. When you buy a license it's known in advance what you are paying for. The problem is the diversion of monies to the General fund which has NOTHING to do with state parks or hunting and fishing. I can't be any more clear than that.

Have Rick Perry, alias Pretty Boy with No Brains, reimburse the state for his failed presidential campaign that ended up costing the citizens of Texas about $400,000.00/day. That would make a dent in helping save the state parks.

then there are ramps around lakes (inside parks) that they let go to crap and refuse offers from the private sector to do something with them to make them more appealing (and usable). The thing is when the majority of folks buy a license, they do so because it's required to hunt or fish, not because it's going to benefit public enjoyment of anything.

The way this could be easily fixed is that letter need to go out to corporations like Bechtal, Exxon, Shell, Etc. They need to be given a break on there franchise tax for the state of Texas. Only thing this depends on is if Perry is even making these major corporations pay a franchise tax in Texas anymore. This goes back to the tax or not to tax corporations. In my belief if you do not tax these corporations heavily then you have 0 leverage for them to help the community in which they do business. I dont think they should pay more but it has been proven time and time again if they get major tax breaks they just take the money and run instead of reinvesting it back into there community or company. IMO

Also kills me that gas goes up 1 cent a gallon per day since the first of the year freaking amaziing. Man it must be hard making a record profit every quarter for 12 years. Tough business

Every time the price of oil goes up the state rakes in more money, same with natural gas.

Yep, all that state pay at the pump fuel tax money for road construction/repairs is diverted also. = more toll road fees (hidden tax). Then bond out road funds for the grandkids to pay P+I on. Centra Spain & Zachary are getting rich of tax payer backs while our GK go in deeper debt. Rob the Disabled & Homeless Veterans $2 Lottery funds while you are at it.

http://www.texasobserver.org/media/k2/audio/tax-divert_kut.MP3

The truth is that for the 2012-2013 biennium, the sporting goods sales tax is expected to raise $250 million. Of that, only $53.1 million will go to the parks, and another $22 million will be spent on beach erosion. The rest, $175.9 million, is being raided from the parks fund to “balance” the State budget. Instead of raising new revenues or closing corporate tax loopholes, and while they were bragging about balancing the budget with “no new taxes,” legislators sent our parks, our state treasure, out begging for change.

There are countless other “tax and switch” examples like this in our state budget. Dedicated funds such as the gas tax, which is supposed to fund road construction, and the System Benefit Fund, which was created to help poor elderly and disabled Texans with their electric bills, are surreptitiously diverted away from their intended use. This is deceptive and deceitful to the people of Texas. Instead of (or in addition to) donating money to the TPWD, I urge you to contact your State legislators and tell them to quit the shenanigans and come clean about our state budget.

http://www.texasfirstfoundation.com/2012/01/budget-shenanigans-hurt-our-state-parks/

I worked at TPWD when the switch was made from a tax on tobacco to one on outdoor equipment to fund agency operations (not just parks.) It was mostly Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock's idea - he figured tobacco sales would decline as time went by and outdoor equip sales would increase. He was right, but as has been pointed out the Legislature has been stingy with what was intended to fund the parks.

There is a misconception that license fees fund the parks. Revenue from hunting and fishing licenses, boat registration fees, etc go into Account 009 which is used to fund wildlife management, fisheries, law enforcement, water safety and related activities. A bunch of federal dollars - nearly $40 million in 2011 - also go into Account 9. The problem with Account 9 is NOT that it gets diverted to other activities - it's that the Legislature doesn't spend all of it so they can claim they've balanced the state budget.

It's shameful that we do such a poor job in maintaining our parks system, and reduce the agency responsible for them to begging. But that's what happens when you have a crummy, inequitable tax code and elected officials that believe all taxes are the spawn of Satan.

John

Thanks, Ann Richards!

all taxes are the spawn of Satan.

As much as I enjoy the outdoors, I am more concerned with the education cuts. A society of uneducated people will hurt the outdoorsman more than TPWD cuts. Uneducated people will believe anything on TV or in print. The liberal media counts on it to push agendas.